326: How Skillshare Co-Founder Malcolm Ong Has Transformed Multiple Industries—From Education To Media

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Malcolm Ong has never shied away from change. In fact, his ability to adapt is what has given him a front-row seat to multiple business transformations—first as the co-founder of education platform Skillshare to now as the Head of Product at South China Morning Post.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After launching Skillshare in 2010, Ong led the business through a significant pivot—from being a completely offline, in-person model to one that’s now membership-based and 100% online. In the process, he also witnessed the massive growth of the online education industry, which has only been sped up by the Covid-19 pandemic.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After leaving Skillshare, Ong joined South China Morning Post, a global, English-language news media company owned by Alibaba. His job has been to transform this company from a traditional, local newspaper into a more modern, global media empire. A task that he has exceeded, as he’s grown their number of monthly active users from 4 million to over 50 million and significantly expanded the outlet’s readership beyond Asia.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In this conversation, Ong gives us a deeper dive into these milestones throughout his fascinating career and shares his best recommendations on how to transform a business. If there’s any other type of content you’d like to see that would be valuable to you during this time, please don’t hesitate to reach out at support@foundr.com. </span></p> <h2><span style="font-weight: 400;">Key Takeaways</span></h2> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Why Ong decided to tackle the education industry</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">How Skillshare launched as a 100% offline education platform </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">What contributed to Skillshare’s success</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The sc