Just a couple of days until our Education Startups #MeetandEat at the Open Kitchen in Shoreditch. A big thanks for Tes Macpherson, Founder of PTA Social for her spotlight interview and for telling all!

What’s the elevator pitch for your startup?

PTAsocial provides private social networks to help school parents get to know each other and fundraise for their school. It’s easy and fun to use, and makes organising big events together a piece of cake.

What were you doing before you launched your startup?

I used to design software solutions for mobile telcos. I took a career break when I had kids and went back to university to take a masters in “e-business”, learning the latest tech with a view to starting a tech business. I also underwent entrepreneurship training alongside CASS MBA grads. I then started networking and attending the rich variety of events and training courses in London aimed at aspiring entrepreneurs.

Where did you meet your co-founders?

We were signed up for the same sort of startup events on Meetup.com and I tweeted him a prospective message to see if he was interested in my project, as he had the sort of skills I was looking for. We met for a coffee, discussed our shared vision and decided to get started on our MVP right away!

What’s your biggest ‘hindsight’ moment?

It’s convenient sometimes to rely on digital marketing and a few pilot customers for feedback. However it’s really important to be out there talking to real people — more and more prospects, widening your view and “keeping it real”. This is the only way have your finger on the pulse and look for signs of real commitment and a willingness to hand over money for your product or service. Once we figured this out — we realised it’s never too late to start, and got cracking!

What will 2014 bring?

More customers, more evangelists, and more funds raised for schools through increased volunteering. We recently gained our first antipodean customer. That’s the power of social media – we can make a difference to kids in schools all over the world. 

1 piece of advice for someone starting a business in the education space?

Get to understand the business ecosystem – read the education press, follow the right twitter chats — so you can position your product and make sure it adds real value.

Convince someone to use your product/service in under 50 words.

PTAsocial is incredibly effective at connecting your school community online and broadening your PTA’s reach. It puts parents in touch with each other without compromising privacy. More transparency and easy volunteering means everyone feels good about doing a little, and making a big difference together.

What’s your favourite startup in the education space (not including your own)?

I’m a big fan of BrainPOP – my kids absolutely love it and it’s a morning ritual over breakfast to watch the video of the day.

What’s your favourite London restaurant?

It’s been a while since I’ve been to it, but my most memorable meal in London was at Archipelago. Really different to any other restaurant I’ve come across.

You can see our Education Startups #MeetandEat on TableCrowd here.

You can read more startup spotlights here.