I’ve noticed a pattern across most of the founders that have been selected for this activity. Many of them do not have backgrounds in education. You pin-pointed a really important reason why that might be. Many of these entrepreneurs are approaching these problems from the learners perspective and not from the teachers.
I went back and looked at the profile I did for my assignment of John Baker. He didn’t have a background in education and he also approached his problem from the perspective of a student. I’ve noticed this as an Instructional Designer that other designers can get stuck in a bubble. They add bells and whistles to the courses they design because they are exciting to them as an educator. What they often fail to realize is that from the perspective of the student elaborate course designs can be frustrating, distracting, and not with their effort. I could see how this could give non-educators an edge when starting education ventures. Someone with a non-education background might have a much stronger user experience focus that could lead to a stronger product.