Maven: Revolutionizing Career Learning with Cohort-Based Courses
Company profile
Company business details
Strategies
Idea Validation Stage
Market Selection and Passion
Aaron, one of the cofounders of Udemy, emphasized the importance of selecting a market that one is passionate about. He shared his personal story of growing up in a small village in Turkey, where he experienced poor education. This background fueled his desire to create a change in the education sector. He believed that choosing the right market is crucial for building a successful company, as it sets the foundation for the entire venture.
Pre-Launch (Product Development & MVP)
Minimum Viable Test (MVT)
Gagan implemented the Minimum Viable Test (MVT) strategy during the early stages of his company Sprig. Instead of investing heavily in a full-scale restaurant operation, he utilized Eventbrite to take orders, hired a personal chef for a single night, and created a makeshift dispatch system using a printed map and text messaging. This approach allowed him to validate the core assumptions of delivering healthy food quickly and affordably without the overhead of a full business setup. The test was executed within weeks, demonstrating the feasibility of the concept before committing to a larger investment.
Building a Free Education Platform
In the early days of Udemy, Aaron and his co-founders decided to create a platform that would allow anyone to teach online. They built software that was initially expensive and complex, but they pivoted to make it free for anyone who wanted to teach. This decision was rooted in Aaron's personal experience with education and the belief that access to learning should be democratized. They aimed to create a scalable solution that would allow a wide range of courses to be available to learners globally.
Creating a Marketplace for Education
The initial idea for Udemy was to create a marketplace where anyone could teach online, inspired by platforms like YouTube that democratized content creation. Aaron and his team aimed to empower individuals to share their knowledge and skills through online courses. They believed that by harnessing the power of the crowd, they could create a destination for learning anything, which was a revolutionary concept at the time.
Instructor Outreach via Mass Emailing
In the early stages of Udemy, Gagan Biyani and his team hired interns to mass email potential instructors in high-value categories. They aimed to convince these instructors to create courses for Udemy. Initially, Gagan himself conducted these outreach efforts, scheduling Skype calls to persuade instructors to join the platform. This strategy was crucial in building a base of instructors, although it faced challenges as many instructors were not convinced of the platform's value at that time.
Learn more about Maven
Lessons Learned from Founding Udemy & Maven with Gagan Biyani
The Inside Story of Udemy's Rise | Eren Bali
Key Startup Lessons from Udemy’s Founder | Eren Bali
