206: From Animator to Tech Educator, Lynda Weinman Reflects on a $1.5B Exit and Her New Career

The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan

Nathan Chan

Marketing, Business, Entrepreneurship

4.8 • 662 Ratings

🗓️ 5 July 2018

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Lynda Weinman sold her 20-year company Lynda.com to LinkedIn for $1.5 billion. What is she doing now? She is reinventing herself and enjoying her new role as a champion of independent film. Weinman is no stranger to the concept of reinvention. In fact, it's that very spirit of constant evolution that led her to become a trailblazer in the online education space, and to ultimately make a massive exit. Her journey started with a career in animation and special effects, of all things, and even included running a punk store on L.A.’s Sunset Strip. She continued to pivot, until her creative endeavors eventually led her to education, and a business model that allowed her to teach thousands of laypeople about complex tech topics. The company started as a brick-and-mortar classroom, but after the economic decline that followed the tragic terror attacks of September 11, 2001, Weinman was forced to take Lynda in a new direction. To weather the economic storm, she transitioned to the online subscription business model of Lynda.com. Lynda.com’s growth was slow going until social media gained ground in 2006, a movement that helped catapult her company's revenue to $40 million and beyond. Even though Weinman never thought about selling, when the offer came in, she knew she had to pull the trigger. Working relentlessly on Lynda for the past 20 years and now in her early 60s, Weinman has set her sights on a new course. She's now the president of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and invests in independent filmmakers using charitable grants. In this interview, Weinman shares the journey that led to her $1.5 billion exit, how and why she has continued reinventing herself, and her top advice for entrepreneurs. Key Takeaways The emotions that accompany the process of letting go of a 20-year company in three short months Why it may not be wise to focus on churn rate and what to focus on instead Why getting investors can be a wise choice if you are planning on selling your company Lynda Weinman’s three top tips for entrepreneurs

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is episode number 206 with Linda Wyatman of the Founder Podcast.
0:07.3	What you need is thirst.
0:09.0	You need to be a thirsty human who is intent on learning.
0:13.0	It's a really fascinating exploration of human potential.
0:16.8	Now.
0:19.3	The Founder Podcast.
0:21.9	Even the greatest entrepreneurs had help.
0:24.8	If you want to learn from the most successful founders on the planet, you are in the right place.
0:30.5	Branson, Mark Cuban, Tony Robbins, Tim Ferriss, Ariana Huffington, Steve Case, Gary V, Sophia Amoroso,
0:35.7	Barbara Corcoran, Damon John.
0:37.5	Learn from the greatest minds in business today with interviews hosted by Nathan Chan.
0:42.1	This is not your average entrepreneur podcast.
0:45.8	The Founder Podcast.
0:52.9	Hey guys, thank you so much for tuning in. Before we start today's episode, I just wanted to let you know that our goal at founder is to help entrepreneurs succeed however we can by giving away high quality content in the form of interviews, blog posts, podcasts, YouTube videos, you name it. We put out so much content to help you.
1:13.9	And another interesting project that we're working on right now is partnering with world-class
1:18.8	founders like Damon John, Alexa von Tobel, Greta Van Riel, and so many more to teach crucial
1:24.8	skills like negotiation, finance, e-commerce, and so much more.
1:31.0	So if you'd like to get access to these free trainings with founders like this, which is 100%
1:37.3	free, just go to founder.com forward slash free.
1:41.3	Okay, so now let's talk about today's episode.
1:44.7	Hello and welcome to another episode of the founder podcast.
1:48.9	My name is Nathan Chan and I am the host of this show and also the CEO of Founder
	...

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