The commercialization of 5G and related technologies not only enhances speed and connectivity but also accelerates business model transformation, such as the emergence of social commerce platforms and influencer economics. With years of experience in the accounting professional training and substantial industry influence, five educators developed an influencer-educator model, providing educational services as commodities on social commerce platforms. This report explores the first five years (2019–2024) of this model as implemented by SierEDU, a software startup founded by educators without a software background. Rather than creating entirely new software business models, they strategically adapted existing social commerce models to reshape the traditional education industry. They sell modularized and standardized educational services by leveraging both their private influence and public traffic on social commerce platforms. To gain full control over traffic and customer relationships, they developed their own SierEDU App and several backend systems for service delivery and customer retention, serving as a private traffic pool. Building on their influencer-educator model and the private traffic pool they established, they successfully launched three AI-powered features through effective innovation attempts, reaching a cumulative total of 4 million paid customers by May 2024. The founders, who used to be traditional educators, became software entrepreneurs while continuously shifting between the roles of exploitative influencers and explorative software product owners. This case contributes to our understanding of ambidextrous startups and leadership, navigating the tension between seeking new business opportunities brought by advanced technologies and exploiting existing strengths for early-stage survival.