Gagan Biyani 🏛 @gaganbiyani Twitter profile | Pikagi

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Gagan Biyani 🏛

@gaganbiyani

106,564

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CEO @MavenHQ . Previously co-founder @udemy .

Oakland, CA

https://t.co/8wPXDsorTq

Joined May 2009

Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

2 days

We’ve been stealthily testing a FREE new product, and today is launch day! 🚀 ⚡️ Introducing Lightning Lessons on Maven: 30 min expert-led deep dives on today’s most relevant topics. The world changes fast. Social media gives you quick insights into "what" is changing but you…

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

8 years ago, I got fired as President and co-founder of @udemy , a now-$2B unicorn This is a tough story to share, and I’ll try my best to be honest Fortunately this story ends on a positive note & I hope it’ll be useful to anyone who’s been laid off or fired. **Read on**

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

Nobody talks about failure in Silicon Valley, yet 90% of startups fail. Why? 3 yrs ago, @neerajberry and I shut down @Sprig , which raised $60M from @GreylockVC + @socialcapital & grew to $20m revenue. Then, it all fell apart. For an honest story about failure, **Read on**

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

I’m biased but @udemy is a true underdog story + thought I’d share details we’ve never shared before. ICYMI, we announced a $50M raise at $2B valuation. Udemy almost died at least 5x. We got rejected by everyone in the Valley. Startups are never a straight line. *Read on*

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

7 months

Udemy will do $700M in revenue this year 🤯 Udemy for Business is on a $400M ARR 💥 Still can't believe we started that when I was like 21 years old. The internet is wild.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

At Udemy, we were 3 first-time entrepreneurs trying to raise seed capital. We made every mistake in the book. We got 200+ no’s and wasted 12 months fundraising. We eventually pulled through, just barely. 😅 This thread shares our mistakes as lessons for founders. **Read On**

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

Introducing “Superpowers” - the underlying skills that help you succeed at anything I spent nearly 6 months building this list and almost wrote a book on the subject Instead, I’ve condensed that work into a pithy (and punchy) Twitter thread **Read On**

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

22 days

Duolingo is a fascinating study in consumer "education." The app is fairly useless for language learning* but is wildly popular. 88.4M Monthly Active Users 6.6M Paid Subscribers $530M in FY 2023 Revenue $93.7M in FY 2023 EBITDA The kicker? $8.4B market cap. 2x bigger than…

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

Before Udemy could succeed, we had to solve a chicken and egg problem. These problems are a constant dilemma for founders. (ie. Funding is needed to scale but scale is needed for funding.) Here's how we bumbled to a solution that kicked off our $3B business. **Read On**

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

Some personal news... We're engaged!

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

At Udemy, we gave equity to one of our competitors’ CEO after their company closed. He pointed out a few pitfalls that we avoided & later bought his first house via money made on Udemy stock. Now, he’s a good friend & presents opps to me I wouldn’t have otherwise. Karma FTW.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

Time management boils down to just one skill: saying no.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

1 year

SQL is going to die at the hands of an AI. I’m serious. @mayowaoshin is already doing this. Takes your company’s data and ingests it into ChatGPT. Then, you can create a chatbot for the data and just ask it questions using natural language. This video demoes the output. 🤯

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

All told it was just 4 years. If you're gonna fail, do it fast. If you're gonna succeed, do it slowly. In startups, remember to watch your flanks. Your competitors are not your direct competitors, but the whole market.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

If you were laid off, fired or rejected, ask yourself: what did I do to contribute to this situation? What can I do better next time? Don’t change who you are, but evolve and be willing to see opportunities for improvement. You will get another bite at the apple.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

2 years

The hardest part in starting a $100m business: picking the right idea to work on. Pick wrong and you’ll spend years working away with little to no results. Pick right and you'll have a much better chance to succeed. Here’s how I’ve decided what ideas to work on…

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

To hear more honest takes on entrepreneurship, global issues and culture, subscribe to my newsletter (launching soon): And follow me on Twitter :) Thank you 🙏🙏🙏

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gaganbiyani.com

www.gaganbiyani.com

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

Many founders assume the best first step in exploring an idea is building an MVP. This is wrong--there is a better way that can save you time and money. THREAD: The Minimum Viable Testing framework (a follow-up to my article in the First Round Review) 👇🏾

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

Crazy to say this but I'm getting back in the ring after 3 years on the bench. Starting a new startup - details forthcoming. I couldn't be more excited. 🤦🏾‍♂️🤦🏾‍♂️🔥🔥🔥🎉🎉🎉

