# Gagan Biyani

> Gagan Biyani is a three-time startup founder and serial entrepreneur best known for co-founding Udemy (now a multi-billion dollar public edtech company) and Maven, a cohort-based online learning platform backed by Andreessen Horowitz. Born and raised in Fremont, California, Biyani studied Economics at UC Berkeley before co-founding Udemy in 2009, which he built to 400,000 students before being fired as president in 2012. He then founded Sprig, a food-delivery startup that raised $57M before shutting down in 2017. He co-founded Maven in 2020 with Wes Kao and Shreyans Bhansali, raising $30M to build the leading platform for live cohort-based expert courses. Biyani is widely known for his radical transparency about startup failures, his viral 2020 Twitter thread about being fired from Udemy, and his philosophy that most startup ideas come from living normally rather than deliberate analysis.

- **Role:** Co-founder & CEO at Maven
- **Organizations:** Maven, Udemy, Sprig, Empower Oakland, Growth Hackers Conference
- **From:** Fremont, California, USA
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Arts, Economics, University of California, Berkeley
- **Known for:** Co-founded Udemy (2009), which IPO'd in 2021 at ~$4B valuation, despite 30+ VC rejections, Named Forbes 30 Under 30 - Consumer Tech (2016), Named Fast Company Most Creative People (2016)

## Career timeline

- **2008-2009** — Tech journalist at TechCrunch and The Next Web; broke a story about a PR firm writing fake App Store reviews, cited in FTC documents
- **2009** — Co-founded Udemy with Eren Bali and Oktay Caglar via the Founder Institute; rejected by 30+ VCs
- **2009-2012** — Served as President of Udemy; grew platform to 400,000 students; created first course himself generating $30K in revenue to prove the model
- **2012** — Fired from Udemy by co-founder Eren Bali due to management style issues; left on good terms
- **2012-2013** — Growth advisor at Lyft for six months
- **2013** — Founded Growth Hackers Conference in San Francisco, featuring Chamath Palihapitiya and Sean Ellis
- **2013** — Co-founded Sprig, an on-demand healthy meal delivery startup in San Francisco
- **2014** — Sprig raised $10M Series A from Greylock Partners
- **2015** — Sprig raised $45M Series B; peaked at 1,300 employees and $20M revenue run-rate
- **2016** — Named Forbes 30 Under 30 (Consumer Tech) and Fast Company Most Creative People
- **2017** — Shut down Sprig on May 26; returned remaining $8M to investors - widely praised for integrity
- **2019-2020** — Took 12+ month exploration sabbatical before committing to next startup
- **2020** — June: Posted viral Twitter thread about being fired from Udemy, becoming a widely-shared founder resource
- **2020** — Co-founded Maven with Wes Kao and Shreyans Bhansali to build cohort-based live online courses platform
- **2021** — Maven raised $20M Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z); Udemy IPO'd on NASDAQ
- **2022** — Maven pivoted from creator-focused to expert/professional-focused courses
- **2024** — Became Interim Executive Director of Empower Oakland; launched Empower Oakland 2.0 in July
- **2025** — Viral December post about giving live critical feedback to job candidates during interviews sparked wide debate
- **2026** — Maven operating with ~318 employees; active on AI adoption research with companies

## Achievements

- Co-founded Udemy (2009), which IPO'd in 2021 at ~$4B valuation, despite 30+ VC rejections
- Named Forbes 30 Under 30 - Consumer Tech (2016)
- Named Fast Company Most Creative People (2016)
- Returned $8M to Sprig investors when shutting down - widely praised for ethical leadership
- Raised $57M for Sprig across Series A and B
- Raised $30M for Maven including Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz
- Pioneered the 'cohort-based courses' category in edtech
- Built Empower Oakland into a 150+ volunteer civic organization
- Viral Twitter thread on being fired from Udemy became a widely-read founder resource
- Angel investor in Replit, Speak_, and Stoa School

## Latest updates

- **2026-01** — Active on LinkedIn discussing company culture, growth marketing challenges, and management philosophy
- **2025-12** — Viral post about giving live critical feedback to job candidates during interviews generated widespread debate
- **2025** — Maven operating with ~318 employees; conducting AI adoption research with companies
- **2025** — Speaking at FUTURE TITANS 2026 event and appeared on Indian American Stories Podcast
- **2024-07** — Launched Empower Oakland 2.0 as Interim Executive Director; built community of 150+ volunteers

## Links

- Website: https://www.gaganbiyani.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gaganbiyani/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/gaganbiyani

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/gagan-biyani
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-27