3Search Executive’s Bradley Winstanley was introduced to leading EdTech platform, Quizlet, via their main investor – Union Square Ventures.
At the time, Quizlet was solely American-based business with no established European presence. However, with ambition to scale internationally, they required senior advisory support to enter the market.
Founded in 2005, Quizlet is leading consumer learning brand that builds learning tools to inspire and empower both students and teachers. Created in the United States, the business has since reached 60 million learners around the world.
Bradley Winstanely supported them on their growth journey in 2018. As the business matured, leadership identified international expansion, particularly across Europe, as a critical next phase of growth. To execute this successfully, Quizlet needed to build senior leadership capability outside of the US for the first time, starting with the UK and expanding across Europe.
Quizlet had no existing European structure, leadership, or operating model.
The challenge was to identify and appoint the first senior international hire - a Country Manager - who could establish a European presence and build the foundations for long-term growth. From there, the business would scale a full international leadership layer across commercial, product, and growth functions.
As a US-headquartered business, Quizlet required a UK-based executive search partner with experience building international leadership teams and advising boards on European expansion. Bradley was engaged in a retained, advisory capacity due to his experience scaling technology businesses internationally and his ability to operate at board and investor level.
Bradley worked closely with Quizlet’s board and leadership team to define the international search strategy.
Since 2018, Quizlet has grown from a US-focused app (with limited UK usage) into a widely used tool among British educators.
The business now operates a London hub, delivers curriculum-aligned content, and supports millions of UK students across GCSE, A-level, and university education. International leadership capability has been a key driver of this growth.
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