Faster Horses and the Future of Teaching

Henry Ford is often credited with saying: “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” The point is simple but profound: when something truly new comes along, people can’t always imagine it until they experience it.

Steve Jobs echoed the same idea: “People don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” When Apple unveiled the iPhone, nobody was demanding a tiny touchscreen computer in their pocket. They thought they wanted better phones with longer keypads and clearer signals. But once they held the iPhone, the whole category of mobile technology was redefined.

The same has been true across countless innovations:

• When Netflix launched streaming, most people were happy with DVDs in the post.

• When Google first appeared, many couldn’t see the need for another search engine.

• When Tesla built the first electric cars at scale, most drivers still thought they wanted more efficient petrol engines.

  
  

In each case, the real breakthrough came not from asking people what they wanted, but from showing them what was possible.

At Starlight, we’ve found exactly the same. Teachers rarely come to us saying, “I want an AI coaching platform.” Instead, they talk about wanting less workload, more feedback, and better coaching and insights. But once they try Starlight—once they upload a lesson and see a transcript and coaching report arrive within minutes—the penny drops. They don’t want a “faster horse” after all. They want a new way of working.

Our pilot schools have shown us that all it takes is one try. Once a teacher experiences it, the value is obvious: specific, timely, actionable feedback with no extra observation time required.

That’s why we created the Launchpad Partner Programme — the simplest way to see Starlight in action across your school. Launchpad gives you a trial with no commitment required, so you can test whole-staff use and explore impact at your pace. As a Launchpad Partner, your school receives five StarDrives (plug-and-play USB recorders for lesson capture), full access to the Starlight platform and Teacher Toolkit, custom onboarding for your coaching teams or SLT pilots, and early access to our Constellation dashboard. You’ll also be recognised as an official Launch Partner, joining the schools leading the way in ethical, effective AI for education. And if you choose to subscribe before your trial ends, you’ll receive an exclusive 10% discount.

If Henry Ford had built faster horses, he would never have changed the world. And if schools stick only to what’s familiar, we risk missing the real breakthroughs that could transform teaching and learning.

So here’s the invitation: don’t ask for faster horses. Try Starlight. Let your teachers experience it once—and see how quickly they’ll never look back.

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The Insight Engine is written by Adam Sturdee, co-founder of Starlight—the UK’s first AI-powered coaching platform—and Assistant Headteacher at St Augustine’s Catholic College. This blog is part of a wider mission to support educators through meaningful reflection, not performance metrics. It documents the journey of building Starlight from the ground up, and explores how AI, when shaped with care, can reduce workload, surface insight, and help teachers think more deeply about their practice. Rooted in the belief that growth should be private, professional, and purposeful, The Insight Engine offers ideas and stories that put insight—not judgment—at the centre of development.