How Udemy got its first users?

Udemy success story started in 2007 as a virtual classroom software solution, but it wasn't until 3 years later that it debuted as a platform for instructors to share their knowledge. In spite of the obstacles in gaining traction, the founders of Udemy saw the platform's potential and took advantage of their experience from a conference with investors to prepare a course titled "Raising Capital for Startups." It was fundamental in fueling Udemy's success.

The conference was hosted by Udemy's co-founder, Gagan Biyani, and the video the guys made mixed highlights from the event and the speeches of the participants, eventually proving to be a great success, and generating $30,000. It has also become an integral part of the Udemy's business strategy.

What's more, Udemy's success was also fueled by the founders' active approach to the recruitment of the new instructors. The team outsourced freelancers through oDesk to scan the web for them. The data-miners were paid $3 per hour and searched for phrases related to what others would want to learn, such as “learning Python.” Then, they contacted the potential instructors via email. Hundreds of them actually replied.

The founders also offered incentives, such as discounts, to those who had begun preparing courses on the platform but left them unfinished. This, and the company's willingness to provide support and help to instructors, were key factors to Udemy's success.

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