Building The Future of Education Through Cohort-Based Courses w/ Wes Kao (Co-Founder)

The Dealroom with Shamus Madan

In this episode, Shamus Madan chats with Wes Kao about her early career, transition into entrepreneurship, and the role of Maven in online learning. They discuss the impact of COVID-19 on e-learning, the potential of solopreneurship, and the future of online education.

Wes Kao is the Co-Founder of Maven, the platform for cohort-based courses. Prior to Maven, Wes helped other companies like Morning Brew build their own cohort-based courses, and she founded altMBA. Today she joins us to discuss the future of online education and how Maven plays a role. Wes attended UC Berkeley and has been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, and Inc. as a leading voice on online education and innovation.

Twitter of Host (Shamus Madan): @mbitpodcast

Twitter of Guest (Wes Kao): @weskao

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(0:00) Introduction and welcome (1:02) West Kayo's early career and advice for graduates (3:45) Journey into entrepreneurship and balancing career progression (5:08) Cohort-based courses and Maven's role in online learning (8:03) Maven's co-founders and the problem Maven aims to solve (12:28) Impact of COVID-19 on the online learning industry (14:16) The potential of solopreneurship and its flexibility (17:52) Importance of course certifications in cohort-based courses (21:55) The future of online education (25:05) Wrapping up and thanking Wes Kao for the interview