It may not be clear how the country’s learning revolution begins with Denosaur, a competition, and a midnight phone call from a teacher.
This is the story of how we turned into society, competition, and cartoon intoxication into one of the most powerful products and engines going to the market in K-12 education.
Olympiads as a Trojan hole
When I joined Uchi.ru to lead what will become Olympics, we needed a way to reach schools that do not include expensive sales teams or cold awareness. This is where the idea of converting Olympiads into monthly competitions on the Internet in STEM and humanities. At that time, we were a pioneer in this industry. Today, Uchi is one of the largest Edtech companies in Eastern Europe.
The competitions were free, beautifully designed, compatible with the curricula. But they were not just learning tools. She was Events. Children are treated like vacations. Teachers used them to activate the classroom. Parents printed the certificates and recorded them on the walls of the kitchen.
Edtech is a multiple stakeholder field. If you cannot meet the expectations of every decision maker in the series-the leaders of the provinces, teachers, parents and students-they would not be penetrated. You cannot enter a school with a paid course. But with free and attractive Olympics? You can definitely.
What looks like gentle gentle activity was actually a Trojan horse for the growth of the platform. Olympiad:
- I was born Millions of threads per month
- creature Oral In school, region and regionalism
- The platform was placed as Leader moves the missionNot just a content provider
- Give us First party data In all regions-it has actually became one of the largest databases related to schools
Once the teachers see their students enjoying the experience, explore the rest of the platform. Once parents see certificates, click on educational games. The Olympics was not just satisfied – they were currency.
At that time, my viral phone number went
Early, we were working with an external partner in a press release. Someone made a small mistake: I mistakenly included my direct phone number.
It came out at the national level.
Next month, my phone did not stop ringing for one second. The teachers from all over the country were contacting me personally – to thank us, to ask for help, to clarify the instructions, to share students’ stories.
It was exhausting but amazing. Yes, of course, at some point, I had to turn off the phone and give my parents a different number to reach me. But he also gave me a deep vision: Teachers were not just users. She was Ambassadors. When they are treated with respect and clarity, they appear by supporting your product.
I spoke to hundreds of teachers in that month. I listened. I learned. In this process, I got the most honest and honest user search experience in my life.
That experience taught me more about customer success than any dashboard that can be at all.
The amulet strategy: How the dinosaur has become an EDTECH icon
The platform was full of charming characters, but the amulet is one of their wisdom: Grisha Dino.
Grisha appeared in the competitions, the children chanted, and certificates signed in my name. Over time, children began to link their accomplishments with him. Send us messages and art of fans and graphics with medals.
We realized that Grisha was not just an amulet – it was a Bridge. The familiar face that made complex themes feel fun and accessible.
Therefore, we doubled. We built the stories around him. New animation is designed. In the end, I launched an Instagram account for Grisha. I slept to more than 50,000 followers – most children and parents. It also became an unexpected research channel and participation.
Do you need notes on a new feature? Post a story. Do you need thousands of surveys in two hours? Go to Grisha’s Instagram. Stay in contact with your smallest users – their language, tone, curiosity – mention a great power.
Of course, I forgot to hide my digital at the Instagram account.
One day, I received a call. A handful of enthusiastic children screaming in the recipient:Are you Grisha ??“
The amulet and standards: Why did you succeed?
These GTM products and options were not random. They took advantage of the basic human behavior – especially how people and children are in particular connected to respond to learning, recognition and emotional signs.
- children Acknowledgment recognition and fun → This is dopamine. This feeling of achievement is what keeps children back. This makes learning feel comfortable.
- Teachers They need tools that they can trust and share → This is oxytocin and serotonin. When teachers give a tool that only works – one they do not need to explain or repair – they become the most powerful of your allies. Especially when it makes her look good for their students and peers.
- Parents Responding to pride and visual progress → This endorphin and serotonin. A certificate on the refrigerator, a proud message from their child’s teacher – these moments create an emotional connection. It is not related to vanity. It comes to knowing that their children grow and appear.
The amulet was built emotional contact. A community Olympics. Certificates created viral rings.
Together, they formed a multi-strategic growth engine around Uchi to one of the most visited EDTECH platforms in the world-where it placed the highest 2 through traffic around the world according to similar in 2020.
Final ideas: Product growth equation in Edtech
In Edtech, the wonderful product strategy and go to the market can not be separated. The best results come from one time tactics, but from an ecosystem format where the product is happy, users call, and growth naturally flows from the experience.
- The student gets a mathematics game that celebrates his first correct answer
- The teacher gets a dashboard that tracks the progress of each student
- One of the parents gets a printable diploma in the name of his child with gold
Somewhere behind the scenes, the producer’s manager gets all-nights across 7 time areas.
Will I do everything again? In the heartbeat. But this time, I was using the fireplace phone.