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

A few lessons: 1. You always lose a job for a reason. For me, managing was not natural. Get a coach and look inward. You'll learn! 2. Be classy on the way out. I left Udemy on good terms; I didn’t cause trouble. It paid off; I kept a good reputation and Udemy treats me well.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

I’m amazed at how many high-performers have serious or chronic health issues like TMJ, severe muscle pain, carpal tunnel. I’ve dealt with my share of health issues; imho it all comes down to stress. A story about stress and what I’ve learned from managing it... **Read On**

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

'99-'00: my parents divorced, we lost most of our net worth -> started my first biz @ 13yo '08: mom and I were freaking out as she worked in finance and I in consulting -> decided to explore startups; founded @udemy What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Power On.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

Hire people with high standards. Then let them run their own show. That's it - the fastest way to being a great manager.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

5 months

This is exactly why "self-learning" is unbelievably ineffective. Sometimes, you are part of the .1%. Most of the time you aren't: you get stuck, you get distracted, lose motivation, etc. Cohorts solve this problem.

@paulg

Paul Graham

5 months

How many people make it through each day of Replit's online 100 Days of Code tutorial.

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Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

3. Even if you feel you were treated unfairly, learn from it. Someone smart believed you needed to go. That's a lesson! 4. This too shall pass. It felt like the world had ended when I was fired, but it actually opened the door for my next opportunity. I learned so much from this

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

Today, our startup celebrates an incredible milestone: First dollar of revenue!!!! 🥂🚀 Nice work @patel0phone + @APompliano

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

@udemy @erenbali @caglaroktay @founding @adeoressi @rabois @naval @AngelList @rfradin @msugarman @dinesh9 @archieabrams @insightpartners @dennisyang @DarrenShimkus @Sprig Final thoughts: Prepare for a grind. Udemy is 10yo and worth “only” $2B. You don’t have 2 be Uber to be a gr8 biz. Don't be a sore loser. Eren + I are v good friends. We respect those who rejected us + those who fired us. Blog post(s) forthcoming; please follow me for more :)

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

Day 12 of @naval 's 60/60 meditations. 60 days, 60 minutes per day. Sit quietly and surrender to whatever happens. Absolutely phenomenal experience + Increased focus + Happiness increased (8/10 to 9/10) + Calmer in meetings + Less phone addiction So far, highly recommend.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

It's been a year in the making... Today, @wes_kao and I are announcing a $4.32M seed round led by @firstround for our new company We're building a platform for Cohort-Based Courses (CBCs): The backstory 👇🏾

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Maven - Wes, Shreyans, and Gagan's new startup | Notion

Join us

mavenlearning.notion.site

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

OK so you’ve seen me tweet about Maven, we raised $25M, and there are a ton of amazing instructors on board. But what are we really doing here? The top-secret 10-year vision for Maven... **Read On**

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

After @sprig , I took off and traveled the world. Will be sharing a lot more on Sprig and other stories at . Thanks to everyone who believed in us. Follow me to read more honest takes from a recovering founder 🙏🙏🙏

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gaganbiyani.com

www.gaganbiyani.com

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

I’ve been thinking about co-founders a lot lately. In 15 years of building companies, I’ve had >10 different co-founders. They’ve fired me. I’ve fired them. But I’m still friends with 100% of them to this day. ... 15 Rules on Co-founder Relationships **Read On**

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

PSA: Consulting or banking jobs don't prepare you for startups. Once upon a time, being a McKinsey or Bain alum was a positive signal because there weren't enough other signals. This isn't true anymore. It is now a neutral signal at best.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

In startups, if you use your experience as a point of pride you'll regret it. Instead use it to provide perspective and be keenly aware of the pitfalls of knowing too much.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

3 causes for failure: 1) In 2013, we mistook present for future. Delivery apps got better w scale. We got worse. 2) The profit equation was off. The market size in SF was too small for our big kitchen. We blitzfailed. 3) Cap Table + Burnout. Hard to restart after losing $50M.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

A job is the least efficient way to earn a living

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

There are 4 instructors who have made over $100K each on Maven. That's just in the first 3 months. 🤯

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

2 years

💥 Big News! 💥 Maven is launching over 100+ new courses today to help you accelerate your career. Over the last year, almost 10k professionals from Google, Nasa, McKinsey and Tesla have learned career-boosting skills on Maven. Why are so many people taking courses on Maven?

