Getting Smart
Getting Smart is a private education advisory, design, and media organization that provides strategic consulting, learning design, professional development, storytelling, and fund management services to K-12 schools, districts, and education foundations.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersSeattle, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Getting Smart does
Getting Smart is a private education advisory, design, and media organization founded in 2010 and operating with an 11-50 person distributed team in the United States. The company helps K-12 schools, districts, charter networks, education foundations, and intermediaries ideate, design, and implement learning innovations centered on equity, personalization, and competency-based approaches. Service offerings span five core lines: strategic advisory, system and learning design, professional learning (workshops, tours, coaching), storytelling and thought leadership campaigns, and fund management through the Learning Innovation Fund, with engagements structured as customized, quote-based projects. Customer relationships include named K-12 partners such as ASU Preparatory Academy, Cajon Valley Unified School District, Dexter Community Schools, and Lake City Area Schools, alongside major foundation funders including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Walton Family Foundation, Kauffman Foundation, American Student Assistance, and Stand Together.
Underlying the services business is a sizable content and distribution platform: 10,000+ publications and resources, 550+ podcast episodes, 900+ blog articles, 2.1M annual website page views, a weekly newsletter, and a network of approximately 100 innovative schools visited annually. This media engine drives top-of-funnel awareness, supports sales-led enterprise engagement, and produces frameworks such as the Learning Innovation Framework that anchor the firm's advisory methodology. Recent strategic emphasis has shifted toward AI in education content and the EdShift.ai initiative, microschool models, and multi-year New Pathways campaigns funded by multiple foundations. The organization is privately held, founder/team-controlled with no disclosed external investment, and has not pursued M&A, IPO, or going-private activity.
Getting Smart firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Getting Smart
- Legal name
- Getting Smart
- Website
- https://gettingsmart.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Getting Smart is a private education advisory, design, and media organization that provides strategic consulting, learning design, professional development, storytelling, and fund management services to K-12 schools, districts, and education foundations.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Getting Smart industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Education Advisory Services
- NAICS
- Professional and Management Development Training (61143), Educational Support Services (61171)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Innovation & Design Thinking Programs (EDAMAHAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Career & College Readiness Platforms (Guidance, Planning, Scholarships) (EDAJAMAO)
Keywords
Where Getting Smart is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Seattle
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Getting Smart business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Advisory and Consulting Services: Getting Smart provides strategic advisory, learning design, and consulting services to schools, districts, education organizations, and foundations. Services include strategy planning, organizational development, product and brand development, and technical assistance. These are client-driven, flexible engagements tailored to partner needs.
- Professional Learning Services: The organization designs and facilitates professional learning experiences including workshops, speaking engagements, school tours, webinars, and coaching services. These are delivered both in-person and virtually to education leaders and practitioners.
- Storytelling and Campaign Services: Getting Smart designs and implements thought leadership campaigns and initiatives with foundations and learning organizations, including tool and resource development, publication, and dissemination. This movement-building work includes campaign management and advocacy efforts.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels8 records
Getting Smart product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Getting Smart provides strategic advisory, learning design, and consulting services to K-12 schools, districts, education organizations, and philanthropic foundations. The firm also designs and facilitates professional learning experiences (workshops, school tours, speaking engagements, coaching) and runs thought-leadership storytelling campaigns, including tool, resource, and publication development. It supplements these services with a media platform (podcast, blog, publications, town halls) covering education innovation topics.
Product overview
Getting Smart is an advisory, design and media organization focused on building the future of learning for all. The company offers a portfolio of professional services including Strategic Advisory, System and Learning Design, Professional Learning, Storytelling and Campaign Services, and Fund Management. These services are delivered alongside a rich content ecosystem comprising the Getting Smart Podcast, Blog and Articles, Publications and Whitepapers, and Town Hall events. The organization also produces ongoing content series including Horizon Three (H3) Learning, New Pathways, Microschools, and AI in Education. The Learning Innovation Framework serves as an organizing tool for system-level change. The company has supported 150+ organizations, visited 600+ schools, and created over 10,000 resources, positioning itself as both a service provider and media channel for education innovation.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Getting Smart Collective: The collective refers to the organization's team and community of leaders, learners and educators that they have built over the past decade.
- EdShift.ai
Products and services
- Strategic Advisory Services Project-based strategic advisory engagements for philanthropic, educational, and workforce organizations covering project design, scaling strategies, market positioning, and organizational development.
- System and Learning Design Specialized instructional, school, and system design service including network advising and innovative leadership/learning model workshops, coaching, and implementation support for learner-centered personalized learning.
- Professional Learning Design and facilitation of in-person and virtual school tours, speaking engagements, professional learning workshops, and event strategy with logistics management for education leaders and practitioners.
- Storytelling and Campaign Services Design and implementation of high-impact thought-leadership campaigns with foundations and learning organizations, including tool and resource development, community building, and advocacy.
