Navigating Marketplace Dynamics

This chapter explores the complexities of operating a marketplace business, emphasizing the critical balance between supply and demand over product development. It recounts the challenges faced by a co-founder of Udemy, discussing management dynamics, communication issues, and the emotional toll of misunderstandings. The narrative concludes with reflections on learning technology evolution and the successful shift to a SaaS model, showcasing the importance of instructor quality and student engagement.

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In today’s episode of The Eric Ries Show, I’m joined by Gagan Biyani, Co-Founder and CEO of Maven, a platform that’s redefining online education with cohort-based courses. Before Maven, Gagan co-founded Udemy, now one of the largest online education marketplaces, and Sprig, a meal delivery startup.

Gagan started his entrepreneurial journey at just 21, and along the way, he’s experienced both big wins and tough lessons. We get into what worked, what didn’t, and how those experiences shaped his approach to building companies today.

In our conversation today, we talk about the following:

• How a free truffle at Sprig revealed the pitfalls of MBA-style thinking

• Why Gagan has shifted his thinking to be less metric-obsessed

• The underestimated value of intuition in decision-making

• Maintaining company culture at scale—onboarding new hires while preserving core values

• What drives value in any marketplace

• Lessons from Gagan’s exit from Udemy—and how he rebuilt his friendship with his co-founder

• How to use AI to increase productivity and where it falls short

• An explanation of Gagan’s concept of ‘atomic unit’

• AI’s potential to transform education

• And more!

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