Education is a fundamental right for all and is the key to opportunity for many of us. We value education at any stage in our lives and are always encouraged to keep learning.
For many, time and money are huge restraints on accessing education. Enter online learning.
There are a number of well-known online learning platforms that dominate the market. Although they are huge companies with hundreds of employees, they had to have started from somewhere. why udemy is so successful
Udemy is a popular example that has branded itself as an online learning platform and Udemy marketplace through which independent instructors can submit their courses and share their expertise.
In this article, we are going to discuss the success story and origins of the popular online learning platform Udemy and know why Udemy is so successful.
Who Created Udemy?
Udemy was founded by Eren Bali, who grew up in a small Turkish village with a dream to compete in mathematics. His dream became a reality when he won a silver medal in the International Math Olympiad.
The reason this incredible achievement was possible was that Eren’s family had bought a computer and he used the internet to teach himself the necessary and affordable skills training.
With internet access, he was able to find math problems and resources he’d never seen before.
As there were few educational opportunities where he grew up, online learning became a huge opportunity for him to leave his small village and pursue his dream of studying math.
Co-founders of the brand Oktay Caglar and Gagnan Biyani partnered with Bali to achieve a common goal – making great quality education accessible to everyone.
Some Of The Backstory
In 2007, Eren created the software for a live virtual classroom in Turkey. This passion project gave him the idea to expand the idea and turn it into an online based learning platform that could be accessed by everyone.
Taking a huge leap, he saved up as much money as possible and moved himself and his idea to Silicon Valley and raise venture capital funding. It was here that he teamed up with his friends to really get the project going.
When Was Udemy Created?
Udemy business was founded in 2010 by the trio after they had attempted and failed 30 times to attract investors for their project.
None of the founders had any significant funds to finance the project themselves, so this was a huge risk for them.
Working alongside their usual jobs, they spent every spare moment working on the company that you see today.
Once the platform started to see some success, investors began showing interest in the company which aided in getting to where it is today.
What Does Udemy Offer Its Customers?
From humble beginnings, Udemy launched with just the founder’s resources available to potential Udemy business customers. Today there are over 200,000 free and paid courses available for students that cover a wide range of subjects.
Courses are split into 13 categories that include topics like design, marketing, music, finance and accounting, business, and personal development. These are further split into subcategories, making the site easy to navigate.
When students enroll in a Udemy course creator, they can expect to learn via video lectures, quizzes, and other resources that are set by the instructors.
The paid courses have more features and come with a certificate of completion which can be added to resumes.
Paid courses can cost as little as $10 and as much as $199. However, there are often a number of promotional discounts available on the site so we recommend checking it often to save yourself a significant amount of money.
Some offers include up to 50% off an online course.
Students have as long as they like to complete their courses and will be given lifetime access to the materials. This enables them to take their learning at their own pace and fit it around other commitments and busy lives.
How Many Users Do They Have Today?
As of 2022, there are thought to be around 52 million Udemy users worldwide. The site is also popular with instructors with current figures showing there to be around 74,000 professional instructors.
The site became particularly popular during the COVID-19 pandemic as many people were looking to expand their skills and knowledge whilst being confined to their own homes.
How Popular Is Udemy?
The platform is extremely popular with students and instructors alike. There are a number of well-known businesses that utilize Udemy’s courses for their own employees.
Examples of these include Adidas, Booking.com, and Lyft.
Upskillwise voted Udemy as the online learning platform with the biggest pool of courses available to students. It has also appeared on a number of ‘top 10’ lists across many articles showcasing the best online learning platforms.
Why Is Udemy So Successful?
There are many reasons why the Udemy revenue model is so successful.
From operating in nearly 80 languages to offering unique features such as closed captioning and note-taking, the platform has developed into the ultimate online learning tool.
The number of freely accessible online courses available on the site could be one of the major driving forces of Udemy business model to the company’s success.
Many of their competitors do not offer the vast number of selling courses that Udemy does.
When people take these Udemy courses and find they benefit their lives and help with their education, they might be more inclined to enroll in a paid course later on.
Some of the programming courses can even profit toward technical certification.
Perhaps one of the reasons that the Udemy platform is so successful is that it offers students the opportunity to learn new skills at a convenient time and for an affordable course price.
Driven by those passionate about education, the company continues to grow and expand with many exciting opportunities being proposed for the future.
The Bottom Line
It’s clear that Udemy is a popular and successful online learning platform. With a number of free and affordable courses encompassing a wide range of topics, there is something for everyone at Udemy.
Signing up for your free account is just the first step!
