mokoyfman.com

I am proud today to announce Spark Capital’s investment in Skillshare along with our friends at Union Square Ventures.

In it’s simplest form, Skillshare is a community marketplace for offline classes. In it’s ultimate incarnation, Skillshare has the potential to become a truly democratized learning platform.

Our passion for the education space at Spark has been no secret. We’ve made investments in Altius Education, 8D World and most recently Peer Transfer.

With Skillshare, we are partnering with a team and platform that is rethinking how education should be delivered and who should deliver it. This is no small task, but Mike, & company are certainly up for the challenge.

Michael and I have been building our relationship over the past number of years. I have been consistently impressed by his integrity, clarity of vision and fantastic product instincts. All of these qualities shine through in even this first iteration of Skillshare.

In many ways, Skillshare taps into some of the most important web and mobile trends we are observing today.

Firstly, I’ve made no secret of my love for marketplace businesses. The web was built to connect people and Skillshare does so in one of the most important ways possible. Enabling the teacher and student in each and every one of us is a noble endeavor.

The idea that each of us has something of value to share is a profound one as well. Unlocking this ‘knowledge inventory,’ similar to how Airbnb unlocks latent real estate inventory, is a powerful idea and source of previously untapped supply.

I am also increasingly fascinated by businesses that leverage online platforms to drive offline experiences. Building vibrant online communities that facilitate rich in-person interactions is something I believe the web and mobile devices will do increasingly well over time, making these interactions ever more important parts of our social behavior.

Joining Mike, Malcolm, Zach, Albert and the entire Skillshare family is a privilege. I couldn’t be more excited to head on this journey with them.