President

REPORTS TO:      Sandbox & Co Board of Directors
LOCATION:         Boston, MA
WEBSITE:

                                 http://fen.com/
                                 https://www.teachervision.com/
                                 http://www.sandboxandco.com/
________________________________________

POSITION OVERVIEW

Reporting directly to the Board of Directors, the President will drive strategy, operations, and innovation for Family Education Network (FEN) Learning with particular attention on the TeacherVision division. S/he will have accountability for execution of assessing market and competitive trends and customer needs, and translating these into product solution strategies while providing strong business growth through subscription sales. The President will have full responsibility for the FEN Learning P&L.

Does this sound like the opportunity for you? Read on...

THE COMPANY

FEN Learning creates, curates, and distributes valuable educational and learning content to teachers, parents, and students. Its audience resides in 200+ countries supporting 12 million users. Dating back to its introduction of Family Education as one of the

first digital parenting informational resources, to launching one of the first digital game/story sites with Funbrain in 1997 and first educational virtual worlds with Poptropica in 2007, the Company has a proven history of setting rather than just following industry trends.

The Brands-

TeacherVision.com- With over 20,000 worksheets, workbooks, whiteboard-compatible digital books, lesson plans, and activities to access, teachers who subscribe to TeacherVi-sion.com have quick access to a wealth of class management tools. Two in five U.S. teachers visit TeacherVision every month.

FactMonster.com- Educate, entertain, and engage. That’s what Factmonster.com does—and has been doing since 1998. It provides a safe learning environment combining essential reference materials, fun facts, and homework help for kids.

Infoplease.com- Parents, teachers and librarians turn to Infoplease.com for factual information on any topic under, and including, the sun. It is written and edited by trusted experts. Parents and teachers can confidently point students and children to the site, assured that it is a safe place for them to explore.

The Investor – Sandbox & Co
Sandbox is an industry-focused investor committed to building and supporting busi-nesses at the intersection of the digital, learning, and media sectors. Founded in 2014, Sandbox and its partners have a long track-record of acquiring, transforming, and scaling businesses and brands internationally for multinationals including Viacom, P&G, and Pearson. Sandbox & Co incubates interesting ideas and invests in interesting businesses across kids and the lifelong learning vertical. Sandbox specifically invests with minority stakes in high-growth companies with long-term capital commitment.

THE POSITION

Based in downtown Boston MA and reporting directly to the Board of Directors, the President of FEN Learning will oversee all daily business activities while building and driving corporate strategy and executing steady growth. Direct reports include sub-scription sales, product development, and marketing. S/he will be responsible for assessing market and competitive trends, educational and assessment trends, and customer needs, while translating these into product and service solution strategies that drive educational improvements and strong business growth.

Specifically, the President will:

• Develop a five year vision for FEN Learning
• Direct FEN Learning in the development of its strategic and operating plans
• Communicate and represent FEN Learning to employees and the external community
• Build a successful revenue model, including a drive towards subscription
• Build and manage a talent rich team of subscription, marketing, editorial and technol-ogy
• Assume responsibility for the P&L; monitor and report on financial performance to meet top and bottom line goals
• Develop and oversee the execution of product strategy, with a priority on TeacherVi-sion
• Demonstrate skills in evaluating, recruiting, and developing top talent
• Oversee the development of a continuous improvement product plan that optimizes workflow and creates a competitive edge
• Build and refine a successful marketing operation that will take the company to the next level
• Have an understanding of M&A with the expectation of giving significant input on any acquisitions and fundraising for the business

This is a true entrepreneurial challenge and not for someone who does best in a big com-pany environment. It takes a leader who knows how to gather market information, analyze it, evaluate existing core assets, create an infrastructure capable of scaling, and bring to market an innovate digital learning product to teachers, students, and parents via direct B2C marketing through subscription-based sales. In other words, it takes a superior product manager who also knows how to run an efficient company. Intelligence and a nimble, searching mind are critical.

THE CAREER OPPORTUNITY

For a proven leader in educational technology or consumer marketing, this position offers the following career opportunities—

• The opportunity to join a market leader in the consumer learning space
• The opportunity to drive growth in a company—to take revenues from <$2M to $20M and more...and to be compensated accordingly
• The opportunity to continue to develop best in class product offerings
• The opportunity to work in an entrepreneurial work environment, with considerable auton-omy
• The opportunity to lead and develop a highly collaborative and successful entrepreneurial group, leaving behind the politics and bureaucracy often present in large organizations
• The opportunity to live in the attractive Boston area

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

The ideal candidate currently works or has worked as a CEO, President, GM, or other senior executive with P&L responsibility for a company or division selling subscription-based learn-ing/education products to teachers or parents. Alternatively, this executive works for another company selling products on subscription to a consumer market (for example, a wine club or performing arts organization). This individual is a proven leader whose team-building skills and results orientation are acknowledged by all.

Specifically, this individual will have the following experience and capabilities:

• A strong record of performance, taking a company or division from <$2M to > $20M in revenues, as the operating manager with
• P&L responsibility and an entrepreneurial spirit
• Experience managing or operating within a mobile-based business, with a high level of technical comfort
• Knowledge and understanding of business models whereby products are sold on a subscription basis and direct to consumers, preferably within the competitive education market direct to teachers or parents
• Appetite for and understanding of how to evaluate potential international opportunities
• Enthusiastic about technology and learning/education and with a desire to represent the company at external events and conferences
• Strong leadership and general management skills demonstrated in dynamic business envi-ronments; breadth if not depth in functional areas such as operations, finance, product de-velopment (IT), product management, customer service and business development
• Intellectual range (i.e., capacity to learn quickly, adapt thinking, and operate across organizational strata) and aptitude for product innovation and design
• An MBA and/or advanced degree is desired.

The President will be working long hours to drive the success of the company. This in-volves a range of personal attributes-- flexibility and adaptability; a great work ethic; strong leadership skills; an ability to analyze and evaluate one’s own (and other’s) performance and to develop plans to improve performance; excellent presentation skills; willingness to take responsibility for both success and failure; a thick skin; self-confidence; a positive attitude about self, company, marketplace; and a strong desire for success.

COMPENSATION

Compensation will include salary, performance bonus, and significant equity commensurate with the individual’s experience.

TRAVEL
This role will entail travel to key conferences and industry events, no more than 10% in a year.

INTERVIEW PROCESS | BACKGROUND CHECK

FEN Learning has an Employment Application, Work History and Background Check
(provided to candidates). The background check includes compensation verification, professional references, employment and education verifications, state and federal criminal history reports, and drug screen.

CONTACT

Resume and cover letter should be sent as Word documents to Jennifer Florence (Jennifer@bsgtv.com), and also posted on the BSG website (www.bsgtv.com). No phone calls please.