Open-source the arc of change

December 2, 2022

Open-source the arc of change

30-day sunset of EdTech SaaS mental-health co in peak crisis

Context

Today, there is growing mental health crisis (you already knew that) due to massive layoffs, human burnout, and emotion management. The DistrictZero team spent the last 3-years building software solutions to support this problem in K-12 schools, corporate teams, and military. We have 30-days before light’s off so the floor is open to all ideas. Read more below.

Email

Hi {{first_name}},

Thank you for staying updated on DistrictZero and I hope you have been well since my last email. Today, I have the unfortunate news that we have decided to sunset DistrictZero. Although we accomplished so much since the mission began in 2019, we were not successful at finding product-market-fit in the current market landscape.

Over the next 30-days, we will market our remaining intellectual property to interested buyers. If a sustainable customer-lead converts in December, we have a slim opportunity to switch the business model from venture-growth to cash-break-even. Cash-break-even is a focus on company profitability as opposed to venture hyper-growth.

Thank you to our angel investors, strategic advisors, early and recent team members, partners like Intel and AWS, our pilot schools and teachers, and anyone that shared our progress in a positive light. You gave us (and me) the motivation to continue through the business and emotional volatility. I’m hopeful that an organization will emerge as the leader in wellness/EdTech to support the ongoing mental health crisis; across public education, corporate hr, medicine, and federal military.

I’m lucky to have been a part of such an empathetic team that achieved so much with so little. Thank you for believing.

🎉 Achieved milestones:

2019 — Shipped first ‘duct-taped’ MVP for K-12, Proved effectiveness of research
2020 — Registered C-Corp, Built remote team in COVID, Shipped privacy-compliant platform
2021 — Intel Corp $100k Grant, K-12 Bilingual Pilots across USA, SEL impact white paper published
2022 — Elementary pilot complete, SXSWEDU with AWS EdStart, Google Classroom Integration

🔮 IP assets (pre-revenue):

Server-less Cloud Tech Stack — React, Typescript, Node.js, AWS, GCP, PostgreSQL (Survey, Reporting, and Content Systems)
Social-emotional learning Research — Behavioral user analytics, Product roadmap pathways, Established sales channel relationships
Leadership Team — Cross-functional CEO, Technical integration oversight, Strategic business insights (Public, Gov, Corp)

🙏🏽 Uzair’s Ask

Kindly, share my portfolio with your professional network. Since all remaining DZ team members have exited the company, I am now seeking remote or local roles in USA/Italy available immediately. Please do not hesitate to discuss one-off projects or schedule a 1:1 meeting.

Happy Holidays to you and your loved ones. I wish you happiness, health, and growth in 2023.

Uzair

“I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” — Michael Jordan

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