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Skillshare

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Skillshare
Company typePrivate
IndustryE-Learning
FoundedNovember 2010; 13 years ago (2010-11)
Headquarters
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Matt Cooper, CEO
Websiteskillshare.com
Skillshare previous logo

Skillshare is an online learning community based in the United States that provides educational videos.[1][2][3] The courses are non accredited and are only available through a paid subscription.[4] The courses primarily cover creative work, with a smaller amount of courses on business and entrepreneurship.

Most of the courses focus on interaction, with the primary goal of learning by completing a project.

History

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Michael Karnjanaprakorn and Malcolm Ong started Skillshare in New York City, New York in November 2010; the site was live in April 2011.[5][6] Previously, Karnjanaprakorn led the product team at Hot Potato, a social media product bought by Facebook. Ong was the product manager at OMGPop.[7][8] In August 2011, Skillshare raised $3.1 million in Series A funding led by Union Square Ventures and Spark Capital.[7][9] In late 2013, Skillshare had raised $4.65 million in funding,[10] and $6 million by February 2014, with financing co-led by Union Square Ventures and Spark Capital. Total funding reached $10 million.[11]

Skillshare held the Penny Conference in April 2012, a one-day discussion on the current educational system and how to reform it,[6][12] with Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Codecademy’s co-founder Zach Sims, and Pencils of Promise founder Adam Braun as speakers.[6]

Skillshare launched 15 online courses in August 2012,[1][4][13][14][15] with students collaborating to complete a project. By November 2013, it hosted over 250 courses,[10][13] and launched its School of Design.[16]

Skillshare collaborated with Levi's to launch the School of MakeOurMark in October 2013, focusing on individual creativity with courses in photography, tattooing, and various forms of illustration.[17][18]

In March 2014, Skillshare moved to a membership model for $9.95 a month.[19] Later that year, the company announced a new open platform, where anyone could be a course instructor, and a free membership option to watch a limited amount of class content each month.[20]

In May 2016, Skillshare raised $12 million in Series B funding.[21] The company raised a further $28 million in Series C funding in July 2018 ($20 million in equity and $8 million in venture debt).[22]

In March 2017, the platform introduced the "Groups" feature that allows members to connect with other creators.[23]

In September 2021, Skillshare discontinued the option of offering classes for free and required users to have either a paid membership or a free trial to access all courses, including those that were previously available for free.[24]

Courses

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Skillshare organizes courses in advertising, business, design, fashion and style, film and video, food and drink, music, photography, gaming, technology, and writing and publishing.[25][26] All online courses are self-paced.[1][27]

In June 2018, the company launched Skillshare Originals, a collection of courses produced by Skillshare's in-house team.[28]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Ryan Lawler (August 7, 2012). "Collaborative Learning Startup Skillshare Launches Hybrid Classes, Letting Anyone Join Online Or Offline". TechCrunch. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  2. ^ Dani Fankhauser (March 1, 2013). "Toasting Success With Skillshare's Co-Founder". Mashable. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  3. ^ Daniel Goodman (May 12, 2012). "This Company Wants You To Get Paid For Teaching In Your Spare Time". Business Insider. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  4. ^ a b Zoe Fox (August 7, 2012). "Skillshare Goes Global, Launching Hybrid Online-Offline Classes". Mashable. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  5. ^ Jenna Wortham (August 16, 2011). "Skillshare Raises $3.1 Million to Turn Everyone Into Teachers". The New York Times Bits. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  6. ^ a b c Brian Anthony Hernandez (April 23, 2012). "How Skillshare Is Transforming Education as We Know It". Mashable. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  7. ^ a b Donna Fenn (May 29, 2012). "Skillshare: A New Way to Learn". OPEN forum. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  8. ^ Myles Tanzer (November 14, 2012). "Tech Insurgents 2012: Mike Karnjanaprakorn". Beat Beat. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  9. ^ Diana Ransom (May 15, 2012). "Skillshare and Changing the Way We Learn". Entrepreneur. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  10. ^ a b Erin Griffith (November 5, 2013). "Skillshare has spent the last year quietly transforming itself. It's working". Pando Daily. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  11. ^ Rip Empson (February 28, 2014). "A Year From Launch, Skillshare Lands $6M From USV, Spark To Double Down On Project-Based, Online Classes". TechCrunch. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
  12. ^ Allie Mahler (April 24, 2012). "A penny for your thoughts: What we learned at the Skillshare Conference". The Next Web. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  13. ^ a b April Joyner (April 2, 2013). "Skillshare Takes On the Education Gap". Inc. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  14. ^ Ki Mae Heussner (November 28, 2012). "With Skillshare's online classes, instructors get shot at bigger bucks". Gigaom. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  15. ^ Tom Vander Ark (August 30, 2012). "5 Lessons K-12 Could Learn From Skillshare". Getting Smart. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  16. ^ Joseph Flaherty (March 28, 2013). "Can't Afford Art School? Jump Online for a World-Class Education in Design". Wired. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  17. ^ Leah Gonzalez (October 1, 2013). "Levi's Hires Creative Experts To Teach Online Classes". PSFK. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  18. ^ "Make Your Mark: Skillshare and Levi Team Up To Teach Creativity". DailyTekk. October 2, 2013. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  19. ^ Farr, Christina (March 19, 2014). "Skillshare Debuts New Spotify-like Membership Model for Online Education". VentureBeat. Retrieved April 29, 2014.
  20. ^ Karnjanaprakorn, Michael. "Introducing Open Skillshare". Skillshare.com. Skillshare. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  21. ^ Kolodny, Lora (May 26, 2016). "Skillshare books $12 million to take its education platform international". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on December 5, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  22. ^ Harris, Ainsley (July 24, 2018). "Skillshare finds its groove by helping freelancers learn". Fast Company. Archived from the original on July 24, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  23. ^ "Introducing: Skillshare Groups". Skillshare. May 15, 2017.
  24. ^ "Starting September 15th, 2021, Skillshare will transition away from offering a free class experience". Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  25. ^ "Skillshare – Make Money Teaching What You Know". Work at Home Adventures. April 15, 2013. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  26. ^ "Learn Online with Career Step, Lynda, Skillshare and Treehouse". Work From Home. January 9, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  27. ^ "5 Skillshare Classes We Love". 2930 Creative. October 30, 2013. Retrieved February 4, 2014.
  28. ^ Burt, Megan (June 12, 2018). "Introducing Staff Picks & Skillshare Originals". Skillshare. Archived from the original on March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
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