As COVID-19 swept across the globe in 2020, the education sector faced unprecedented disruption. Schools and colleges worldwide shut down, forcing over a billion students and teachers to move to online learning. Investor interest in the EdTech space exploded as technology-based education solutions shifted from a "nice-to-have" to a "must-have." As one of the leading EdTech venture capital firms, GSV Ventures, which had backed industry leaders such as Coursera, ClassDojo, Guild Education, Remind, and Course Hero, was positioned to be at the forefront of the changes happening to education across the world. In light of the pandemic, GSV had to postpone and reenvision its hallmark ASU+GSV Summit - a partnership with Arizona State University and GSV that showcased the latest innovations and innovators across the global "pre-K to gray" EdTech space - that had been scheduled for March 30 to April 1. However, on the positive side, GSV Ventures was facing a surge in investor interest in its Fund II which had begun fundraising in 2019. The original target had been to raise $100 million, but there was recent discussion of increasing Fund II to $200 to $250 million. Quazzo needed to decide whether it made sense to expand the fund, and if so, what changes would need to be made internally and strategically to support a larger fund. At a higher level, Quazzo wondered whether the momentum gained in EdTech during the first few months of COVID-19 was sustainable. Would the global focus on remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic trigger systemic changes? Could this be a unique opportunity to address the massive challenges associated with inequality of access, opportunity, and outcomes?

Founded in 2015, Guild Education is an education marketplace that connects employers and universities to provide employees with 'education as a benefit.' The Denver-based company is transforming traditional tuition assistance programs by facilitating direct payment by the employer to the academic institution and by supporting students with coaching and advising. By October 2020, Guild had gained market traction and demonstrated impressive results. Rachel Carlson, CEO and cofounder of Guild, must decide how to manage the company's future growth. She believes there is great potential within its core education marketplace to expand the network of academic institutions and portfolio of company partners. Carlson also envisions extending the business model and entering the career placement market. To successfully do that, she needs to find the same incentive alignment in these new businesses as in Guild's core education platform. Would it be possible to find a solution that would result in a win-win outcome for all?

Media companies have traditionally delayed product availability in low-margin channels to maximize revenue in high-margin ones. New research on books, movies, TV, and music suggests that digital markets make this strategy much less effective. Three strategies companies can use to reduce piracy of their content.