In edtech businesses ideas flow from every direction, from product teams, customer success managers, and sales conversations with schools. But more often than not, one voice drowns out the rest: the HiPPO.

That’s short for “Highest-Paid Person’s Opinion” and, while it may sound funny, HiPPO decision-making is a serious risk to product quality, team culture, and growth.

If you’re finding your product decisions are led more by hierarchy than by evidence, take a step back.

The Problem With HiPPOs 

When the most senior person in the room gives an opinion, it carries weight – regardless of whether it’s backed by insight.

• Staff often nod along, even when they disagree.

• Team members hesitate to challenge the HiPPO, fearing conflict or wasted effort.

• Decisions are made based on gut feel rather than data or user needs.

In edtech, where schools, local authorities, and trusts all have distinct needs, this can lead to product features nobody really asked for or. worse, features that don’t solve the real problems.

On top of that, HiPPO culture hurts internal morale, suppresses innovation, and creates a business that runs on compliance, not creativity.

Why It Matters Now 

The edtech market is more competitive than ever. Schools are becoming more sophisticated buyers; they expect evidence of impact, seamless user experience, and tools that work across roles – not features added for the sake of it.

If your roadmap is driven by the loudest internal voice rather than the clearest external need, you risk falling behind.

Here’s what happens when HiPPOs run the show:

• Sales struggle to close because features don’t align with school pain points.

• Product-market fit slips because development is based on assumption, not validation.

• Support teams get overwhelmed dealing with issues nobody anticipated.

• Your best people disengage, knowing their ideas won’t be heard.

HiPPO-led businesses might move fast but they often move in the wrong direction.

How To Solve It

Here’s how to shift away from HiPPO culture and towards evidence-based product leadership:

1. Make space for every voice

• Involve teams from across the business (sales, customer success, implementation) in product discussions.

• Create mechanisms for anonymous input so junior staff feel safe to challenge.

2. Test before you build

• Use prototypes, clickable demos, or lightweight MVPs to validate ideas before committing dev time.

• Share early versions with a trusted school partner for feedback.

3. Use customer data to inform decisions

• Run surveys and interviews to surface actual pain points.

• Track feature usage and support tickets to understand what’s really working.

4. Tie product decisions to strategy

• Don’t just collect feature requests; group them by outcomes aligned to your business goals.

• Say no to anything that doesn’t serve your target market, even if a senior stakeholder loves it.

5. Prioritise outcomes over opinions

• Build a culture that rewards impact, not hierarchy.

• Let the best idea win, no matter who it comes from.

Real Innovation Needs Room to Breathe

The best edtech products are built through insight, not instinct. They’re shaped by real problems, tested by real users, and refined through real collaboration. When HiPPOs dominate the conversation, better ideas never get a chance to surface.

If you want to stay competitive, retain top talent, and actually solve problems for schools, retire the HiPPO!

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