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

Advice I wish I had as a first-time founder: • The right strategy > great execution (work less, think more) • Play the long game w/ people: don’t underestimate anyone, but pick your favorites + invest in them • Understanding yourself = better leadership (ie. get a exec coach)

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

2 years

Life of a remote-first CEO: I have 16 meetings today. WTF. 😆

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

Every company in the world should give its employees equity. Every company that raises capital should enable its stakeholders (customers, partners) to invest. Share the wealth to create more wealth and reward your true believers.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

"Education" requirements should be eliminated from almost all job postings

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

How to validate your startup: Revenue! Users who love your product Key customer insights How to feel like your startup is validated: Raise a round Post about it on Twitter Buy swag

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

6 months

Hot take: Almost everyone I know who has pets has mixed feelings about whether they would get them again. For the right situation, pets are incredible. But most people underestimate the financial and lifestyle costs.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

When we closed @Sprig , we had burned $53M of capital. We returned <15% of our investors' money. Out of 100+ investors, not a single one caused trouble. They all took my calls and continue to provide positive references. Still can't believe it. SV culture is so powerful.

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Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

People dramatically underestimate how valuable it is to have just ONE major win on your resume. In many cases, you can ride on that one win for a decade.

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Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

I don't know who needs to hear this but always take a lower comp, lesser title job at a better startup, especially if you are early in your career. The compounding value of being "in the network" and having higher opportunity on your equity is incredibly underrated.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

An extremely smart recruiter told me yesterday that startups time-to-offer should be 3 days. 🤯 That's time from first comms with a candidate to making an offer. What is time-to-offer at your company?

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

8 months

Some honest reflections on 3 years into Maven (my 3rd startup)... - This was way harder and more stressful than I remembered. Amnesia is real. - Being a 3rd time founder has reduced execution risk, but strategy risk remains the same. This means less stress, but roughly equal…

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

💥 Excited to announce Maven's $20M Series A led by @a16z 's @andrewchen . First Round and others also doubled down. This is a big step for us and we're hiring like crazy: Onward! 🚀

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Maven is building the university of tomorrow. We're starting by building the largest marketplace of expert-led cohort-based courses on the Internet. We're the leading player in a large and growing...

boards.greenhouse.io

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

2 years

"Former Airbnb product manager made over $300,000 teaching one online course in 2021" Probably nothing...

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5 Online Teaching Jobs to Get Started

If you’re looking to start teaching online in this newly virtual world, here are 5 online teaching jobs to help you get started.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

I joined Udemy, then got fired and spent 1 year putzing about, 4 years in foodtech getting my ass handed to me, 2 years doing absolutely nothing work-related, then 1 year as a creator. Then finally re-emerged and am now working on Maven. This shit ain't a straight line.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

If you hire the right people, reference calls also serve as good networking.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

Yesterday I made a major life announcement: I’m starting a NewCo after 3 years of exploring More of you cared than I expected; thanks for the support! 🙏🏾 What the hell did I do for 3 years? Thought I’d share the back-story... **Read On**

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

Short-term it's a competitive advantage to be working all the time. Long-term it's a competitive disadvantage as you will burn out. Everyone does. Balancing this is one of the hardest challenges of ambitious people.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

Incorporated a new company - docs, banking, legal - all from my computer in <2 hours of effort Thanks @stripe @atlas and @BankMercury So exciting to see such innovation in the banking and legal field!

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

2 years

If you work for a startup and you don't think your founders are at least a bit ruthless, your equity is likely worthless.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

@udemy @erenbali @caglaroktay @founding @adeoressi @rabois @naval @AngelList @rfradin @msugarman @dinesh9 @archieabrams @insightpartners @dennisyang @DarrenShimkus Today, many of our peers (marketplaces + other edutech cos) who were higher valued are facing challenges. Overvaluation means overspending, which increases likelihood of failure. Hype gets into people’s heads. Best of both worlds: build hype but stay humble.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

The smartest founders I know: Give a fuck Have the ability to block out noise Have a consistent writing practice (whether internal or external) Are an expert in certain skills, hire for others Set high expectations, and guide peers to achieve them

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

My process for creating startup ideas: When trying to find startup ideas, I try to act like a normal human. Less meetings with VC's, more hanging out with friends and accomplishing my own "jobs to be done." Real insights come from being a customer - not from networking!

