Why does MasterClass work? with David Rogier from MasterClass
Dec 5, 2023
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David Rogier, CEO and founder of MasterClass, talks about landing notable names, scaling after a disappointing launch, and adapting to users' needs during the pandemic.
MasterClass started with seed funding and the idea of lifelong education from the best in the world.
MasterClass emphasizes adaptation, future expansion, and enterprise training to meet learners' needs.
Deep dives
The Mission of Masterclass: Making Learning Accessible
David Rajir, the CEO and founder of masterclass, discusses the mission of making learning accessible to everyone. With classes taught by industry experts such as Steph Curry and Anna Wintour, masterclass offers high-quality video content for individuals to learn and apply skills in their own lives.
The Journey of Starting Masterclass
David shares the challenging and long journey of starting masterclass. He talks about how he left his job in venture capital and received seed funding from his boss without a clear idea in mind. He reveals the struggle of finding a compelling idea and the importance of constraints in generating better ideas. Eventually, the idea of creating lifelong education taught by the best in the world led to the inception of masterclass.
The Process of Recruiting Instructors
David discusses the difficulty of recruiting instructors and the initial skepticism he faced. He shares the persuasiveness and persistence required to convince well-known individuals to join masterclass. Over time, masterclass became a reputable platform attracting top instructors, and the company focused on maintaining strong partnerships and providing instructors with creative control over their classes.
The Evolution and Future of Masterclass
David emphasizes the importance of adapting and evolving to meet the needs of learners. Masterclass plans to expand its course offerings and explore interactive features, such as real-time feedback and enhanced user interactions. Additionally, the company has tapped into enterprise training, offering companies a platform to provide employee education and upskilling.
Today on Found, we’re talking to David Rogier, the CEO and founder of Masterclass, a streaming platform where you can learn from the world’s experts on a variety of topics, from baking to screen writing to developing empathy. Before David launched MasterClass, he worked as a VC. Through his connections there received a $500,000 seed round before he even had an idea for a company. That was nearly a decade ago, and today Dom, Becca and David talk about how he’s built the company since.
They also talked about:
How MasterClass was able to land its notable names from the beginning
How the company has scaled after a disappointing launch
How MasterClass has adapted to its users needs during the pandemic and beyond