# Samyr Qureshi

> Samyr Qureshi is the co-founder and executive chairman of Knack, a peer-tutoring company serving colleges and universities in the United States. A University of Florida graduate and Pakistani-American immigrant born in Abu Dhabi, he led Knack for a decade, guided its shift to university-funded tutoring, and moved to executive chairman in 2025. He also advises and invests in startups and writes music.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & Executive Chairman at Knack
- **Organizations:** Knack, MagicSchool AI, Atomic, Deep Acre, Bath & Racquet House, Gartner, Apple, Nielsen
- **From:** Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- **Nationality:** American (self-described Pakistani-American)
- **Education:** Associate of Arts, St. Petersburg College, Bachelor of Arts, Criminology and Law, University of Florida
- **Known for:** Co-founded Knack in 2015 and led the company as CEO for a decade., UF Big Idea business-plan competition winner, 2016 ($25,000 prize)., Forbes 30 Under 30, Education, 2020 class.

## Career timeline

- **2011** — Earned an associate of arts degree at St. Petersburg College through early college enrollment.
- **2014** — Graduated from the University of Florida with a BA in criminology and law.
- **Before 2015** — Worked at Nielsen and Apple, then as an Emerging Technology Account Executive at Gartner.
- **2015** — Left Gartner and co-founded Knack with Dennis Hansen, David Stoker and Shawn Doyle.
- **2016** — Knack won UF’s Big Idea business-plan competition and $25,000; moved to Tampa.
- **2017** — Shared a house with early team members while developing Knack’s student-paid tutoring business.
- **2019** — Knack shifted toward university-funded peer tutoring.
- **2020** — Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in Education and received Tampa Bay Tech’s Emerging Tech Leader of the Year award.
- **2021** — Recognized in UF’s 40 Gators Under 40 class.
- **2025** — Moved from CEO to executive chairman following Knack’s Series B; Megan Dusenbery became CEO.
- **2026** — Named a Tampa Bay Business Journal 40 Under 40 honoree.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Knack in 2015 and led the company as CEO for a decade.
- UF Big Idea business-plan competition winner, 2016 ($25,000 prize).
- Forbes 30 Under 30, Education, 2020 class.
- Tampa Bay Tech Emerging Tech Leader of the Year, 2020.
- UF 40 Gators Under 40, 2021.
- Tampa Bay Business Journal 40 Under 40, 2026.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Featured in Tampa Bay Business Journal coverage of its 2026 40 Under 40 honorees.
- **2026-05** — Appeared on Building Excellence, episode 262, discussing persistence, advising and investing.
- **2025-10** — Knack announced a Series B and Qureshi’s transition to executive chairman, with Megan Dusenbery succeeding him as CEO.

## Links

- Website: https://www.samyr.co/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samyrq/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/samyr_q

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/samyr-qureshi
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-14