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15 Years of Edify

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In Brief

Edify just turned 15. (Yes, we’re officially old enough to drive with a learner’s permit.)

A lot has changed in the way we use technology in education, but our belief remains the same: how you build something matters just as much as what you’re building. Edify has always — and will continue to — create software that elevates human lives in partnership with value-aligned leaders in technology and education.

Looking Back

For fifteen trips around the sun, clients have come to Edify for three main reasons:

  1. To build something new and meaningful.
  2. To rescue projects gone wrong.
  3. To augment teams, big or small.

Federico Hess, Partner and Co-Founder, elaborates: The number one thing I’m most proud of is building a company with an identity centered around values and mission. Even now, with leadership changes, I’m confident Edify will remain true to that foundation. That foundation of trust is why clients continue to recommend us, and why their trust has carried Edify forward.

Edify’s strong reputation has fueled 15 years of almost entirely word-of-mouth growth — people telling other people that we show up, we deliver, and we care.

Federico shares why that’s so important: Clients often come to us when a project has gone off-track. We’ve built a reputation for fixing the mess and getting things moving again, and that’s how trust begins.

What’s Changed, What Hasn’t

Back in 2010, Instagram was brand new, Bruno Mars’s “Just the Way You Are” was the number one song, and we were seven founders huddled around a kitchen table with vino, wondering who would embark on this journey with us.

And here we are. Fifteen years later, and still building EdTech products that make a difference.

Along the way, we’ve grown up together. We’ve seen teammates get married, have kids, start other businesses, and some even came back because of our strong company culture. The friendships formed around that kitchen table have shaped who we are just as much as the work we’ve done.

Today, our work is so much more than software development. We now offer product strategy, full-lifecycle management, and growth enablement. For fifteen years, we’ve done three things really well:

  • Make ideas real. UCLA’s “Better Book” started as a research concept; now it’s evolved to a stand-alone company, CourseKata, that instructors use to test and improve what students learn.
  • Make products better. Lumerit (now Pearson Accelerated Pathways) needed content to play nicely with Canvas, Blackboard, and Moodle, so we built the tools and workflows to make it compatible and easy to maintain.
  • Help teams grow without hiring sprees. At a leading provider of K-12 teaching solutions, we started with a data-integration app and became an embedded partner to deliver roadmap items faster than their small team could alone.

What hasn’t changed is our commitment to stable teams, long-term relationships, and care that goes beyond scope. Federico shares why that is.

“We’re not the kind of company that says ‘that’s beyond scope’ or ‘we’ll get to it tomorrow.’ Our clients know we’re committed to their success, no matter what.”

Commitment in this form is why so many EdTech companies work with Edify on a long-term basis and will continue to do so. Federico continues:

“Clients have trusted us for 13, even 14 years. That kind of long-term partnership doesn’t happen unless your team delivers consistently. I’m thankful to our clients, and to our team, for that stability.”

What This Means for Our Clients (Present & Future)

Fifteen years is proof we’ll be here tomorrow, next year, and the year after. Our decades-long partners will continue to work with a steady and flexible team to grow alongside them, just as our new clients will find a partner who listens first, builds carefully, and sticks around.

As for Edify’s next fifteen years, Federico shares:

“We always want to stay close to clients. Even as we grow, we don’t want to become one of those massive consulting shops where you’re just another name in a spreadsheet. Fifteen years from now, I hope people say Edify is more visible and more active in the EdTech community, but still the same boutique partner that builds long-term relationships.”

As for the future, your task is not to foresee it, but to enable it.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

A Solid Foundation For What Comes Next

Organizations that stop moving risk standing still. Edify’s promise is to keep moving — with purpose. To stay as curious, creative, and people-focused as we were in 2010, but with the wisdom of a 15-year track record under our belt. For our team, that means new opportunities to learn, grow, and engage in work that matters. At the end of the day, software is just code. What’s kept Edify alive for fifteen years isn’t simply code. It’s the people, the care, and the “soul” Federico talks about:
“We’ve built something that can withstand the test of time. Even through major changes and upheaval, even during COVID, the company has remained what it is. Edify has a soul, and that’s what I’m most proud of.”
The spirit and energy Edify has matters. To our clients, every product is personal, so we honor that by bringing the same commitment and care as if it were our own. As Edify’s new General Manager, Michael Burke envisions:

 
“The beauty of Edify’s next 15 years is that we can build castles in the sky, and actually bring them to life. With the talent, energy, and passion here, there’s nothing stopping us from imagining the future we want and making it real.”
We’ll keep making our clients happy. We’ll keep sharing great insights. And we’ll keep looking for more partnerships that make a difference. Here’s to fifteen candles on the cake, three nickels in the jar, and a future we can’t wait to co-create. This is just the beginning.