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

Many founders think the best first step in exploring an idea is building an MVP. But often this is a waste of time and money. There's a better way - the Minimum Viable Testing framework. Really excited to share details on the First Round Review -

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The Minimum Viable Testing Process for Evaluating Startup Ideas

The traditional approach is to do some customer research, throw an MVP out there as fast as possible, and hope it hits. After being early at three startups that achieved over $1M in run-rate in their...

review.firstround.com

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

Contrary to popular opinion, the best advice isn't actionable. In fact, it's the opposite. The best advice makes you think and come up with the action on your own.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

2 years

Tired: Hey I'm looking for advice - do you have 15 min for a coffee chat? Wired: Hey I'm looking for advice - I've written a document about my situation; are you willing to read and provide feedback?

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

Thanks for the amazing feedback! Here's an equally honest thread about @udemy going from 0 to $2B valuation:

@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

I’m biased but @udemy is a true underdog story + thought I’d share details we’ve never shared before. ICYMI, we announced a $50M raise at $2B valuation. Udemy almost died at least 5x. We got rejected by everyone in the Valley. Startups are never a straight line. *Read on*

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

Many entrepreneurs are watching our startup thinking: WTF The experience helps in the less relevant stuff (hiring, fundraising, buzz) but in reality the thing that matters is Product-Market Fit You can't experience your way into PMF. Only hustle and instincts help here.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

👀 Wes, Gagan and Shreyans’ startup no more... We finally have a name! We’re now Maven. Check us out at

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Maven | Live, Online Courses

Browse 400+ online cohort-based courses taught live by experts. Join students like you, hone your craft, and level up your career.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

Do you know a talented person who loves startups and is looking to break in? or a student who is looking for an internship? or an entrepreneur who wants a part-time gig while they are starting something new? I'm hiring a Summer Associate: Pls Share

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Online Course Manager (Part-Time)

docs.google.com

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

In hindsight, I’m grateful. I vested most of my stock and Udemy became a unicorn regardless. The wake up call helped me dig deep and learn to be more compassionate. I’ve led teams since w/ relatively good reviews. I've learned the art of "Radical Candor."

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

Fundraising for first-time founders. This is a first principles thread on fundraising that should help any new founder understand how to raise money and what steps to take. I've personally raised about $70M from 1500 investors & this synthesize a lot of my advice. **Read On**

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

We agreed that I would get an executive coach. I found one I liked and things started to improve. I learned how my childhood had led me to be comfortable with confrontation and insensitive to those with less power. It came across as mean-spirited and condescending.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

Three critical founder skills: Resilience - being unafraid of failure, learning from it, and trying again in spite of it Creative Problem Solving - "thinking outside the box" when faced with a challenge Relentlessness - the "honey badger" mentality of getting what you want

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Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

I started projecting my own stress on the team. I was a taskmaster: hyper-direct and critical without finesse. I’d practically yell at people when frustrated. I thought that was acceptable, because that’s what my idols did—Gates, Jobs, Zuckerberg.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

Wow. Today is the 1 year anniversary of Maven. It's my 3rd internet startup and 7th company. Learning a lot. These are written as reflections for me and not lessons for you. I hope you'll appreciate me thinking out loud and sharing what's going through my head... 👇🏾

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

1 month

How to make $1M, $5M, or $10M+ in Silicon Valley. I've seen many friends "make it" in Silicon Valley over the last 15 years. None got top tier jobs out of college, so they usually started at mediocre Seed or Series A companies with OK founders and OK investors. From there, they…

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

I've recently made a habit of e-mailing people when they apply for something and don't get it. This includes job applications or applications to invest in our new company. The graciousness and surprise when people receive these emails is incredible.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

I'm grateful for the experience. Learned way more in 4 yrs @sprig than 4 years @udemy or @UCBerkeley . Few grudges were held & we took care of the team. They mostly landed on their feet (Silicon Valley embraces failure). A classy ending helped sow the seeds for forgiveness.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

If you work at FAANG (or equivalent big company) and want to work at or start a startup eventually, get a side gig. Build something on the side, run a non-profit, teach, or take on two jobs at once. You'll learn startup hustle while still keeping that fat salary 😄

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

7 months

Today, Udemy is public and only worth $1.5B. Crazy if you consider it has a $400M run-rate SaaS product that is growing 33% YoY. Been surprised by how unpredictable the public markets are. Feels very undervalued 🤷🏾‍♂️ (Disclosure: still a tiny shareholder)

@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

7 months

Udemy will do $700M in revenue this year 🤯 Udemy for Business is on a $400M ARR 💥 Still can't believe we started that when I was like 21 years old. The internet is wild.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

In the 2001 recession, my parents lost everything, marriage included. My dreams felt like they were slipping away; I was depressed, angry and had nowhere to turn. This is a story about how I turned crisis into opportunity by fusing education and entrepreneurship. **Read On**

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

Many people see being busy as a sign of productivity For most, it is actually a sign of a lack thereof

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

@udemy @erenbali @caglaroktay @founding @adeoressi After 1 year of this, $30k in cc debt, nobody would fund us. YC rejected us 3x. We met over 100 investors and they all passed. We agreed if we didn’t raise in 1 month, we’d quit. Finally, @rabois (who knew this but didn’t care) said yes. Then @naval put us on @angellist .

