A MasterClass On Education and Entrepreneurship
In this episode of KindredCast, Aryeh B. Bourkoff sits down with CEO and founder of MasterClass, David Rogier. MasterClass has grown tremendously since its launch in 2015. The e-learning subscription platform allows you to master almost anything. From Poker with Daniel Negreanu, a six-time Poker World Series winner, to an exclusive take on filmmaking with the famous director, Martin Scorsese, the opportunities are endless. MasterClass now offers more than 150 courses with names such as Natalie Portman, Serena Williams, and Bob Iger.
This episode is not simply an interview but a MasterClass of its own.
Lesson 1: The Story Behind An Emerging Entrepreneur
Going beyond his business and enormous success, David Rogier talks about his drive for entrepreneurship and creation at such an early age.
David Rogier: One, I’ve never done well with authority figures. I always ask a lot of questions and that is not encouraged in our education system. In fact, it is usually discouraged. So I think there was some part of entrepreneurship, which was, I can be my own boss and I can push and drive it.
The other part of entrepreneurship that I think excited me at an early age was the act of creation, actually, is a high for me. It is exciting to me. And that can mean a piece of art, but it can [also] mean an organization, a product, a thing. There’s something about that that I really love. And in entrepreneurship, you do that every single day.
The third part is, I’ve had jobs where I’ve worked with assholes before. As an entrepreneur, you get to decide who it is that you work with. To be able to work with people that you like to work with is [something you] never want to give up.
However, these three elements are not the only factors that ignited the entrepreneur within Rogier. His ancestors and their stories seem to be the catalyst for his genius and drive. Rogier’s grandparents and great-grandparents immigrated to the United States from Poland to escape persecution from World War II. When they finally reached a free country, Rogier’s grandmother was met with rejection from medical schools. Rogier recalls a story from his childhood. When he would complain about his homework in school, his grandmother recounted her experience with medical schools.
David Rogier: My grandmother decide[d] that she wants to become a doctor. She applies to every medical school in the state of New York, over 25 schools. She gets a no from every single one of them. She keeps working in the factory, applies the next year to all 25; she gets a no from every single one of them. She starts calling the deans of admissions and asking, “Why am I not getting in?” They all hang up on her except for this one guy. And he says, “I’ll be honest with you. You have three strikes against you. You are a woman. You are an immigrant. And you’re Jewish,” and hangs up the phone. She keeps working the factory, applies again the next year, gets into one school, becomes a doctor.
As a second-grader, Rogier was not expecting such an intense story as a response to his complaint. His grandmother simplified her story by saying, “David, the point I’m trying to make to you is that education’s the only thing that someone can’t take away from you.” These words stayed with Rogier and began to shape his love for entrepreneurship.
From a combination of lessons from his ancestry, taking control of your own life, and a need to create independence from authority, David Rogier created an empire of individual education.
Lesson 2: The School System Versus a Love for Learning
LionTree CEO and Founder Aryeh B. Bourkoff touch on the paradoxical nature of Rogier’s take on education.
Aryeh B. Bourkoff: Even though you were struggling in school, you really embraced learning, which is a bit paradoxical. That’s a hard contradiction to embrace because a lot of people that struggle at school depart from learning altogether and say, “I’m going to be a rebel. I’m going to join the band.”
David Rogier and Aryeh Bourkoff engage in an insightful conversation about the education system and its flaws. In a world where online classes and Zoom school is becoming a norm, EdTech missed their mark. Our school system puts more of an emphasis on standardized success than learning. There is no longer a place for joy and learning to exist together. EdTech could have used this opportunity to restructure a broken system but instead maintained the existing framework through digitization and technology.
As a current student, I can relate to David Rogier’s philosophy. In fact-this philosophy has resonated with me throughout my career as a student. I love learning and am always striving for more knowledge, but today’s school system is not made for people like me. With a big picture personality and a love for learning, most of my knowledge has been gained from experiences, asking questions, and listening to lessons from those willing to give them. My love for learning does not have a place within the school system, and grades measure mastery.
Speaking of mastery, Aryeh Bourkoff draws on one of David Rogier’s motto’s that shapes MasterClass.
Aryeh B. Bourkoff: There’s a quote that you’ve said that I picked up… maybe this came from your memory in childhood, or maybe this is a recent quote that relates to your memory as a child, but it said, “My ultimate dream is that somebody who never have access to these masters takes one of the classes and becomes a master.”
David Rogier: One of the most cruel things I think in the world is to limit somebody because of who they are, where they are born. I stutter and it was much worse as a kid, and school would limit me. I mean, besides being teased, which was hard, the hardest part was school teachers wouldn’t call on me, because they were either embarrassed when I spoke and talked and words came out, it wasn’t going to be clear, or they were embarrassed for me and did not want me to stutter. They would never ask me to speak in front of a classroom or to act or present. And I loved those things… to limit somebody based on income, on education, on any of those things to learn, it stunts growth and life and happiness.
Rogier took his past experiences and created a place for anybody to learn from the masters. Everyone can now gain access to experts in their field, their lessons, and their knowledge. Rogier hopes users take this opportunity to unlock their potential, “and then… become inspired to do those things in their own life, and then come back and teach a MasterClass.”
To see the full conversation, you can watch here on YouTube or listen wherever podcasts are found
