The scrappy edtech innovator Kayvon Touran

Designing Successful Startups

Summary

Kayvon Touran, co-founder of Zal.ai, shares his journey in the ed tech industry and the development of his company. He discusses the importance of working in an ambiguous environment and the influence it had on his career path. Kayvon explains how Zol.ai aims to enhance learning and development in the workforce by measuring skills and competencies. He also talks about the challenges of finding product-market fit and the unconventional approach they took to funding their startup.

Kayvon Touran bio

Kayvon Touran is a seasoned operator in early-stage tech startups with over a decade of diverse industry experience. Starting his career in sales and business development, he next transitioned into product management, and eventually a GM role. Kayvon eventually found himself immersed in edtech, and spent the past five years at Noodle.com, an edtech company based in New York. At Noodle Kayvon co-created and launched a platform for universities to manage their lifelong learning initiatives online. It was during this that Kayvon, and his then coworker/now cofounder Joe Rousseau, identified a significant gap in the market concerning organizations' ability to effectively contextualize, apply, and measure their Learning and Development spend. This realization inspired him to launch his latest venture, Zal.ai – a technology and services company that combines cutting-edge learning science and generative artificial intelligence to transform learning and development for the workforce.

Links

Keyvon’s current company https://zal.ai/

Please leave us a review: https://www.podchaser.com/AdventuresOnTheCanDo

The book Think Like a Startup Founder (early access): https://www.manning.com/books/think-like-a-startup-founder

Jothy’s site for speaking, podcasting, and ruminating: https://jothyrosenberg.com

Jothy’s non-profit foundation The Who Says I Can’t Foundation: https://whosaysicant.org

Jothy’s TEDx talk on why people with a disability over-achieve: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNtOawXAx5A

Takeaways

Working in an ambiguous environment can be exciting and impactful, leading to personal and professional growth.

Zol.ai aims to enhance learning and development in the workforce by measuring skills and competencies.

Finding product-market fit is an ongoing process that requires continuous evaluation and adaptation.

Bootstrapping can be a viable option for funding a startup, allowing for autonomy and control over the company's direction.

Sound Bites

"I liked working in a highly ambiguous environment"

"There's a huge opportunity to help better contextualize and measure learning and development"

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background

09:39 Delving into edtech

32:31 Bootstrapping and funding