How one Microschool Founder went about marketing - With Sebastian Predescu, Inner Fire Academy
Meet Sebastian Predescu, KaiPod Catalyst participant, and founder of Inner Fire Academy in San Francisco, California. Sebastian is an Eastern European immigrant, national chess champion, and teenage cancer survivor. Sebastian has a strong passion for education, as he studied at the coveted Harvard University, and sought to start his very own microschool with the help of KaiPod Catalyst. Inner Fire currently serves students in the San Francisco region, ages 7 to 12, who are seeking a more personalized approach to education.
In this blog post, Sebastian speaks with KaiPod to provide additional insight regarding how he developed his marketing strategy, his approach to evaluating how to best serve the community, and his experience working with KaiPod Catalyst in order to serve as many families as possible.
KaiPod Catalyst: Tell us, how did you get started with marketing your microschool? What was the first step you took to get enrollments?
Sebastian: For me, the most success I experienced early on came from working with students and families directly however I could. In San Francisco, nobody would show up purely from the marketing pitch. You have to be out in the community.
In order to acquire my first few students, once I had my space, I started to attend and host meetups and events for kids that were either academically focused or just fun. I marketed those events in local Facebook groups that were relevant to my audience, such as homeschoolers and learners with specific interests. In doing that, they got to meet me, see me interacting with their kids, and see the space, which then naturally led to more opportunities. I tutored a student and gained their trust, and their parents got to see that interaction. I am a lifelong chess player, so I visited a local chess club and ended up giving one of the students who has an affinity toward chess some lessons. I attended events strategically where I had a specific role in that community and could provide value to the attendees.
KaiPod Catalyst: That sounds like a great start! How did Catalyst help you shape your marketing strategy or with your marketing efforts?
Sebastian: KaiPod Catalyst offered me a ton of ideas, and I tested some things that didn’t work, which is fine because it was necessary for me to do so in order to find the things that DO work. They pushed me to participate in Facebook Groups and that turned out to be very fruitful! I connected with a great deal of community members that way.
KaiPod Catalyst: Tell us a little bit about your initial test of local activation. What went well? What were some of your struggles?
Sebastian: Where I had very little traction was going to farmer's markets and being a vendor. Part of it is that my school caters to a very unique population of people, and it is difficult to find an exact match for my ideal student at events like these. So that was one area where I struggled. I had 3 target audiences in mind when attending events, which were homeschooling families, gifted students, and Chinese-American families because I offer Mandarin studies. Basically, it was a slow journey trying to figure out how to reach my target audience and post my marketing ads authentically and say “This is me, this is who I am, I’m starting a school,” instead of being more like a ‘brand’, so to speak.
KaiPod Catalyst: Was there a moment when you became more comfortable with marketing? If so, describe that moment a little bit.
Sebastian: We’re starting to get organic product-led growth. I am focused on my classroom at the moment, so I am currently not marketing myself, but what’s great is that my families are spreading the word about my program on my behalf. I do actually get leads from them, but that comes later and is definitely not the sum of my marketing potential, but it’s excellent for sure. So, technically, it is referral marketing I suppose.
I think the area that was a turning point for me is that initially, marketing in Facebook groups felt spammy because I personally dislike being “sold to”. So I definitely had that feeling but then Amar gave me a pep talk and told me that I do have a valuable product and that I could work on setting aside my self-consciousness and trying not to be pushy. Instead, Amar suggested that I approach it in a more relaxed manner, and be human with my approach and that will yield better results. So, in doing that, I kind of let the leads come to me. I got way more comfortable with that idea and that helped me tailor my approach to reaching new families.
KaiPod Catalyst: Awesome! You mentioned reaching out to gifted kids, online students, and homeschoolers, so could you describe your target audience and ideal student profile for your microschool? How did you go about tailoring your messaging to find your target audience?
Sebastian: Ideal means a lot of things, right? So, when we say ideal, there are a number of ways to define that. I tend to have two groups that are pretty different, but their overlap is that none of them come from traditional schools. One group is gifted/twice-exceptional who might have behavioral differences, the other group is homeschooled families.
KaiPod Catalyst: Interesting! Tell me about the community at your pod, is there a trend regarding how families discovered Inner Fire Academy?
Sebastian: I have 3 full-time families two part-time families, and a couple of prospects joining us for a visit. They’re all pretty diverse as far as backgrounds, economic level, ethnicity, and family make-up/structure. I also have two TAs, and also a second-language teacher who comes in 3 times a week. Having them assist me is great for my mental health as they provide our microschool with a ton of academic support, which is invaluable to me. Although it is tough financially to have them, ultimately it is a great investment for me. Having my team definitely helps the vibe of our microschool feel more inclusive and inviting.
KaiPod Catalyst: That is fantastic, a lot of schools strive to have this kind of variety. How do you measure the impact of the Kaipod Catalyst program on your marketing efforts, and can you share any specific results or success stories that can be attributed to the program?
Sebastian: Honestly, the #1 driver early on from Catalyst was giving me the opportunity to have a community and to have motivation from said community. In any start-up venture, the energy and optimism of the founder are some of the most precious resources, and I wouldn’t have done it without the community and support of my cohort and team. Annie in the Operations department, specifically, was crucial to the goal of getting to the finish line of my microschool launch.
KaiPod Catalyst: What are your biggest recommendations for future founders when it comes to marketing and promoting your school?
Sebastian: I would recommend 2 things:
1: Know your market and target audience, it is not cut and dry, for example at my school none of my kids came from a traditional school. You do not need to capture everybody, just focus on who is best for your offering and pursue them.
2: Whatever you do to grow and market your school, do it in a human-to-human way and not a business-to-customer kind of way.
About Inner Fire Academy:
Inner Fire is a micro-school for gifted 7-12-year-olds. We take only 8 students per class and work with the learner to create customized lessons that keep each individual constantly challenged and excited. Our teaching is designed to nurture students’ intrinsic passion for growth. Our students build skills beyond their grade levels under their own motivation, without external pressure to succeed.
About KaiPod Catalyst:
KaiPod Catalyst is an accelerator for entrepreneurial educators to launch their own microschools in their communities. Over the course of 28 weeks, Founders in the KaiPod Catalyst program will take their microschool vision from “Idea” to “Launch.” Our team will support in all aspects of launching your microschool, including marketing, raising capital, selecting a site, operations, hiring, and academic programming.
