How to Sell Millions in the US Education Market - Without Big Budgets: The iBrick Playbook
iBrick’s CEO, Idan Vilbach, shares how two childhood friends turned a Lego learning kit and a lean GTM into $1.7M ARR in just 9 months - without blitzscaling or flashy budgets
Idan Vilbach and Lior Yogev have been building together since first grade, and not just Lego sets. Their first company, an after-school STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) enrichment program, reached thousands of children across Israel and Europe. It wasn’t a tech startup, but it laid the foundation: educational excellence, operational scale, and a deep understanding of how kids learn.
Then came COVID. Overnight, all in-person programs were shut down - and with them, the core of their business. But instead of folding, they adapted. Leveraging years of hands-on educational experience, they reimagined their offering as a scalable hybrid model. That pivot became iBrick: a platform that blends physical Lego-based engineering kits with digital lessons, facilitation tools, and real-time insights - engaging learners and supporting educators, online and offline.
When it came time to enter the US education market, they made a bold choice: no fancy consultants, no inflated ad budgets, no Silicon Valley-style blitzscaling. Just deep curiosity, and a commitment to listen. And it’s working. Over the past few months, several leading US and Israeli funds have shown serious interest in joining the ride - but for now, the team is focused on product, partners, and profitable growth.
The Big Break: From Interviews to Revenue
The US education market is massive, but also highly regulated, fragmented, and extremely competitive. Idan and Lior had no Lego certification, no brand recognition in the US, and limited understanding of the system’s cultural and regulatory maze.
So instead of rushing in, they slowed down. With a lean budget and a lot of curiosity, they launched an unconventional experiment: they posted job openings, real ones, on LinkedIn and other platforms. Not just to hire, but to learn. They invited former principals, district administrators, curriculum leads, policy advisors, and education aides to apply. Then booked 20-minute calls, back-to-back. Each call became a crash course in US edtech: How do public schools make purchasing decisions? Who controls after-school budgets? What’s the concern with unlicensed kits? What language resonates with decision-makers?
The puzzle pieces came together, and so did the first big break. One of those calls led to a pilot with a national after-school organization serving 2,700 school clusters across the US The pilot worked, and a long-term partnership followed. Within months, iBrick hit $1.7M ARR - all without raising more than $1.5M, most of that is still in the bank.
Grow First, Fund Later
iBrick started out as DTC (direct-to-consumer), selling directly to parents who wanted more meaningful alternatives to screen time. But those early market conversations revealed something even bigger: an untapped ecosystem of B2B funding.
“We discovered an entire landscape we hadn’t considered - public grants, virtual charter schools, nonprofits with scholarship budgets”, says Idan Vilbach, co-founder & CEO. “Now we run a dual engine - B2C and B2B, It makes us far more resilient”. Once they understood the market’s structure, it wasn’t about breaking down locked doors, just recognizing the open ones.
That clarity comes from trust. Idan, the CEO, leads partnerships, GTM, and US expansion. Lior, the CPO, drives product evolution and internal operations. This isn’t their first time building together, and it shows. They’ve learned that focus and discipline often outperform speed and capital. Even now, with growth accelerating and interest from both US and Israeli funds picking up, they’re staying lean. “We’re not raising right now”, says Idan. “We’re close to profitability, growth is strong, and we’re deliberate about avoiding dilution. When the time is right - we’ll know”.
6 Founder Lessons from the iBrick Journey 💡
We asked Idan and Lior what they’d tell founders breaking into new markets today. Here’s what they said:
Don’t scale before you understand.
Before selling in the US, they spoke with over 20 insiders. Know the system before you enter it.
Hiring can be a research tool.
Those job interviews? They weren’t just hiring. Some of the candidates taught them more than any paid consultant could.Dual engine = diversified growth.
B2C and B2B channels balance each other. When one slows down, the other picks up.Fear the noise, not the silence.
Avoid attention-grabbing rounds that distract from your product and customers.Physical can scale, too.
With the right packaging and ops, physical kits can scale just like SaaS. You just have to think like a product company, not a logistics one.Old friends make great co-founders.
If you divide roles clearly and trust runs deep, things move faster, with less drama.Start young, bring old-school grit.
Yes, be creative. Yes, build fast. But don’t skip the “boring stuff”: consistency, cash flow, operational depth. That’s where resilience comes from.
About iBrick
Founded by Idan Vilbach and Lior Yogev, iBrick is an Israeli edtech company combining hands-on Lego-based kits with digital learning tools to teach STEM skills to children. After operating successful enrichment programs across Israel and Europe, the founders pivoted during COVID to build a scalable hybrid platform. Today, iBrick serves both consumers and institutions in the US and beyond - blending creative play with structured pedagogy, and growing steadily toward profitability.
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