That’s the first somewhat liberating thing. We always want to impress our friends and convince them that what we’re doing is a good idea. But at the same time, you also have to remind yourself: you don’t have to convince this person. You don’t want to be delusional and ignore good feedback.

So that was one form of protection.ĭealing with cynics - who do you need to convince and what evidence do you hold?Įven today, when I encounter cynics, the first thing I say is, “Sal, don’t be defensive, there might be something in what they’re saying”. And hey, if it helps other people, great. I’m doing it because it’s helping my cousins. I’m like, no, no, no, this isn’t a business. Someone else’s is doing what you’re doing.” I’m tutoring my cousins.” My friends, out here in Silicon Valley, their natural inclination is “why are you doing this?” And I’m like, “oh, because it’s helping my cousins.” They’d ask, “How are you going to monetize this? I don’t see the business plan. I didn’t want to close that door either…Įven before I had quit my job, I would show my friends, “Hey, I’ve got this hobby. But I kept trying to keep myself from getting too attached to the big ambition, just saying, hey, just put one foot in front of the other, but keep the door open to the big ambition. But obviously, as you start writing software you’re like, but maybe people who are not my cousins could use it. And I said, “Hey, if it’s just my cousins who are using it, it’s worth doing this, it’s helping them”. And I started writing software for my cousins.

That’s when I got the domain name Khan Academy. How did Sal mentally manage the risk of non-venture backed entrepreneurship?Įarly on in the Khan Academy journey, even when, let’s go back to 2004 2005, I started tutoring my cousin’s 2005, I started writing software for them.

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