A Letter to My Next School Investor
“This reflection is written for the school investor and partners who understand that the most enduring education projects are built through planning, humility, expertise, and patience.” Greg Parry
Dear School Investor,
I have worked with many people who want to invest in education. Some arrive with deep curiosity and patience. Others arrive with urgency, spreadsheets, and confidence shaped by success in other sectors. Over time, I have learned that the success of a school is shaped as much by the nature of its investors as by its leaders, teachers, or facilities.
This letter exists because alignment matters. Not alignment around numbers alone, but alignment around purpose, planning, time, and responsibility.
If we are to build a school together, it is worth being clear about what that truly involves.
What a School Really Is
A school is not a product to be assembled or a concept to be rolled out. It is a living institution that earns trust slowly and loses it quickly. It sits at the intersection of families, staff, regulators, communities, and young people whose futures are shaped by daily decisions made inside the organisation.
Schools are human systems. They are built through leadership consistency, cultural coherence, and professional judgement exercised under pressure. Capital plays an important role, but it is not the starting point. It never has been.
The most successful schools I have seen are those where school investors understand that education operates on a different clock. Reputation compounds over years, not quarters. Culture forms through thousands of aligned decisions, not a launch event.
Strategic Planning Comes Before Execution
Every successful school begins with thoughtful, disciplined planning. Not just architectural planning or financial modelling, but strategic planning that is honest about complexity and uncertainty.
Good business planning in education acknowledges what is not yet known. It recognises that early assumptions will be tested, that markets behave differently than spreadsheets suggest, and that schools evolve in response to people, not projections alone.
The most effective investors I have worked with are comfortable admitting what they do not yet understand about education. They see this not as a weakness, but as the starting point for building strong advisory teams and seeking informed guidance.
This willingness to learn, and to unlearn what one thought applied universally, is one of the most reliable predictors of long-term success in school projects.
The Role of Expertise
Education is a specialised industry. Experience in real estate, hospitality, technology, or finance can add value, but it does not replace deep educational expertise.
Strong schools are built when investors recognise the limits of their own experience and deliberately surround themselves with people who understand curriculum, regulation, school culture, staffing, and leadership development. This is not about delegation without oversight. It is about respect for professional judgement.
Learning to trust experts, particularly when their advice challenges prior assumptions, is essential. Schools rarely fail because of a lack of intelligence or capital. They fail when confidence outpaces understanding.
What I Value in an Investment Partner
I value investors who are prepared to listen before they direct. Those who understand that educational expertise cannot be rushed or replaced by templates. Those who respect that school leaders must be trusted to lead, not managed through fear, constant intervention, or shifting priorities.
Strong partnerships are built when investors are comfortable asking difficult questions without demanding immediate answers. When governance is understood as stewardship rather than control. When planning is treated as a living process, not a document prepared once and forgotten.
Patience is not passivity. It is a deliberate, strategic choice to allow quality to take root.
Where I Am Cautious
I am cautious when conversations move too quickly to brand, scale, or exit. Not because these considerations are unimportant, but because timing matters. When growth is pursued before culture, systems, and leadership capacity are secure, schools often pay a price later that no amount of capital can undo.
I am also cautious when education is treated primarily as an asset class rather than a public trust. Schools can and should be financially sustainable, but they are not neutral instruments. Every business decision carries educational consequences, whether acknowledged or not.
Healthy tension between educational integrity and commercial discipline is normal. What matters is how that tension is handled over time.
What Success Looks Like to Me
Success is a school that earns the confidence of its community. A leadership team that stays, grows, and is not exhausted by constant structural change. A board that governs with clarity and restraint. An organisation that adapts without losing its identity.
Financially, success is sustainability rather than optimisation. Returns that reflect long-term value creation, not short-term extraction. A reputation that strengthens the school year after year.
Most importantly, success is a school that students and staff are proud to belong to long after the opening phase has passed.
A Final Thought for the School Investor
If this letter resonates, there is likely a basis for a thoughtful conversation. If it does not, that is perfectly acceptable. Not every investor is right for every school, and not every school should be built with the same expectations.
Education rewards sincerity, patience, and long-term thinking. My experience has taught me that when investors are prepared to plan carefully, acknowledge uncertainty, learn from experts, and think beyond immediate returns, the greatest rewards tend to follow naturally.
If we do work together, it will be with a shared understanding that building a great school is an act of responsibility first, and an investment second. When those priorities are in the right order, the outcomes usually take care of themselves.
Sincerely,
Greg Parry
“This reflection is written for the school investor and partners who understand that the most enduring education projects are built through planning, humility, expertise, and patience.“
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Meet Our CEO & Education Expert
Greg Parry β International School Leadership Authority
Greg Parry is an international education investor and leadership consultant. He is the Co-Founder and CEO of Global Services in Education and GSE Capital Advisory Group, advising on school development, management, and education-focused investment worldwide. His work bridges leadership theory and practical transformation across more than thirty-five countries.
Greg Parry is a renowned global expert in education leadership, having led projects in Australia, the Middle East, the United States, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and China. His accolades include:
π Ministerβs Award for Excellence in School Leadership
π School of Excellence Award for Industry/School Partnerships
π School of Excellence Award for Technology Innovation
π Recognised for Best Global Brand in International Education (2015 & 2016)
With a strong track record in school start-up projects, leadership training, and curriculum development, Greg is a trusted authority in building and managing high-performing international schools.
π© Contact Greg Parry Directly [Contact Link]
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