HBR On Strategy

Khan Academy: A Case Study in Scaling a Start-Up

Nov 20, 2024

Bill Sahlman, a Harvard Business School professor renowned for his research on entrepreneurial financing, shares insights into the growth of Khan Academy. He explores how the organization evolved from a simple tutoring concept to a leading educational platform, emphasizing the pivotal role of strong leadership in scaling. Sahlman discusses the challenges of transitioning from a small team to a structured operation, the importance of strategic decision-making, and how effective feedback loops enhance learning and teaching.

31:25

Episode guests

Bill Sahlman

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Khan Academy illustrates the vital role of strategic leadership in scaling educational initiatives while ensuring quality content delivery.

The collaboration between diverse leaders at Khan Academy highlights how complementary skills enhance growth objectives and innovative educational approaches.

Deep dives

Scaling Educational Impact

Khan Academy's evolution illustrates the significance of strategic scaling in the education sector. Initially created by Sal Khan to assist his cousin with math, the platform experienced immense growth, eventually serving over 15 million monthly visitors. To address this growth, Sal recruited Ginny Lee as COO, focusing on refining the organization's priorities and establishing a robust strategy for sustainable development. Their collaboration exemplifies how effective leadership teams can respond appropriately to the complexities of scaling educational initiatives while maintaining high-quality content delivery.

Intro

3min

The Evolution of Khan Academy

11min

Navigating the Challenges of Scaling a Start-Up

3min

Collaborative Chemistry at Khan Academy

13min

The Power of Feedback Loops in Learning and Teaching

2min

Khan Academy, the online global education nonprofit, launched in 2006 when founder Sal Khan created a few videos to help his cousin with her math homework. After a decade of growth brought Khan Academy’s user base to more than 15 million monthly visitors, Khan knew he needed expert help to formulate and lead a strategy for the organization’s future growth.

He hired Ginny Lee from Intuit to serve as Khan Academy’s COO and president. Her mandate was to redefine the organization’s priorities, create a focused strategy for growth, and continue scaling the company.

Harvard Business School professor Bill Sahlman studied the company’s growth strategy, and wrote a business case study about it. He explains why it’s so important to build a well-balanced leadership team as part of your growth strategy. He also breaks down how to create processes for everything from budgeting to giving feedback. .

Key episode topics include: strategy, leadership and managing people, operations and supply chain management, digital learning, growth strategy.

HBR On Strategy curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock new ways of doing business. New episodes every week.

· Listen to the original HBR Cold Call episode: Can Khan Academy Scale to Educate Anyone, Anywhere? (2019)

· Find more episodes of Cold Call

· Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org