A masterclass on MasterClass

How did MasterClass CEO David Rogier grow his idea into a ubiquitous juggernaut?

In this Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders Speaker Series interview with Ravi Belani (shown below), Rogier talks about learning. Learning from his grandmother, who escaped Nazis, that constraints make you more creative. Learning about himself when his first investor Michael Dearing offered him $500,000 before he had an idea.

Learning for the rest of our lives.

Key ideas I love in the interview:

• If an idea bores you, put it away.
• Figure out your sense of purpose.
• Think of your work as a science experiment, and figure out the things that must be true in order for it to work.
• Seek data and take guidance from what you learn, especially from your customers.
• Make it iterative and constantly adjust.
• Be selective about where and how you spend your time.
• Understand what will define your success.
• Think in terms of a 100 year plan to get your team out of the weeds. It's less about the "tech and apps" and, for MasterClass, more about "making it possible for anyone to learn from the best."
• Spend the early years of your career studying what makes other people good at their jobs.
• Evolve your thinking until you seek counsel from people who have very different views than you do, but limit the number of advisors you take on.
• As an entrepreneur, I appreciate that he doesn't sugarcoat entrepreneurship. It's brutal, Rogier admits, but also rewarding.
• Zoom forward to your deathbed and ask yourself "What do I have to do to not regret anything?"
• Take your principles seriously. Make decisions, especially difficult ones, based on your principles.
• Don't be afraid to make cold calls and send cold emails. Follow up. Over and over.
• If someone says an idea is impossible, chase it anyway. If it were easy, someone else would have done it by now.
• If you want to impress an employer, show them what you’ve created. "If you want a job," Rogier said, "do a piece of work and show it to them." It will be a ton of work and nobody will pay you up front. Do it anyway.