🧠 From Math Tutor to $100M Empire: The Sal Khan Origin Story

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Hey Deal Lifters! 👋

Let’s talk about a legend who built a $100M+ annual empire… without ever chasing a paycheck.

Yup, this guy wasn’t in it for the Lambos, yachts, or Twitter clout.

He just wanted to help his cousin with math.
And now he’s changing the world.

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🎬 It All Started with a Doodle Notepad and a Family Favor

Before he became the face of free online education, Sal Khan was just your average MIT + Harvard grad (casual flex) 📘🎓 working at a hedge fund in California.

But in his downtime, he was tutoring his 12-year-old cousin Nadia over the phone, helping her through tricky math problems. He used Yahoo! Doodle Notepad (OGs know) as a virtual blackboard. 🧮📞

Word got out among his fam and suddenly… he was tutoring 15+ cousins. 😅 So instead of burning out, he started recording short lessons and uploading them to YouTube.

That’s when something weird happened 👀
Strangers started watching. Commenting. Thanking him. And coming back. 📈

People loved his bite-sized, no-fluff teaching style.

🧑‍🏫 A Nonprofit with Billionaire Backers

By 2009, Sal had tens of thousands of subscribers.
So what does he do? He quits his cushy hedge fund job 😳

Enter: Khan Academy. 🎉

Instead of going the VC-backed startup route, Sal made it a nonprofit. His mission?
👉 “Free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere.”

And guess what? Silicon Valley royalty showed up:

💸 Ann Doerr (wife of VC legend John Doerr) gave him the first $100K
💸 Google gave a $2M grant in 2010
💸 Bill Gates shouted him out in an interview—and donated $1.5M via the Gates Foundation

That’s some serious ✨ validation ✨.

📊 From YouTube Clips to Global Reach

Fast-forward to today and Khan Academy is:

✅ Used in 190+ countries
✅ Serving millions of students in 50+ languages
✅ Bringing in ~$100M/yr in funding and revenue

It’s now a go-to tool for schools, parents, students, and even SAT/LSAT prep with partners like College Board and now even OpenAI.

(Sal also launched Khanmigo, an AI-powered tutor, built in partnership with OpenAI to bring AI to the classroom 🤖🧠)

💥 The Takeaway?

Most people chase the exit.
Sal Khan chased impact. And the money? It followed.

He didn’t start with a 10-year go-to-market roadmap. He just started helping one person. That’s it.

That’s the Deal Lift mindset right there.

🔥 Quick Hits:

• Khan Academy now partners with NASA, MIT, and The Museum of Modern Art

• It's one of the only edtech nonprofits backed by Big Tech

• Their new AI tutor Khanmigo is trying to be the ChatGPT for students – personalized, safe, and scalable.

🪄 So next time you're sitting on an idea that seems “too small,” remember:
One YouTube video can turn into a global empire.
If your mission is clear, the world will back you.

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