What does the future hold for Shkolo?
Lyubomir Vanyov co-founded Shkolo in 2016, with a mission to reform and digitize the educational landscape. After years of helping thousands of teachers, students and parents across Bulgaria, Shkolo is now eyeing its next chapter – impacting education in the millions across Europe. Lyubo and his company fully embody the lifecycle of an Endeavor-backed entrepreneur. Shkolo has always dreamed big. They embarked on their growth journey in Dare2Scale in 2021 and became the inaugural company to transition from our accelerator program to our Regional Support program in 2022. Shkolo is now prepared to Pay it Forward with its new strategic partnership with Juniper Education.
Shkolo’s story is another case study illustrating the effect that supporting innovative founders and their ventures can create. We are thrilled to have witnessed and supported their scale-up journey, and we eagerly anticipate the exceptional impact they will continue to bring to Europe’s education landscape.
1.What lies ahead for you after Shkolo’s acquisition?
Fundamentally, this acquisition does not change Shkolo’s overarching mission – to reach and help the millions of teachers, parents and communities around Europe and thus make education digitized and more accessible.
2. Reflecting on your journey from Dare2Scale to Endeavor’s Regional program and now this success, what are the key takeaways and memorable milestones?
The Dare2Scale program really helped me/us see the bigger picture and made us dream big. It’s a really well crafted program where people try to help you in any way they can, without expecting anything in return. As for the Regional Program, it helped us hone in our vision for the future of the company and, in practicality, helped us with meaningful connections and guidance in order to execute that vision and bring us to where we are today.
3. At Endeavor our three main values are Dreaming Big, Scaling Up & Paying it Forward. What will you be taking away for yourself in the future from your experience being part of Endeavor?
Dreaming big and Paying it Forward are the two things that define me as a person and I truly believe are fundamental for our society.
4. In what ways do you anticipate continuing your engagement with the entrepreneurial ecosystem and supporting other ventures in the future?
As I mentioned earlier, I really love to help people. On my end, I am ready to do my part and contribute in any way shape or form – I’ll do my best to support the ecosystem with knowledge, contacts or just ideas.
5. What is one piece of advice you’d pass on to entrepreneurs who are just starting out?
Work hard, learn fast, dream big.