- Learning Innovation Fund (Fund Management) Grantmaking and program management services for foundations that actively fund and support innovative, high-impact learning opportunities.
Quantifiable outcome
- 100% reported satisfaction with Getting Smart services
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Getting Smart
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Getting Smart technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Getting Smart partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- ASU Preparatory K-12 Academy Charter NetworkcoreStrategic partnership for new school model design and launch, network alignment, professional learning, learning model development, branding, communications and curriculum design. Getting Smart provides ongoing advisory and design services through on-site meetings, virtual coaching, and design session facilitation.
- Cajon Valley Unified School DistrictcorePartnership supporting the World of Work initiative and learning community partners like San Diego Workforce Partnerships. Getting Smart supports design of personalized learning and interest-driven opportunities that build learner agency.
- Big Picture LearningcorePartner network of schools focused on student-centered, interest-based learning. Collaboration on school models and pathway programs.
- Education ReimaginedcoreCo-host of town halls and collaboration on learner-centered education transformation. Joint programming on designing for learning differences.
- Learner-Centered CollaborativecoreCo-author of Public Microschool Playbook. Collaboration on learner-centered education models and resources.
- TranscendcoreCo-author of Public Microschool Playbook. Partnership on school innovation and redesign frameworks.
- The Learning AcceleratorcoreStorytelling support for Strategy Lab cohort to expand practices and share success stories from the field. Content development and interview support.
- New Tech NetworkminorPartner network of project-based learning schools. Collaboration on school models and professional learning.
- Digital PromiseminorEducation intermediary focused on EdTech and innovation. Collaboration on advancing learning technology and equity.
- Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC)minorEducation intermediary focused on breakthrough models. Partnership on advancing next-generation learning approaches.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Getting Smart competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Digital Promise: A nonprofit intermediary focused on EdTech and innovation in education, listed as a Getting Smart partner, sharing the same K-12 advisory and ecosystem-building model.
- Big Picture Learning: A school network supporting student-centered, interest-based learning with whom Getting Smart collaborates, overlapping heavily on school model design and pathway work.
- Transcend: A school innovation organization that co-authored the Public Microschool Playbook with Getting Smart and competes for the same foundation and district design engagements.
- Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC): A breakthrough-models education intermediary partnering with Getting Smart and competing for the same foundation funding pool around next-generation school design.
- New Tech Network: A project-based learning school network listed as a Getting Smart partner, addressing overlapping K-12 redesign and professional learning needs for districts.
- The Learning Accelerator: An education intermediary working on personalized and competency-based learning with overlapping foundation funders and a similar content-and-advisory model.
- Learner-Centered Collaborative: A co-author of the Public Microschool Playbook and a learner-centered education partner with a similar consulting and resource model.
- Education Reimagined: An education intermediary focused on learner-centered transformation that co-hosts Town Halls with Getting Smart and shares the same K-12 redesign, thought-leadership, and movement-building model.
Broad incumbents
- EdSurge: A leading EdTech media and information company covering the same K-12 innovation audience as Getting Smart's blog and podcast, though focused on product news rather than advisory services.
- Edutopia: A major K-12 education innovation media platform from the George Lucas Educational Foundation that overlaps with Getting Smart's content reach and thought-leadership positioning, though on a larger institutional scale.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Getting Smart social profiles
Digital presenceGetting Smart financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Getting Smart leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Getting Smart funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Getting Smart M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Getting Smart
What does Getting Smart do?
Getting Smart provides strategic advisory, learning design, and consulting services to K-12 schools, districts, education organizations, and philanthropic foundations. The firm also designs and facilitates professional learning experiences (workshops, school tours, speaking engagements, coaching) and runs thought-leadership storytelling campaigns, including tool, resource, and publication development. It supplements these services with a media platform (podcast, blog, publications, town halls) covering education innovation topics.
Is Getting Smart a public or private company?
Getting Smart is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Getting Smart founded?
Getting Smart was founded in 2010. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Getting Smart based?
Getting Smart is headquartered in Seattle, United States, in the North America region.
How does Getting Smart make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Advisory and Consulting Services are the primary driver. The others are professional Learning Services and storytelling and Campaign Services.
Who are Getting Smart's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Digital Promise, Big Picture Learning, Transcend, Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC), New Tech Network, The Learning Accelerator, Learner-Centered Collaborative and Education Reimagined. Broad incumbents are EdSurge and Edutopia.
Does Getting Smart have an API?
No public API is recorded for Getting Smart.
What industry is Getting Smart in?
Getting Smart's product category is Education Advisory Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAMAHAD, Innovation & Design Thinking Programs, with a secondary code of EDAJAMAO, Career & College Readiness Platforms (Guidance, Planning, Scholarships). Its NAICS code is 61143 and its SIC code is 8200.