A very dear friend said to me recently that it’s important to take a moment to “look in the rear view mirror”. Grab a cuppa, here is the story so far…
A very dear friend said to me recently that it’s important to take a moment to, “look in the rear view mirror”, something that she, as a principal, creates space to do. So, I’ve created a timeline to share with you, that marks significant milestones on the journey that Paul and I have experienced, as partners and founders of Hero.
Reflection is such a vital part of growth, so each year, I make an effort to revisit this timeline to see just how far we have come. Grab a cuppa, here is the story so far…
Paul and Aimie move back from London, with Paul appointed as Principal of Fendalton Open Air School and Aimie as English Teacher at St Margaret’s College in Christchurch. Frustrated by reporting options for schools, as technology begins to enable better options, Paul creates a solution to support his role as principal, his teachers and community.
LINC Technologies is incorporated and LINC-ED is born to help schools to Learn, Inform and Connect. Our board is established and three schools begin using LINC-ED for online, real time reporting - Te Kura o Huriawa Thorrington Primary, St Albans Primary and Fendalton Open Air.
This is to be the game changer for schools, allowing them to bring all learning, communication and student management information together. The need for multiple systems and double handling is significantly reduced, allowing future focussed pedagogy to thrive.
Linc Technologies is recognised by Vodafone as a start-up with potential and, following a Dragons’ Den style pitch day, is accepted onto Vodafone’s start-up accelerator - Xone. Out of the spare room and into Vodafone’s new post quake building in Christchurch. Linc Technologies is one of ten companies across New Zealand on the first cohort of the Xone programme.
Paul and Aimie create a small founding team. At this time, the development of Hero (Version 4 as it was referred to then) begins with a great vision, originally estimated to take 4-6 months to build. That is another story altogether!
The, now larger, LINC-ED team has grown out of the Xone space and it’s time to create our own home. Hero HQ is established.
Our baby is born, and in its infancy, but it takes its first steps and learns to grow fast. Hero is not simply a copy of LINC-ED. It has a similar face, but with a refreshed genetic makeup - using cutting edge, modern, secure API driven technology. The key feature which all of our LINC-ED schools have been requesting is now possible: a mobile app!
Hero is now in Hong Kong.
Our team works closely with our LINC-ED schools to migrate our early supporters to Hero.
Welcome to the club, Penang!
Schools in Australia are now donning capes, as Hero enters New South Wales.
As we enter the final stretch of 2022, we can proudly step back and acknowledge what a heroic year of growth it has been. Between navigating market entry and growth into Australia, and amplifying our offerings for our heroes on home soil (New Zealand), 2022 has been packed full of fantastic learnings and winning moments.
We've evolved, both as a team and a product, and continue to do so. Innovation is what fuels our fire and we have a raft of exciting new development on the horizon - including the highly anticipated release of our new School Bookings service. This is set to be a game changer for schools, supporting them to streamline systems and facilitate rich learning conversations between home and school. Stay tuned!
This is only the beginning of our story and heroic journey with our schools. We are immensely proud of the team and culture that we have created and our core values still underpin all that we do. Just as it was when we were educators, student learning remains our “why” and is at the centre of our development of Hero. We have built a team of passionate educators and former administrators, to ensure that strong pedagogy and best practice continues to drive the use of the platform.
One of the greatest highlights of doing what we do is the valued relationships we have formed with heroes in schools up and down the country. We are grateful for your shared vision and ongoing support. Your dedication to seeing our young ones fly continuously inspires us.
We will continue to listen and set our sights high, we will continue to look forward, and we will continue to strive to do better... but, for a brief moment, it is rewarding to look in the rear vision mirror.