An Interview With Our Founder
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Educatus, we sat down with our founder, Sarah Teasdale to ask 10 questions about her journey so far.
Learn about her inspiration for starting Educatus, the challenges she faced as a female founder, her advice for aspiring women entrepreneurs, and the evolution of Educatus over the past decade.
Who is Sarah Teasdale inside of work and outside of work?
Outside of work I’m a mother of 5! Three daughters of my own and two amazing stepsons. I’m also Nana of one gorgeous boy, and chicken mummy to a flock of feathery friends.
I’m not naturally techy or a computer-based person at all, I love to enjoy the British countryside and thrive when I build exercise into my daily life. Starting my career as a sports teacher before moving into primary school teaching, encouraging children to be active was always my focus.
The journey of my earlier career then led me and my lovely daughters on an incredible adventure across the globe, including places like Ireland, the Middle East, and Africa. During this whirlwind, I gained firsthand experience in the art of relocating with children and constantly scouting for the right schools for the three of them. It was a remarkable chapter in our lives that taught me invaluable lessons about navigating the challenges of moving while ensuring my girls had the best education possible.
My business is of course my other baby! Inside of work I am managing director of a lovely team who share my passion for supporting other families as they make that big brave move to the UK with their children.
What inspired you to start Educatus in the first place? What made you believe you could start your own business?
My inspiration really transpired from the tools that my unique life experience had given me so far. Having taught in schools in the UK and internationally, travelled with my own three daughters, and spent time working within the relocation sector.
I really felt like there was something missing from the education consultancy landscape at that time and I knew I could fill that gap! I had a strong conviction that I could provide families with a personalised service, and I envisioned assembling a powerhouse team with all kinds of different strengths to make it happen.
I was confident that I had the right tools but I also knew where I needed the extra knowledge and experience. When running a business it’s so important to know your strengths but your weaknesses too.
As a female in business, surrounding yourself with the right people in life is key.
I believed I could make a success of my own business but Colleagues and friends were very affirming and gave me that extra confidence to move forward with it.
What drives you?
Having real passion for my work and a clear vision drives me. Also having my remarkable team who make up Educatus! They are always willing to go above and beyond for our clients and families. Their dedication inspires me to push boundaries and strive for excellence. I have found as well that setting goals is really key for me personally, it drives me on to the next goal post.
What does it mean to you to be a female founder?
It means a lot to me to be a female business owner, and because I have worked all my life even with young children, I appreciate the tough choices women in business with families have to make and the daily tough juggling we do. I am really so proud of Educatus, and the other women (and the men too - shout out lovely Henry!) we have working on our predominantly female team, who all have families of their own, but manage their working lives in a totally professional way, being the fantastic multi taskers they are!
What advice do you have for other women wanting to start a business?
As with any business, make sure you do your homework first, and you will need to set a clear strategy preparing for any pitfalls that maybe round the corner. You are still entering what is very much a man’s world, so give other women a chance along the way and know that you are resilient and adaptable !
Never under any circumstances let anybody tell you, or make you feel like that you cannot start your own business.
As I would say to my own daughters, set yourself a goal and work hard! It may sound cheesy but honestly I have really encouraged my daughters to just follow their dreams and supported what they want to do in life. It’s that positive encouragement and support, but coupled with the knowledge that as women you need to work hard to get to that place in a lot of industries that are still very male dominated.
How did you go about building your team?
When you start a new business you are starting small, and you need to realise your gaps and look for new strengths. One of the things that was really clear to me, was to make sure that I had people around me who had varied skills, different to mine/similar to mine. So that we could build this team the experience and skills around us, for example taking on someone who had significant special needs experience, and was willing to learn more on this and share with the team. That’s one of the things we have really worked hard on as a company - making sure we are up to date. Also taking on people who are prepared to further develop their skills and always be keen to learn!
What makes you different to other education consultancy companies?
Educatus is centred around knowledge and real-life experiences. It goes beyond a business, a screen, or a service, it’s a personal helping hand that helps families in sometimes one of the hardest times of their lives, moving their children to a new country and uprooting their lives. Schools a well-executed school placement can be a make or break for a family in a successful relocation.
How has Educatus evolved over the last 10 years?
Well for starters the first Educatus office was my garden shed ! Ha ha! Things have changed a little since then.
We have gone from a small business with 2 employees including myself, to a team of 11 with 30 plus clients. We have learnt how to adapt and change increasingly in the last 10 years. The company managed to survive COVID which obviously was a tough time for the relocation sector. We spent that time providing close support and reassurance to families whose relocations were on hold plus using that quieter time to train and improve our knowledge and skills.
In our 10 years in business, we have learnt that understanding what it takes to move a family, and the involvement of all the other stakeholders such as movers, language trainers, home search consultants, pet care and the coordination of the RMC and DSP services, is very important.
We as a team like to think we work in harmony with all the moving parts, so that we can really appreciate what our families are going through. I feel like this is something that sets us apart.
We also now have two Educatus babies! So the dribbling and burping at our team meetings has increased slightly haha!
How do you hope it will evolve in the next 10?
In the next decade, I hope Educatus will keep expanding while preserving the essence of a small business mentality, keeping our feet on the ground. We aim to strike a balance between growth and maintaining the personalised touch that sets us apart.
Since day one starting the business in my garden shed, I have realised that keeping a sense of humour has proven to be an essential ingredient in navigating some of the tougher times!
Because the company is predominantly remote, I know that my team values the importance of face-to-face interactions and regular catch-up calls and generally making time for each-other, it helps us stay connected. I want to make sure that that always continues as the team expands.
By sticking to these principles and focusing on sustainable growth, I am confident that Educatus will thrive in the years to come, all while preserving the values that have got us to this milestone.
Finally, as the business turns 10 what are you most proud of in the journey of Educatus?