Hardware Podcasts

Khan Academy: Sal Khan. From Tutoring His Cousins to Teaching the World For Free (September 2020)

How I Built This · 8 Dec 2025 · 1h 18m

What this episode covers

Sal Khan, founder of Khan Academy, explains how he transitioned from a hedge fund career to building a free, non-profit educational platform after starting with remote math tutoring for his cousin. He details the early days of recording screen-capture videos on YouTube, the financial anxiety of quitting his job without funding, and the pivotal support from philanthropist Anne Wojcicki and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Khan also discusses the strategic decision to remain a non-profit to preserve trust and integrity, and his partnership with the College Board to create free SAT prep.

Most relevant to

founders before launch, early-stage companies and companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Google, College Board, Oracle, Wool Capital
Products
Khan Academy, Mindy Knows
Tools
YouTube

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