Show Notes

Jonathan Templin is a "proud math person"—a title he wears to encourage a positive growth mindset about the subject. A former math teacher, he believes every student can excel with the right help at the right time. He found a company aligned with that mission: Mathspace, a digital platform that goes beyond simple right/wrong answers to help students show their work and receive real-time feedback. Jonathan shares his unique path from a Canadian teacher working in Australia (where he found Mathspace) to becoming their Head of Sales for North America. His story highlights the incredible **transferable skills** teachers possess, particularly the ability to adapt, manage complexity, and build rapport.

• "I Am a Math Person": Jonathan explains why he adopted the title "proud math person" on his LinkedIn profile—to flip the negative narrative surrounding mathematics and foster a growth mindset in students and teachers.
• From User to Head of Sales: Jonathan first discovered Mathspace while piloting it in his Australian classroom. He and his wife (also a teacher) cold-emailed the CEO, offering to bring the product to Canada.
• The Core Value of Process: Mathspace's key innovation is a digital tool that lets students show their work and receive step-by-step feedback, freeing up teachers to spend time with students who need a higher level of support.
• The Growing Pains of Remote Work: Jonathan discusses the challenge of transitioning from a fast-paced classroom environment to a remote corporate role, including the switch from constant, structured interaction to asynchronous communication.
• Transferable Teacher Skills: He highlights the superpowers teachers bring to edtech: empathy and rapport with customers, inherent work ethic, and extreme adaptability to wear multiple hats in a startup environment.

Episode Article

Jonathan Templin, Head of Sales at Mathspace, is a "proud math person" by trade and by mission. His company, Mathspace, is an edtech platform built on the belief that "every student can excel at mathematics with the right help at the right time." This deeply-held conviction, shared by many former educators at the company, is what drove Jonathan’s transition from the classroom to the corporate world.

Jonathan’s journey was unique. While teaching in Australia, he found himself piloting Mathspace, a digital tool that was a stark departure from simple multiple-choice math platforms. It allowed students to show their work and receive real-time, step-by-step feedback. This freed Jonathan from running around answering basic questions and allowed him to spend more focused time with the few students who needed deeper, individualized support. The software made his life easier, and his passion for the product was infectious. When he and his wife decided to move back to Canada, they cold-emailed the Australian CEO, offering to bring the product to North America.

That leap—from a predictable, highly social classroom to a totally remote startup role—came with growing pains. Jonathan suddenly went from interacting with over a hundred people daily to communicating asynchronously in a spare bedroom. He had to adjust to project work that lasted weeks instead of a single class period.

But his teaching experience armed him with the perfect transferable skills for a startup. First, as a former teacher, he has immediate empathy and rapport when speaking with administrators and educators. Second, he was already adaptable—teachers routinely wear many hats, from coach to counselor to club chair, a skill that perfectly suits the ever-changing demands of a small company. Finally, his curiosity led him to acquire new business skills on the job, learning everything from data science (SQL coding) to running an efficient CRM.

For teachers considering following in his footsteps, Jonathan advises two critical things. First, dive deep into the company you’re interested in; learn its language so you can speak to its specific mission and product. Second, reframe your teaching experience to highlight its business value. Don't just say you managed a class; say you're an expert in "interpersonal skills" and the "ability to adjust quickly under pressure." He encourages teachers to realize that their skills are transferable far beyond the education sector, making them valuable assets in any industry.