Lynda.com's inauspicious start

TL;DR

Lynda.com, a pioneering online education company, started as a physical school and transitioned to a virtual platform offering video courses, gaining massive success through market validation and a unique teaching style.

Transcript

hi i am here with uh linda weinman who is the co-founder of lynda.com um which you know a lot of our audience may not know but i live with a photographer and graphic designer so i've heard all about how awesome you guys are um for those who don't know lynda.com uh was one is one of the oldest of the sort of current crop of online education companie... Read More

Key Insights

• 👨‍🏫 Lynda.com started as a small physical school and adapted to market forces by transitioning to online video courses.
• 🚱 The company's success can be attributed to its unique teaching style, simplifying complex topics for non-technical individuals.
• 😀 Lynda.com faced challenges in scaling the company but was able to find the right people to fill in the gaps.

Questions & Answers

Q: What were the early challenges Lynda.com faced when starting as a physical school?

Lynda.com faced challenges of people not wanting to travel to their school, which led to the decision of putting their lessons online, eventually transitioning to video courses.

Q: What set Lynda.com apart from other education companies?

Lynda.com's unique approach involved simplifying complex topics and making them accessible to non-technical individuals, which was a novel teaching style not commonly seen in early computer books or education.

Q: How did Lynda.com handle the growth of the company and scaling its divisions?

As the company grew and reached around 30-35 employees, Linda and her husband faced challenges in managing divisions they had no experience in, but they were able to find the right people to fill those gaps and continue growing.

Q: Do you still teach at Lynda.com?

Linda Weinman no longer teaches in the traditional sense but considers her role as guiding and mentoring the company, applying her teaching skills to help others understand the brand, value system, and culture.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Lynda.com, co-founded by Linda Weinman, is one of the oldest and most successful online education companies, recently securing a $100 million deal with Excel.

• Linda and her husband started the company in a small town in Southern California after their work as a teacher and illustrator dried up, aiming to continue their craft and make a living.

• The company initially started as a physical school, offering web design courses, but transitioned to online courses due to market forces, such as the 9/11 attacks and the dot-com crash.