The 2016 Tyton Growth50

Tyton Partners has officially launched the second annual Tyton Growth50, an annual recognition of dynamic growth-stage companies across all markets in the education sector. In a space enamored with new, the Tyton Growth50 celebrates sustainability. The list recognizes the top 50 organizations achieving impact at scale through a combination of strong financial performance, market penetration, and innovative customer outcomes – attributes that form the basis of the Tyton Growth Framework.

Click here to nominate a Growth50 company for this year’s list.

What is the Tyton Growth Framework?

The Tyton Growth Framework comprises four core attributes: financial sustainability, market awareness, customer engagement, and learner/stakeholder impact.

At first glance, each element is intuitive. However, few organizations are able to achieve a sustained level of execution – and excellence – against all four concurrently. And therein lies the rub, which we approach through a simple framework of “atoms” and “elements.”

Essentially, these attributes are the business equivalent of atoms; their differing combinations enable the creation of distinct elements, i.e., companies. As combinations of various atoms inform the properties of an element – e.g., its mass, density, and conductivity, among others – so too do the Growth Framework attributes describe and highlight the characteristics of a company. Moreover, each attribute is facilitated by a set of smaller atomic particles – inspired leadership, disciplined prioritization, rigorous execution, and the benefit of timing – that are critical enablers of success.

Achieving Impact at Scale

The education sector is littered with companies that have achieved broad-based awareness among customers, but have failed to convert that into sustainable revenues or compelling stakeholder impact. Similarly, companies with a strong evidence base and demonstrable impact on student performance or institutional productivity are not assured of mass acclaim or adoption. The interplay between these attributes reflects the balance required between organizational execution and customer impact to create a stable company element; and that is simply a prerequisite for growth and scale.

Proving the existence of a scientific element in a lab setting is, by definition, a prescribed, academic exercise; demonstrating that such an element exists broadly across diverse environments and conditions reveals actionable and impactful potential applications. Underpinning the Growth Framework attributes is success in scaling sales and distribution models in a live, rather than lab-like, context.

Fundamentally, the intersection of these attributes form strong (atomic) bonds propelling companies’ success.

What’s Next

Over the next few months, members of the Tyton Partners’ team will begin reviewing hundreds of companies against this framework to select finalists for this year’s Growth50 list. This process will include an open submission process through the end of June. Selected companies for the 2016 Tyton Growth50 will be invited to attend an exclusive gathering of leaders and investors in Newport, Rhode Island in the Fall of 2016.

Click here for information about last year’s Tyton Growth50.