Table of Contents
What was Feedback Panda?
FeedbackPanda was a feedback app which provided teachers in online teaching jobs with thousands of custom templates, meaning you didn't need to waste your time starting from scratch with every student. A solution that is now solvable in modern day with language model AI Tools.
Creation of Feedback Panda
Drawing from personal experience and frustration can often be a powerful source of inspiration. This was certainly true for Danielle Simpson, who while juggling her roles as an opera singer and part-time English as a Second Language teacher, conceived the idea for Feedback Panda. In 2017, Simpson, as an online instructor, was only compensated for her live teaching sessions, not for the considerable time spent on preparation, organization, and student feedback. This challenge led her to collaborate with her partner and future co-founder, Arvid Kahl, to develop a SaaS tool aimed at streamlining the feedback process.
Their joint effort resulted in the 2017 prototype of Feedback Panda. This tool was designed to assist online teachers in creating efficient student feedback templates, thereby saving time and enhancing work organization. It quickly gained popularity among online educators globally. Within just nine months of its launch, Feedback Panda was generating a monthly recurring revenue of $20,000, as stated by Kahl in a conversation with SureSwift Capital, a SaaS-focused investment firm.
What Happened to Feedback Panda?
Feedback Panda Acquired June 2019
Feedback Panda's growth was significantly fueled by the enthusiasm of its teacher-users, as Simpson noted. The tool's success was largely driven by word-of-mouth recommendations among teachers, reflecting its effectiveness and the value it offered.
By 2019, just two years post-launch, the self-funded company was making $55,000 monthly with around 5,000 customers. At this point, the Berlin-based founders began contemplating selling the business, partly due to Kahl's nearing burnout and a desire to diversify their finances. SureSwift Capital, known for acquiring SaaS businesses led by independent founders, purchased Feedback Panda in June 2019 for a seven-figure sum, a transaction Kahl described as life-changing.
Following the acquisition, Feedback Panda, initially run solely by its founders, expanded to include seven full-time employees. It operated on both mobile and desktop platforms and offered a convenient browser extension for teachers.
Post-sale, both Simpson and Kahl moved on from Feedback Panda. Kahl ventured into blogging with The Bootstrapped Founder and authored two books aimed at entrepreneurs, “Zero to Sold” and “Embedded Entrepreneur.”
Does Feedback Panda Still Exist?
When visiting the Feedback Panda website, it is now simply a WordPress theme template with general blog content and none of the original branding. The Google Chrome extension also is no longer live. So what happened?
Well there isn't any information online, however the answer comes in the form of timing.
China Regulations on Online Teaching July 2019
In short, July 12 2019, the Chinese government enforced regulations on after-school online education companies causing the majority of the China based online teaching platforms such as DaDa, Magic Ears, Gogokid etc to cease their operations. More detailed information on this can be found from this source.
With many of the teachers of these companies using Feedback Panda, could this have been the reason why Feedback Panda no longer seems operational? As there is no definitive source that says so, it cannot be said for certain.
Final Thoughts on Feedback Panda
In conclusion, Feedback Panda was once a helpful tool for online teachers who taught for China-based platforms. So much so, that its founders got acquired for 7 figures in June 2019. However, one month later in July 2019, China changed its regulations in the online education sector. Now Feedback Panda website no longer appears or operates as it once did.
However, despite of the regulation changes, online teaching is still alive and well. You can view the currently hiring platforms below:
5 Best Computers for Teachers (A Review on Desktop Computers)