Mission Over Money: How Sal Khan changed EdTech forever

Sal Khan arrived at the idea for Khan Academy truly organically. While working at a hedge fund, he took time in the evenings to tutor a younger cousin in math over the phone. Soon, a family tutoring network was in place, and from there, it was only a few years before Sal realized that the kind of help he was giving his family could – and should – be made available to everyone for free, across disciplines and geographic locations. Today, Khan Academy has over 170 million users and is available in 50 languages in 190 countries.

To fully commit to his vision, he founded Khan Academy as a non-profit, providing advantages that companies focused on making money by any means necessary will never have. As you’ll hear, avoiding what he calls the “very strange” market forces around education has been one of the keys to Khan Academy’s ability to build deep trust and loyalty. 

It has also ensured a rare level of adaptability that has been especially important for Khan Academy’s role as a major early adopter of AI. Sal’s experiences with AI and education are widely applicable, as is his belief that we all have a duty to take a hand in shaping AI’s place in our world. Being open to new technology instead of fearing it can help us avoid the dystopian nightmares so many people have predicted are imminent. Equally important is his commitment to balance in all things, including salary and work-life choices not just for himself, but all Khan Academy employees. As he puts it, “Having a life can make you a better leader, thinker, and decision-maker.” His story, which has many chapters yet to come, shows that being a mission-controlled organization is no barrier to success in every sense. 

Other topics we touched on include:

• Having a long-term vision for education

• Creating value as a non-profit

• His skepticism about non-profits

• Why he believes in remote work

• The early results of Khan Academy’s AI integration

• The power of knowing what you want your life to stand for

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Where to find Sal Khan:

• X: @salkhanacademy

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/khanacademy/

Where to find Eric:

• Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ericries.carrd.co/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

• Podcast: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ericriesshow.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

• YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@theericriesshow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

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In This Episode We Cover:

(04:24) Why Sal founded Khan Academy as a non-profit

(06:10) How his day job as a hedge fund analyst made him think longer-term

(09:26) How turning down venture capital has put Khan Academy in a better position for growth 

(11:24) Creating value as a non-profit

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