He Co-founded $2B Udemy. Now a16z Gave Him $42M to Rethink College - Gagan Biyani

Today I walk with Gagan Biyani, founder and CEO of the Horowitz Andreessen Academy. Gagan co-founded Udemy, which grew into a multibillion-dollar public company, built Sprig, co-founded Maven, and started his first profitable business at 13, and now he's building a16z's new school for young builders, backed by $42 million. He gets into the $60M company he had to shut down, why his investors backed him again anyway, and why a Harvard dropout means nothing to him. We get into: -Starting a debate camp at 13 that ran 50% EBITDA margins, and landing in the principal's office for it -Sprig: $60M raised, 1,300 employees, a shutdown, and investors who backed his next company anyway -Why the Academy flips college around, with students building instead of attending class -The call from Andrew Chen and ten meetings with Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz that became the Academy -Why he tells 18-year-olds that raising VC is a ten-year commitment so much more! 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒 (00:00) Trailer (01:01) Gagan Biyani, Founder & CEO, Horowitz Andreessen Academy (02:23) A one-year fellowship built around building, not class (03:55) The three skills that are AI proof (08:16) Grandparents from Rajasthan who never finished high school (09:31) Starting a debate camp at 13 with 50% margins (12:59) Why schools are afraid of student agency (18:33) Seven jobs, three years, and rarely going to class (18:46) Why most professors don't care about teaching (25:41) What Udemy and Maven taught him (33:32) Raising $60M at Sprig, shutting down, and getting backed again (38:16) Why raising VC at 18 is a ten-year commitment (39:21) The call from Andrew Chen that started the Academy (41:18) Why the best builders will pick a16z over MIT or Harvard (43:17) 50 founding students, tuition-free (45:46) Why a Harvard dropout means nothing to him (51:42) Outro Follow Gagan LinkedIn:   / gaganbiyani   X: https://x.com/gaganbiyani Follow Luba Instagram:   / lifeoflubaa   LinkedIn:   / yudasinal