Always A Teacher Podcast
What happens when you decide to leave teaching and pursue the next chapter in your career? The Always A Teacher podcast provides teachers with insights and advice for breaking into the EdTech space. Hosted by Matt Gambino, the nation's top trainer of EdTech industry professionals, Always a Teacher features wide-ranging interviews with former teachers and administrators who share their stories about transitioning from the classroom to EdTech, and how they apply their unique skills and passion for students to a business setting.
Always A Teacher Podcast
#028 Laura Busch: Customer Success Lead
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Do you feel like your skills are limited to the walls of your classroom?
For Laura Busch, transitioning from an 18-year teaching career to the corporate world was a strategic move. In this episode, Laura shares how she went from Instructional Technology Coach to Regional Customer Success Lead at Linewize, a global provider of student digital safety solutions.
Laura pulls back the curtain on what Customer Success really means in edtech and why former educators are uniquely qualified to lead these teams.
- The Player-Coach Model: Laura explains her dual role as a team leader and a hands-on Customer Success Manager, allowing her to mentor staff while maintaining the deep relationships with schools that teachers crave.
- Defining Customer Success: We break down the difference between technical support and success. It is about ensuring schools get a return on investment and helping teachers find genuine value in their tools.
- The Empathy Advantage: Business acumen can be learned, but the daily reality of a teacher cannot. Laura discusses how understanding shrinking budgets and teacher exhaustion gives her an instant connection with clients.
- Navigating Corporate Instability: Laura gets real about the differences between tenure and at-will employment. She shares practical advice on how to research a company’s financial stability before signing an offer.
- Overcoming Imposter Syndrome: A look at the mental block of feeling like you are just a teacher, and why skills like adaptability and problem-solving are high-value corporate assets.
