Matthew Schnittman
CEO
TopSchool, Inc.
A college education pays extra dividends when the resulting career path involves offering higher education an innovative new product or service. Matthew Schnittman is in a position to do so, and he wants to do it with trust.
Your career path has been a succession of college-work-college-work. Please describe it for our readers.
In 1994, I took my University of Arizona Bachelor's degree to San Francisco where I was fortunate to be employed in marketing strategy consulting for clients like Nestlé, Pepsi and Taco Bell through strategy firm CCD. Then, in 1997, I felt the need for an academic boost to my unusually rich three-year work experience. I went on to Northwestern University's Kellogg School for an MBA, which I received in July, 1999. Upon graduation, I was offered an opportunity with Denver start-up, eCollege, as their director of strategic planning. I worked there until 2008, helping the company grow from $4.7 million in annual sales to $62 million, at which time it was sold to Pearson Publishing. I moved on to TopSchool a year after this company was founded.
Is your career path unique only to you, or is it replicable?
It's replicable for the most part, I think. I attended public schools throughout K-12, and a public university for four years. I worked hard, and the American education system rewarded my hard work. Then I decided to take a job to apply my knowledge--and to make some money--rather than continue on immediately to graduate school. Advice from some people I respected helped me make the decision to apply what I learned in college at work before learning still more.
Now, as an entrepreneur, what do you expect will make you and your new company successful in the marketplace?
Throughout my career I've learned the importance of trust, especially between a college and its service provider. That trust is especially helpful when the service provider is an innovator. At TopSchool, our student lifecycle management system is innovative. It includes CRM to drive admissions, a student information system and a robust reporting suite. It's delivered via the web as software-as-a-service. Our low total cost of ownership is so compelling that our prospects need to trust that we will deliver over the long term.
If a college were a restaurant, how would your service help them?
We focus on treating the customer as a unique individual. We empower the maitre'd to know where the patron wants to sit; to enable the waiter to know what the patron likes to drink; and to enable the chef to know how the patron likes his steak. That well-served restaurant customer is very sure to remain a customer, while recounting his great experience with friends and family.
What evidence do you see that the college marketplace is becoming increasingly consumer-driven?
Flexibility is being introduced throughout the academic enterprise. Courses are available at night and on weekends. Online and classroom offerings and their combinations are remarkably robust. Speed-to-market of new academic offerings and degrees has increased. Swirling and dual enrollments are acknowledged and accommodated. The schools who adapt see increased enrollments as a result.
Is there any valid reason to slow down or delay the change of higher education to a consumer-driven industry?
Our educational system should feel responsible to develop a well-rounded complete thinker. At the same time, students come to college with expectations of high quality service at a value. With pervasive technology, a student can attend college anywhere in the world anytime. To be competitive we can't slow it down. Innovative schools are abundant in the U.S., and they should be free to take the lead.
How will students benefit?
As the restaurant patron, the student will enjoy a quality experience. They'll achieve the learning outcome they want and they'll get a desirable job or further education--all at a value.
Who else on U.S. campuses will benefit?
The faculty, front and center--real job satisfaction results from successfully customizing a learner's experience.
TOPICS: Enrollment Management, Management, Technology
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