The Brainy Business Podcast - Chris Rawlinson

Today I am very excited to introduce you to Chris Rawlinson, founder of 42 Courses, a company he started because he believes learning should be a fun interactive journey of discovery. It’s not about being right or wrong because, in fact, sometimes the best way to learn is to be wrong. Learning is about interest and engagement and enjoyment. And much like a great holiday, it’s often more about the journey itself.

Chris took insights from a varied background to create online courses that people actually enjoy and complete. In an industry with standard completion rates of less than 10 percent, how does 42 Courses hover around 80 percent? They have incorporated behavioral science and psychology to help ensure a great experience that keeps people learning and coming back again and again? Listen in for tips to incorporate into your own courses.

• [00:42] Today I am very excited to introduce you to Chris Rawlinson, founder of 42 Courses, a company he started because he believes, "learning should be a fun interactive journey of discovery.” (Agreed!)
• [03:31] Chris shares about himself, his background, and how he found himself in this space. 
• [05:00] Why 42? 
• [07:01] Many of the courses are behavioral science-specific or have behavioral science in them. People need to upscale their creativity, problem-solving, and wellness. 
• [09:21] Having a limited number of courses at any time makes it so it is easier for people to make a choice and learn something. 
• [11:03] Chris shares about the framing experiment they did with their pricing. 
• [13:04] Disney Plus had a price increase and said that it is $1.99 per day instead of the overall price. Chris and Melina discuss the ups and downs of this approach.
• [15:43] With education you will value the course more if you pay more money.
• [18:35] For a lot of companies, the best thing they can do is increase their pricing. 
• [20:20] He started 42 Courses to make great learning that is really enjoyable for people. 
• [22:47] They have a team on the back end that is moderating all the responses instead of making that automated. (Wow!)
• [25:08] Their courses offer real-world feedback from real people. They tried to integrate as many things as they could that they learned from behavioral science into all of their courses. 
• [26:18] They have a much higher completion rate than most of their competitors.  The average completion rate for an e-learning course for around 7-9%. 
• [27:07] Right now their completion rate is 82%, but it fluctuates between 70-100%. 
• [29:19] They are rolling out an update so when you join it will show you where you are in your country. It is much more motivating than showing all the users.
• [31:10] Everyone learns differently. 
• [33:32] Whatever you are doing online, in particular, if you are doing continuous education, it needs to be short, stackable, and bit-sized. 
• [34:35] The only way we remember things is through stories. 
• [37:29] Splitting things up into little lessons which have a mixture of easy and hard stuff really works. 
• [40:32] Should you get progressively harder only or mix in some easy stuff?
• [41:52] In most education settings online you are missing the interactions with peers after the lecture, so they created and added opinion-based questions.
• [44:18] We do need community, but the community side of things needs to be at a certain breakpoint. 
• [46:56] There are ways to have those “water cooler” moments that can help get the value of what was happening and bring it into a virtual space. 
• [49:21] Melina shares her closing thoughts. 
• [52:31] If you enjoy the experience I’ve provided here for you, will you share about it? That could mean leaving a rating/review or sharing the episode with a friend (or 10!)
• Thanks for listening. Don’t forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Android. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show. 

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More from The Brainy Business:

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Get the Books Mentioned on (or related to) this Episode:

• Alchemy, by Rory Sutherland
• The Behavior Business, by Richard Chataway
• The Voltage Effect, by John List
• The Choice Factory, by Richard Shotton
• Nudge, by Richard Thaler & Cass Sunstein

Connect with Chris: 

• 42 Courses Website
• 42 Courses on Twitter
• Chris on LinkedIn

Top Recommended Next Episode: The Most Important Step in Applying Behavioral Economics: Understanding the Problem  (episode 126)

Already Heard That One? Try These: 

• Framing (episode 16)
• Peak-End Rule (episode 97)
• Surprise & Delight (episode 60)
• Paradox of Choice (episode 171)
• Disney: A Behavioral Economics Analysis (episode 144)
• Partitioning (episode 58)
• Scarcity (episode 14)
• Incentives - The "N" In NUDGES (episode 36)
• Social Proof (episode 87)
• Relativity (episode 12)
• The Network Effect (episode 106)
• The Truth About Pricing (episode 5)
• Behavioural Science Club: Interview with Co-Founder Louise Ward (episode 118)
• Using Behavioral Science to Tackle Addiction (and the Lessons for any Business), Interview with Richard Chataway (episode 134)
• The Voltage Effect with John List (episode 190)
• The Power of Story, an Interview with Dr. Michelle Auerbach (episode 145)

Other Important Links: 

• Brainy Bites - Melina’s LinkedIn Newsletter 

Check out What Your Customer Wants and Can’t Tell You on Amazon, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, and Booktopia