Knowable, the Andreessen Horowitz-backed startup focused on audio learning, is changing business models.
When the company launched last year, it charged users based on class. Starting today, we're moving entirely to a subscription model, where listeners pay $ 50 per year or $ 9.99 per month for unlimited access to the Knowable library.
"This brings us closer to our everyday and actionable learning mission," co-founder and CEO Warren Shaeffer told me. In other words, the subscription encourages people to deal with learning through Knowable as an ongoing habit, rather than a one-time experience.
After all, he said Knowable is already seeing a 24% cross-buy rate when listeners sign up for new courses. Additionally, this will allow the company to experiment with other formats, such as shorter lessons. And it's similar to the subscription model used by MasterClass and other companies that offer video lessons.
But why focus on audio in the first place? Shaeffer said he and his co-founder Alex Benzer have "both seen firsthand that a great teacher can change someone's life trajectory." At the same time, they didn't have time to watch hours of video.
"Every [online learning company] today he's very focused on the idea that you need to stare at a screen to learn in a structured way, "said Shaeffer.
At the same time, many people listen to podcasts when they want to learn new things. So the couple created Knowable with the idea that when you go out for a walk, you can have an easy way to spend that time on what Benzer called "nutritious" content, rather than a "low calorie true crime podcast". .
"Warren and I are personally thrilled to help people spend less time anxiously shaking fate and more time gaining optimism and confidence through self-guided learning," he said.
Courses include Alexis Ohanian on entrepreneurship, Mark Bittman on eating well, and a variety of experts on public speaking.
Shaeffer said there are now 100 hours of educational content in the Knowable library - about half of that consists of Knowable Originals created by the company's producers. (Knowable's content team is currently led by the former producer of "This American Life "Amy O'Leary), with the other half comes from a new curated market, where anyone can apply to sell a course.
The content, Shaeffer added, is "priority audio, not just audio". Yes, you mostly listen to the lessons, but there is additional material like quizzes and workbooks.
"We think audio is a great catalyst to inspire," he said. Consequently, Knowable focused on "soft skills" in categories such as professional development, personal improvement and health.
But he also suggested that it's a "mistake" to think that you can't teach more concrete skills through audio: "If you want to be a programmer, we're envisioning a course where someone gets an overview of all the different ways they can learn and becomes a springboard for a deeper dive ".