Sam Chaudhary is the co-founder and CEO of ClassDojo, a multi-product education platform used in 95% of U.S. schools and over 180 countries globally to connect teachers, students, and families. In this episode, Sam shares the full arc of building ClassDojo, from early skepticism about education and a failed group-making tool, to creating a communication platform loved by millions.
In this episode, we discuss:
- Why ClassDojo was built for consumers (teachers, students and parents) instead of schools
- How ClassDojo grew entirely by word-of-mouth
- Sam’s unusual approach to building multiple new businesses
- The founder mindset required to build an industry leader
- Why relentless resourcefulness is an underrated skill
- And much more…
References:
Where to find Sam:
Where to find Brett:
Timestamps:
(01:36) Why education is a “bad market”
(02:52) Why enterprise education is broken
(03:35) Building for families, not schools
(06:53) Early challenges and insights
(09:45) Sam’s unusual background
(11:42) Meeting co-founder Liam at a hackathon
(13:22) Getting into Imagine K12 with a group-making tool
(19:47) The conversation with Reid Hoffman that changed everything
(21:52) Building a network to reach more families
(23:30) Scaling by building a community
(33:18) Designing for delight and word-of-mouth growth
(40:09) Launching the first monetization feature after 7 years
(41:35) How to pick markets and when to go broad
(46:04) The explosive expansion into the tutoring industry
(55:11) Creating safe online spaces for kids
(58:01) Harnessing AI in education
(59:52) Lessons from ClassDojo’s playbook
