How Sunrise Virtual School Went from Unknown Startup to Kenya's Leading Virtual School

## The Challenge Sunrise Virtual School had just closed a seed round and needed to move fast. The brand was virtually unknown in a market that was still learning to trust online education. There was no website, no enrolment funnel, no internal tooling, and no digital footprint to speak of. The mandate was clear: build everything, establish credibility, and scale — quickly. ## What We Did We built the public-facing website with a clear focus: communicate the value proposition, establish trust, and convert visitors into enrolled families. Every page was designed to address the specific concerns parents have when evaluating virtual schooling — curriculum quality, teacher credentials, daily structure, and technology requirements. Beyond the website, we developed several custom-coded internal tools to support operations as the school scaled from its first cohort to hundreds of students. These systems handled the growing complexity that off-the-shelf software couldn't accommodate. On the growth side, we implemented email marketing infrastructure — automated sequences for lead nurturing, onboarding flows for new families, and re-engagement campaigns. CRO work on the enrolment funnel ensured that the increasing traffic was converting efficiently. As the school grew, we iterated continuously — refining messaging, optimising conversion points, and scaling the digital infrastructure to match the pace of enrolment. ## The Results Sunrise Virtual School went from zero brand recognition to the leading virtual school in Kenya and the broader East African region. The website is now the primary acquisition channel, the internal tools support a growing student body, and the enrolment pipeline runs with minimal manual intervention. What started as a startup with a seed cheque is now the name that defines the category.