Basic beginnings
“Are social labels and stereotypes keeping us from finding out whether the people around us know things we want to learn? Can we create a platform that enables people to exchange skills, and explore the possibilities around them?” Those kinds of ideas led to the creation of Hahow’s predecessor, Skillhopping, a knowledge sharing platform.
When Chiang pitched his idea to his friend Austin Huang, a graduate of the networking and multimedia program at National Taiwan University, in August 2013, right after completing his military service, the two agreed on the plan immediately. Huang then invited Daniel Wang, also a program alumnus, aboard as well. Since all three already had jobs, they built the website on their laptops, working in coffee shops in the evenings and on weekends.
Skillhopping users registering on the site would list their personal areas of expertise and the skills they were interested in acquiring, for the reference of other users. When users found someone with a skill they hoped to learn, they sent an invitation to chat and arrange an exchange.
Within two months of its launch, the Skillhopping website listed more than 4,000 skills, convincing Chiang and his partners there was tremendous potential in a multidisciplinary learning platform. But Skillhopping suffered from two issues: its exchanges required one-on-one meetings, which limited them to particular times and locations; and its partners lacked a business model. After studying the developing market for online courses both within Taiwan and abroad, Chiang, Huang, Wang, and Peter Huang (a new partner who joined the team because he liked the concept) quit their jobs in November 2014, leased space in a coworking space, and threw themselves into their new online learning venture.
At the outset, the four men would crowd around a small table every day to discuss website design and research business models. After months of feverish activity, they launched Hahow—the first online learning site in Taiwan to combine fundraising with streaming educational videos—in April 2015.
The process for teachers hoping to offer a class on the platform is pretty straightforward. Would-be teachers first produce a three-minute video introduction, decide the cost of the course, and set a target number of students. They then post all of this information on the platform, where interested users can pre-purchase the course. The proposed course has 30 days to achieve its funding and sign-up goals. If it reaches those targets, the teacher then shoots the actual class videos and posts them on the site.
The Hahow team believes that everyone has something of value to share. The company’s founders are aiming to break down outdated educational frameworks by providing a platform that enables ordinary people to share their potential with others.