Inception and Growth of Cornerstone on Demand

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This chapter narrates the journey of Adam Miller founding Cornerstone on Demand in 1999, initially focusing on remote learning through educational disks, later evolving into a global leader in on-demand education. It also touches on Adam's post-acquisition philanthropic efforts and the company's strategic decisions during crucial times like declining a partnership with AOL to save the business from collapsing.

Founded at the dawn of the dot-com era, entrepreneur Adam Miller’s original concept for Cornerstone was a kind of Netflix for adult education: training courses through CD-ROMs. Migrating to online offerings for major corporate clients, Adam steered the company through tough times that included an encounter with a loan shark, markets collapsing, and global crises. By the time he sold the company two decades later – for more than $5.2 billion – Adam learned essential lessons about how to scale during uncertainty.

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