Khan Academy offers hundreds of free tutorials in fifty languages, and has 170 million monthly global users.

It all began in 2009 when Sal Khan walked away from a high-paying job to start a business that had no way of making money.

His idea to launch a non-profit teaching platform was sparked while helping his young cousins do math homework over the computer.

When he started posting his tutorials on Youtube, the world took notice.

You will learn:

• Not just cat videos: How Sal discovered the early power of YouTube.
• How a book by Isaac Asimov lay the foundation for Khan Academy
• Why Sal said no to a for-profit business model
• How Sal got discovered by Bill Gates–and other wealthy donors
• How Sal defines ambition: Free world class education for anyone, anywhere

Listen now to hear how Khan Academy has grown to become one of the most trusted teaching tools around the world.

This episode was produced by Jed Anderson, with music composed by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Neva Grant.

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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jane Wurwand, co-founder of the global skincare brand Dermalogica, joins Guy on the Advice Line, where they answer questions from three early stage founders. Plus, Jane shares her philosophy on the importance of customer education for building a trusted brand.

First we meet Camille in Virginia, who’s wondering how to scale her vegan baby food company without compromising on quality. Then Molly in Maine, who’s trying to build a community of new parents for her baby-friendly workout classes. And Sarah in Connecticut, who’s considering whether to expand beyond her core performance underwear product.

Thank you to the founders of Chunky Vegan, Baby Booty and Paradis Sport for being part of the show.

If you’d like to be featured on a future Advice Line episode, leave us a one minute message that tells us about your business and a specific question you’d like answered. Send a voice memo to hibt@id.wondery.com or call 1-800-433-1298.

And be sure to listen to Dermalogica’s founding story as told by Jane on the show in 2016.

This episode was produced by Katherine Sypher. It was edited by John Isabella. Our audio engineer was Neal Rauch.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Meridith Baer grew up on the grounds of San Quentin prison, acted in TV and movies, wrote scripts in Hollywood … and then, at 50, started over – and built one of the best known home-staging companies in real estate.

Meridith’s life unfolds like a movie: As a teenager, she was forced to give up her baby for adoption. In her twenties, she was a writer for Penthouse. In her thirties and forties, she was a screenwriter in Hollywood, hobnobbing with Sally Field and dating Patrick Stewart.

But in her late forties, Meridith hit a wall. Her writing career stalled, so she poured her energy into fixing up the house she was renting. When the owner sold that house almost immediately, she stumbled onto a strange new idea: why not stage homes for a living?

From there, Meridith turned a few pieces of thrift-store furniture and potted plants into a full-blown business: trucks, warehouses, hundreds of employees, and high-end homes across Los Angeles, New York, Miami, and beyond. Along the way, she weathered the pressures of scaling a creative service into an operational machine—without ever raising outside capital.

What you’ll learn:

How to reshape a career at 50 (or any age) without a master plan

How Meridith priced her work based on value created, not hours worked

Why you don’t always need investors to grow a multi-million-dollar service business

The psychology of home staging: designing spaces that make buyers fall in love in the first 10 seconds

How Meridith thinks about legacy, stepping back, and seizing new opportunities

Timestamps:

06:08 – Growing up as a warden’s daughter inside San Quentin

11:01 – Teen pregnancy, forced adoption, and reunion decades later

12:43 – From Pepsi commercials to Penthouse magazine

19:58 – Selling a major movie script, recoiling at the finished product

22:47 – How a breakup with Patrick Stewart totally reshaped Meridith’s life

27:41 – The accidental first staging job at age 50

35:17 – Early days of the business: vans, day laborers from Home Depot, and naming her price

47:18 – Unexpected struggles: tax trouble, a cancer diagnosis

51:07 – The business expands to New York and beyond

1:00:22 – Running a 320-person company at 78—and what comes next

1:05:56 – Small Business Spotlight

This episode was produced by Alex Cheng, with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Neva Grant, with research help from Noor Gill. Our engineers were Patrick Murray and Kwesi Lee.

Follow How I Built This:

Instagram → @howibuiltthis

X → @HowIBuiltThis

Facebook → How I Built This

Follow Guy Raz:

Instagram → @guy.raz

Youtube → guy_raz

X → @guyraz

Substack → guyraz.substack.com

Website → guyraz.com

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.