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Nov 2023
58m 30s

The hard lessons from building three sta...

Jason Calacanis
About this episode

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Today’s show:

Maven Co-Founder and CEO Gagan Biyani joins Jason to break down his startup's live, cohort-based education model (2:28). Then, Gagan dives into his past journeys at Udemy, where he was eventually fired but wound up revolutionizing online learning and going public (35:08), and Sprig, a food-delivery startup that went on to raise $60M and scale to $20M in revenue, but ultimately failed (47:36).

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Time stamps:

(0:00) Gagan Biyani, CEO of Maven, joins Jason to discuss the future of online learning.

(2:24) Maven: the evolution of online learning.

(3:23) Exploring Maven's elite courses offered by a diverse pool of passionate professionals.

(6:57) Analyzing who is leveraging Maven for education and the cost dynamics of online learning.

(10:30) Vanta - Get $1000 off your SOC 2 at https://www.vanta.com/twist

(11:36) How Maven's live cohort-based learning emphasizes accountability and interactivity for higher success rates.

(13:15) Comparing the outdated cost structures of traditional education with modern alternatives.

(23:10) Embroker - Use code TWIST to get an extra 10% off insurance at https://www.Embroker.com/twist

(26:31) Unveiling the potential earnings for educators in the online learning marketplace.

28:27) The online educational landscape featuring insights on Coursera, Udemy, and others.

(30:56) Brave - Try the Brave Search API at http://www.brave.com/jason

(33:40) Jason built the “pit” at TechCrunch50, where he and Gagan first met.

(35:08) How Udemy's early days were shaped by the Founder Institute and Adeo Ressi.

(41:28) Gagan shares his personal story of being fired from Udemy and his lessons learned.

(47:33) The trials, tribulations, and ultimate closure of the food delivery startup, Sprig.

(53:39) Discussing the most effective methods for scaling and growing a product.

(55:02) The world of fundraising and understanding the power law in venture capital.

Check out Maven: https://www.maven.com

Follow Gagan:

https://twitter.com/gaganbiyani

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gaganbiyani * Read LAUNCH Fund 4 Deal Memo: https://www.launch.co/fourApply for Funding: https://www.launch.co/applyBuy ANGEL: https://www.angelthebook.com

Great 2023 interviews: Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland

Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis

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Follow Jason:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jason

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jason

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis

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Follow TWiST:

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin

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Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.founder.university/podcast


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