Meet Will Jackson, CEO and Founder, of Mote
Making teachers lives easier
We recently caught up with Will Jackson, CEO and Founder of Mote, to learn about his journey from Oxford to founding Mote, a SaaS company that is providing teachers with AI-powered tools for assessment and feedback.
What did you study at Oxford?
I studied PPE at Merton from 1997-2000.
What is your most important takeaway from time at Oxford?
Never let go of your punt!
Did you always think you would be an entrepreneur?
I left Oxford at the height of the dotcom boom, and I had my heart set on working as a consultant for 2-3 years, before starting my own business. So yes…it felt great to finally realize that ambition.
What motivated you to start this company?
Having worked in corporate roles for almost 20 years, I had the skills, relationships and financial stability to pursue a startup. This company was born from a belief in solving workflow problems with voice technology. We initially focused on the workplace, but switched to focussing on K12 education when teachers swarmed to adopt Mote during the pandemic.
What motivated you to solve this problem?
Working as a consultant with a large tech company that (famously) uses long form text documents extensively. I found the collaboration process to be very inefficient and fraught with interpersonal communication challenges. I was working on another voice technology idea at the time, and saw the opportunity to integrate voice communication inside documents and workflow tools.
Advice for other prospective founders?
If you find yourself wondering how everyone else at your big company seems content with everything that drives you crazy, perhaps you’re cut out to be a founder.
How is the company solving the problem in an innovative way?
Mote is focused on teacher success and productivity, especially through integrating new technology and ways of working into popular existing platforms.
Biggest struggles experienced as a founder?
The pandemic created big challenges as well as opportunities. Remote recruitment is especially hard - many mistakes made and lessons learned.
How have you dealt with these struggles?
Having some great advisors, especially people who have been on the entrepreneurial journey themselves and can share their own war stories.
Most rewarding accomplishment to date as a founder?
Many, but I love meeting with customers who have amazing stories to share about how our products have “changed their lives”. Most recently we recently received a $250K grant from the NewSchools Venture Fund, a highly regarded educational philanthropic organization. In particular, the grant is to help Mote continue our investment in integrating AI to address student and teacher needs.
Why is the Oxford Angel Fund excited about this opportunity?
There are 85 million teachers globally, including 4 million in the US. Teachers spend around 20% of their time on admin and non-teaching tasks that sap their energy and drive high rates of professional ‘drop out’ from education. Keeping teachers in the profession, enjoying their jobs and improving their skills is essential to achieving greater equity in the US and globally. Mote is focused on teacher success and productivity, especially through integrating new technology and ways of working into popular existing platforms. The Mote team has created tools that teachers love and enthusiastically recommend to their peers.
Mote
Making teachers lives easier
Founders: Will Jackson, Alex Nunes
Founded: 2020
Stage: Seed Q2 2021
Notable Investors: Craft Ventures
Mote is focused on teacher success and productivity by integrating new technology and ways of working into popular existing platforms. Mote provides teachers with AI-powered tools for assessment and feedback.