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

I was just 21 when I met @erenbali + @caglaroktay . I was a nobody, my family was broke, and I had never run a startup. They, too, weren’t hot shots. Fresh off the boat from Turkey and still proving themselves. They took a chance on me, and I on them.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

Just wired ~$100k each to two of our first Maven instructors.. Damn that's a good feeling.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

WOW so excited right now. Building is fun, and building with partners is even better :) Officially have a co-founder for the newco. Excited to share more soon! (p.s. still looking for a 3rd co-founder in product/tech)

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

Everyone should do Speech and Debate (or some similar activity) in high school You learn to: - speak in public - (de)construct logical arguments - write fast and efficiently - read philosophy and poli sci Almost every debater I know overachieved vs their peers at same HS

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

People management boils down to just one thing: empathy.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

One of the real surprises as I've grown in my career is how many great people there are out there that can't be bought with money, fancy titles or stock. They value their time too much. You gotta earn it with rapport, reputation and mission.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

@udemy @erenbali @caglaroktay @founding @adeoressi @rabois @naval @AngelList @rfradin @msugarman There is no one path to a gr8 business. You can lose your founders and still have a great business. You can be rejected by Sand Hill and raise elsewhere (or not at all). You can grow up in a one-room schoolhouse in a poor part of Southeast Turkey as Eren and Oktay did.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

Learning. Learn how to learn. If you do, it unlocks everything else. The deeper your learning practice, the more you can learn. This is the ultimate superpower: not only can you learn new subjects; you can even learn to change your mind, your preferences and your mood.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

Wow. Udemy's enterprise business just hit $100M ARR.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

Profile: @erenbali , CEO of the fastest growing healthtech co in America. Eren grew up in post-1980-coup state terror, dad expelled for political dissidence, his mom the only teacher in the village Since, he's founded 2 unicorns @udemy + @carbonhealth This is a wild story 👇🏾

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

$2M in course sales so far and Maven still has no logo, our website was created by a contractor (thx @5harath !), and none of our employees/investors have swag. This changes soon, but still very proud of the way we started this company… Focused on our customer!

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

The modern professional has many talents rather than just one: 🎨 Data scientist who knows Figma ✏️ Engineer who writes copy 👨‍💻 Marketer who can run SQL queries Learning new skills is made easier by user friendly tools and an abundance of information. Always be learning.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

Build in public is fascinating. The whole point is to let other people watch your startup grow, so you don’t even feel guilty promoting it. Most of the time it isn’t promotion - just sharing shit that you’re excited about!

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

He confronted me about it and relayed the feedback. My team had been too scared to share it directly. It was devastating. I had no intention of making people feel small or hurt, and I didn’t realize the effects my words were having. He was visibly disappointed in me.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

Eren and I clashed a bit: we had gotten along well <15 employees, but as the team grew, we grew apart I questioned his ability to lead the team and he questioned my intensity Retrospectively, challenging his authority was a stupid decision. He was a more mature leader and CEO

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

The secret to attracting talent: be an outstanding place to work The secret to attracting a mate: be an outstanding prospective partner The secret to attracting friends: be an outstanding human to be around It's all inner work, baby 🤠

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

3 years

Play the long game w/ people. Invest in favorites: -monetarily (supporting their ventures if you can) -emotionally (offering support + accountability) -tactically (intros, advice when timely) You’ll build an army of friends who will go to bat for you, watch your life change.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

If you want to make $1M, there are much easier ways than starting a business If you want to make $10M, there are much easier ways than starting a startup If you want to make $100M+, a startup (or high-growth bootstrapped biz) is probably best but your chances are **1 in 100**

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

4 years

OH 🤦 It was UberEATS, which launched that week. Fucking Uber. After hearing all the war stories from @lyft , I knew they were unsavory competitors. Super smart, ruthless with big coffers.

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@gaganbiyani

Gagan Biyani 🏛

1 year

✨ Big news: After 2 years of private beta and hundreds of hours of engineering work… Previously, teaching on Maven was invite-only. That changes today. Now, anyone can use @MavenHQ ’s course builder! Check it out—it’s free to get started.

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