Tade Oyerinde and Teddy Solomon have a strong grasp on creating lasting communities.
Oyerinde is the founder and chancellor of the online school Campus, while Solomon is the co-founder of the college social app Fizz.
The two shared insights at TechCrunch Disrupt this year, detailing the strategies that helped them grow their companies while keeping consumers engaged.
Campus offers associate degrees in fields like information technology and business administration, along with certificates in specialties such as cosmetology and phlebotomy. According to Oyerinde, the school has over 3,000 students and employs more than 100 professors, mostly on a part-time basis.
Oyerinde mentioned that Campus decided to launch à la carte courses in response to employer demand for classes teaching individual skills, like vibe coding.
He noted a growing trend where people are eager to upskill and believes that in the future, everyone will likely have some form of membership or subscription service to help them acquire new skills.
“Everyone in this room—not just those pursuing two-year degrees—will be able to come to Campus and learn with us,” he told the audience. “Live, online classes taught by incredible instructors.”
Oyerinde leverages the Pell Grant to keep education affordable for many. He also has influential backers on his company’s cap table, including OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Discord’s Jason Citroen, which allows him to prioritize educational advancements over profit.
“They don’t need the money,” he continued. “What they genuinely want is to improve the way education functions in this country.”
Fizz operates on over 200 college campuses and previously extended into high schools across the nation. The app has raised over $40 million from investors like Owl Ventures and NEA.
Since its launch in 2021, Solomon shared that Fizz has incorporated features like a peer-to-peer marketplace with over 100,000 listings and added video capabilities to enable richer user interactions.
The company is now developing a product called Global Fizz to extend its reach beyond the U.S. Solomon elaborated on this during his appearance on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, outlining the company’s future plans.
He also discussed monetization strategies, particularly in advertising. “We’ve already collaborated with companies like Perplexity,” he said.
“There are subscription models that have worked well with other apps, but right now, we’re focusing on our advertising business and on creating a great product that keeps our users engaged and satisfied.”
After all, he emphasized, “The users are everything.”
