Founded Mathigon in 2017, Mathigon is a free math education website to make math learning more interactive, personalized, and fun. It keeps the program free by licensing their technology to other organizations and publishers that want to use their technology. In 2021, Mathigon was acquired by Amplify, though all of its services remain free.
Before being involved in education, Philipp worked as a software engineer at Google, Bloomberg, Wolfram Research, and Goldman Sachs. He also regularly gives talks at math and education conferences around the world. He loves education, technology, and building products, but not running a business, which is part of why he sold his company to Amplify. His only condition for selling was that Mathigon remained free forever and he continues to work as the VP at Amplify.
Other important staff in program
- David Poras (Director of Product): Middle school educator of over 20 years and award-winning innovator in math teaching.
- Sarah Page and Phil Deorsey (Coding leads): Extensive coding experience with 3D Visuals that can be manipulated.
Overall, I think Philipp is similar to someone I would like to be like if I was an entrepreneur. He made a successful product that targeted a gap in the market, focused on impact for students over profit while still making the company profitable through licensing technology, and had an exit strategy so that he could continue developing what he loved rather than having to run a company.
I think Philipp Legner represents a strong entrepreneur because he took something that many people find challenging, math, and made it fun, interactive, and personalized for learners. I also give him a high rating for keeping the platform free even after selling the company to Amplify.
In the course notes, we learned that effective entrepreneurs recognize when they may no longer be the best fit to lead a company and are willing to step aside if it will help the organization grow. I think Philipp demonstrates this quality through his personal exit strategy. He was willing to allow someone else to guide the company in a new direction while still remaining involved in developing and improving the product. This shows both strong leadership and a commitment to the long term success of the venture.
Philipp sounds like an honorable entrepreneur. I appreciate the fact that he chose to keep Mathigon free after selling the company because it shows that he values education of all students, and wants it to be accessible to all demographics. I personally love Mathigon- I have used it multiple times as an elementary math teacher. Sometimes we do not have the physical manipulatives we need in schools, and Mathigon is a great substitute for that. I also appreciate that he had the humility to leave the company when he realized leading a company was not his best asset.