Udemy is an extensive, multilingual, online learning platform with over 100,00 courses on a wide variety of topics. Its aim is accessible and quality education for all.
Each Udemy course contains lectures, which can include videos, slides, and text, and these courses are created, owned, and managed by the instructor(s). Furthermore, courses can also feature additional resources and activities to further enhance the learning experience for the students.
The founder and current Chief Technology Officer of Udemy is Eren Bali. Raised in a small village in Turkey, Bali had limited opportunities when it came to expanding his education; however, that all changed when he got a computer. Through his computer and by using the internet, he was able to achieve his dream of competing in mathematics, resulting in a silver medal win in the International Math Olympiad.
As online learning played a significant impact in his life, Bali decided to partner with co-founders Gagan Biyani and Oktay Caglar in 2019 to build a platform that would allow anyone to learn anything, regardless of where they were. The beginnings of Udemy were not exactly the smoothest, as online learning and teaching platforms were not as common at the time, making it difficult to find investors to support their project.
In order to get funding, Bali, Biyani, and Caglar had to develop the website further with more courses in order to show its potential. By offering a better environment than their competitor MOOCs, the founders were able to secure investments and grow Udemy into what it is today–a popular online learning and teaching platform with a net value of almost $1.5 billion.
From small beginnings to great accomplishments, the drive, passion, and adaptability that Bali, Biyani, and Caglar had is what allowed them to successfully create and maintain Udemy to this day. By creating a platform that provides accessible and affordable education, Bali is trying to give others what he did not have in his youth.
References
About Udemy
Exploding Topics | 56 Fast-Growing Edtech Companies & Startups (2024)
Learning With Udemy: Frequently Asked Questions
Medium | Udemy’s Journey
Eren Bali represents a compelling model of mission-driven entrepreneurship. Bali’s personal motivation to increase access to education gives this venture deep purpose, which is often a critical success factor for startups in the EdTech space. Their early struggles to find investors and build out the platform in a skeptical market demonstrate resilience and strategic thinking. Rather than chasing hype, they focused on building real value and learner demand.
Rating: 4/5