The GHP “Emerging 3” Awards @
EDTECH WEEK
Present your company, get practical feedback on your growth strategy, and meet investors and industry leaders through the GHP “Emerging 3” Competition.
WHO IS GOOD HARBOR PARTNERS?
Good Harbor Partners is a boutique advisory firm serving innovators across education, workforce, and lifelong learning.
GHP helps companies make strategic growth decisions, build valuable partnerships, and prepare for investment or a successful exit.
OCTOBER 2026 | NYC
“EMERGINg 3” Awards
Nine finalists will present their companies at EdTech Week to a curated audience of investors, philanthropic funders, and prospective customers.
One winner from each category will receive $200,000 in services from Good Harbor Partners, including strategic advising, introductions, increased visibility, and guidance. Winners will also be invited to a private cocktail reception with curated introductions to leading funders and supporters of emerging growth companies.
Applications are open through September 15.
GHP Case studies
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TURNING M&A INTEREST TO INVESTMENT
“It can be very lonely and very difficult being a founder. Not just financially. Seeing your friends or your peers or others around you in roles and potentially startups having different outcomes.” – Samyr
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ABOVE & BEYOND THE BANKER PLAYBOOK
'“There is a level of trust and faith that Good Harbor and you build with the dialogue and the relationship and that when we’re supposed to be negotiating against each other, we wind up working together to find the suitable solution.” – Seong
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AKTIV’S SALE TO TOPHAT
“One of the most important connections ever made was GHP introducing me to Dr. Jamie Caras who became an investor and Aktiv’s Chairman of the Board. It was invaluable to have someone who really had been there and done it in STEM and who was so similar to me in his thinking. His founding story and experience was scarily similar to my own.” – Justin
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DEEP RELATIONSHIPS TRANSLATE TO FOUNDER FIT
“We met and just hit it right away. Mark first & foremost is an entrepreneur which I appreciate a lot . It’s a big differentiator, having someone with entrepreneurial experience who’s been an operator helping entrepreneurs. He’s not like your typical high-level consultant. One thing I love about Mark is he gets into the weeds.” - Jamie
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TRANSLATING VISION TO INVESTOR NARRATIVE
“We had a big vision of the change that was coming in higher ed… it was a lot for even sophisticated investors in the space to swallow. We kept getting pigeonholed as just another EdTech company trying to sell software to colleges.” – Josh
GHP “Emerging 3” faQ
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The GHP “Emerging 3” Competition recognizes promising emerging companies working across education and workforce learning.
Nine finalists will present their companies at EdTech Week in New York City before a curated audience of investors, philanthropic funders, prospective customers, and industry leaders. One winner will be selected from each of the three categories.
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Finalists receive visibility at EdTech Week and the opportunity to present directly to people who fund, support, and buy from emerging companies.
The three category winners will receive $200,000 worth of services from Good Harbor Partners, including strategic advising, introductions, increased visibility, and guidance.
Winners will also be invited to a private cocktail reception, with curated introductions to leading funders and supporters of emerging growth companies.
Each finalist invited to present will receive one complimentary registration for EdTech Week 2026 on October 14–15.
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Emerging ($2-10M) for-profit and nonprofit companies using technology to address challenges across early childhood, K–12, higher education, workforce learning, and adult learning are encouraged to apply.
Companies may be based anywhere in the world.
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The application takes approximately 15–30 minutes to complete.
Application deadline: September 15th at midnight ET
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Applications will be evaluated based on:
A strong team or solo founder with a clear commitment to education or workforce learning
A meaningful problem and a clear understanding of the market
Evidence that the company is solving a real need, such as users, revenue, partnerships, letters of intent, research, or efficacy data
A product or service with the potential to grow and create lasting value
A clear vision for how support from Good Harbor Partners could help the company reach its next stage
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Good Harbor Partners and EdTech Week will review the applications and select nine finalists across three categories.
The finalists will present live at EdTech Week in October. A panel of investors, operators, and industry leaders will select one winner from each category.
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Finalists will be notified by September 22nd and given instructions for confirming their participation and preparing their presentation.
The three category winners will be announced at EdTech Week in New York City.
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No, EdTech Week does not reimburse travel or accommodation.
Visit our travel and accommodation guide at www.edtechweek.com to access discounted accommodations.The top companies invited to present at EdTech Week receive one complimentary access to the EdTech Week on October 14-15, and discounted access to other team members.
Got Questions?