llu n \"in: \"Lilla-:3" 2,53 @ .1 9 '9' 930 [ill 13:50 Find study reso... Page 13 of 32 Read the case study below and answer ALL the questions that follow. How Stacey Brewer Raised R200 million in Funding to Build Spark Schools SPARK Schools is a disruptive educational business model that has garnered so much investor interest, its founder, Stacey Brewer, has secured R200 million in funding. Here's how she's turning a traditional, entrenched industry on its head to solve real problems and bring about systemic change. Vi to! Statistics: Founder: Stacy Brewer Coefounder: Ryan Harrison Company: SPARK Schools Number of schools in network: 15 2019 goal: 1 12 000 students and 20 schools Established: 2013 In 2012, Stacey Brewer raised R4,5 million in her first round of funding. It gave her an 187month runway to focus on launching her low-fee private school model, SPARK Schools. This was followed by R18 million from an international fund, the Pearson Group's Affordable Learning Fund. The business's most recent round of funding was a Series B round that raised R150 million in 1016, taking SPARK's overall funding to R200 million. "We've committed to having 20 schools by 2019, which will enable us to educate 12 000 children,II says Stacey. IIOur investors still expect a 10X return, but it's 'patient' capital, designed to support impactful business models. The big idea Let's take a step back to how the idea for SPARK Schools originated. Stacey was studying an MBA in Entrepreneurship at GIBS (the Gordon Institute of Business Science). During her economics lectures she discovered that although a high percentage of South Africa's budget is allocated to education, South Africa still ranks amongst the worst education systems in the world. "I wanted to understand what was going wrong, and to research what the solution could be,II she says. Stacey wasn't planning on launching a new and disruptive education model, but she did need a theme for her thesis, and she wanted to address a real problem. llI believe that all entrepreneurs should be advancing the human race. We need to question what we're doing to change society. What problem are you solving? How are you making the world a better place? How are you making it more sustainable? "This View meant I gravitated towards one ofthe biggest problems I believe we face as our country. One of my professors agreed. She liked the thesis topic and advised me to start networking in that 4 0 CI Vu n \"t." \"in" as. if}; a .1 9 '9' 93C] [Ell 13:50 Find study reso... Page 14 of 32 "This view meant I gravitated towards one ofthe biggest problems I believe we face as our country. One of my professors agreed. She liked the thesis topic and advised me to start networking in that space, I needed to get on the map and speak to other likeeminded people who were interested in education.H Stacey took her professor's advice and started networking. IIThis was how I met our rst angel investor, David Gibb, who was on sabbatical after resigning from his position as head of research at STANLIB- IIAtthe time I had no plans to start this business, which meant funding wasn't even a thought, but I found a very supportive mentor who is very passionate about business and education. IIDave and I had incredible discussions around the problem, and what the solution needed to take into account. "I still had no concrete ideas of actually launching a school, but I was on a path that clearly showed we needed to create something completely new. Tweaking the current model wouldn't be enough." "The MBA and my thesis also forced me to take a deep dive into my research. I'm not sure starteups always do this, and certainly not to the level I took it. But it's been a very important success factor for us. IIThe research I conducted while completing my thesis has allowed us to position ourselves very well within our market. More importantly, it helped us get from 'what?' to 'how?Ill Thanks to Dave and Stacey's own tenacity, she was also developing a strong network in the educational space. "Dave introduced me to the blended learning model in the US. He then offered to fund a trip overseas so that we could evaluate if the tech the blended learning model is based on would be feasible in South Africa.II It was at this stage that Stacey asked Ryan Harrison, a tech-savvy friend from university, to join her on the trip. H| understood the educational landscape, but notthe tech | asked Ryan to join me so that he could evaluate whether or not it suited our local conditions." Stacey and Ryan returned to South Africa, and she knew this wasn't just an idea ora thesis anymore. "I knew lwas going to open a school. Ryan was also excited by the concept and wanted to join me. Our trip introduced us to Rocketship Public Schools, who have pioneered blended learning in the US. "They were very open to us and shared everything they're doing. This feeds back to purpose they want to change education and solve a real need, and they're supportive of anyone who shares that passion. Two of their staff came and joined us when we launched, and one is still with us today." The IessDn: Stacey didn't start out thinking she wanted to launch a business and trying to figure out what that would be. Instead, she found somethingshe was passionate abouti something she knew was broken and needed real, innovative solutions to fix. That passion led her down a path where she learnt as much as possible about the topic, met other passionate people with ideas and solutions to share, and finally developed a model that would help her solve a societal need and drive systemic change. Source: hpszlfwww.enlrepreneurmom/article/SZSDM Questio ns: Critically analyse the most important triggers or factors that motivated Stacey to start Spark Schools. (40) Elucidate the entrepreneurial competencies that Stacey has shown to turnaround the organisation. (30) Evaluate the managerial success factors evident in the case study. (20)