Thriving Together
Co-founders of lynda.com visit LBS
Lynda Weinman, and her husband Bruce Heavin, co-founders of lynda.com—one of the most inspiring, innovative, and successful companies in online education today—were special guests of Laguna Blanca's Entrepreneurship Club on April 16. At the assembly, Lynda talked about entrepreneurship and confirmed the announcement that LinkedIn acquired lynda.com in a transaction valued at approximately $1.5 billion.
Armon Ghodoussi ’16, Founder and President of the Entrepreneurship Club, invited Mrs. Weinman to Laguna and acted as host of the 30-minute “fireside chat” during the recent Upper School Assembly. Henry Farrell ’17, who was recently appointed VP of the Entrepreneurship Club, moderated the post fireside Q&A session.
During the fireside chat, Armon asked Mrs. Weinman about her story with lynda.com. She candidly shared her childhood challenges and impressed upon students that it does not matter where you start in your teen years, as long as you are tenacious, passionate, and a hard worker, you can pave your own way to success. Mrs. Weinman also shared how the inspiration from the book, Summer Hill, followed by an unorthodox education at Evergreen State College, and a passion for teaching at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena were all precursors for starting lynda.com.
As Armon probed, Lynda described her entrepreneurial traits. “I do not take no for an answer easily,” she explained. “There were numerous times that either the economy said no, or people said no to Bruce and I. There were barriers along the way but those moments defined how big we would go or which steps we would take.” Bruce and Lynda used their creativity to find new strategies, implement new solutions to problems, and adapt quickly to changes in their environment. The road to success was not always easy, as they had to overcome many obstacles and make sacrifices along the way to find success for not only themselves but also for their employees.
Mrs. Weinman and her husband Mr. Heavin are notable local philanthropists and are known for their generosity and commitment to the arts and education. Among many of the organizations they support, the Boys and Girls Club have a special place in their hearts and it is one of the charities that Mr. Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn, also supports.
When Armon asked about the upcoming acquisition by LinkedIn (May 2015), Mrs. Weinman explained that lynda.com and LinkedIn have a shared vision of connecting relevant knowledge to those in need of new or stronger skills. LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional networking company, has reached 350 million registered users.
When asked to give her thoughts on success and being an entrepreneur, Lynda Weinman said, “Entrepreneurship is a metaphor for life. For many, being successful is to make a lot of money and that is fine. But for me being successful means that I’m doing something I love and am being a positive force for the human condition.” She continued, “Know that it is OK to have some failures in life—try to learn from them and then put one foot in front of the other and carry on.”
Mr. Bruce Heavin, Co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer; Mr. Terrence Dixon, K-12 Academic Solutions Advisor; and Ms. Kate Blake, Community Relations from lynda.com, were all in attendance. Mr. Terrence Dixon from lynda.com remarked, “The fact that this event was put on and executed solely by the students/Entrepreneurship Club is really impressive. This shows great initiative, tremendous focus, and leadership, and I had a great time during the assembly, which continued over lunch with faculty members of Laguna Blanca. I cannot wait to connect with these Club Students in few years to see where they are headed in life!”
Tyler Hurley ’16 also shared his experience about the assembly. “It was great to have such a successful and inspiring local entrepreneur come and speak to our school. It is impressive that Armon is getting a lineup of such successful business people.”
Ms. Margaret Baker, member of the LBS Board of Trustees, added, ”Armon’s ability to interview a guest in such a natural, conversational way is a rare talent. He drew the audience into the discussion, Lynda became engaged with everyone, and the audience became fascinated with her story. Armon’s interviewing style reminded me of how American journalist Charlie Rose stayed out of the interview and made his guests feel comfortable so they revealed so much more about themselves.”
The entire interview was videotaped by Kylan Tyng ’16 and will be available in the near future.
To join the club or to learn more about upcoming events, please join Armon Ghodoussi’s Facebook Group @ “LBS Entrepreneurship Club.”
Back
Armon Ghodoussi ’16, Founder and President of the Entrepreneurship Club, invited Mrs. Weinman to Laguna and acted as host of the 30-minute “fireside chat” during the recent Upper School Assembly. Henry Farrell ’17, who was recently appointed VP of the Entrepreneurship Club, moderated the post fireside Q&A session.
During the fireside chat, Armon asked Mrs. Weinman about her story with lynda.com. She candidly shared her childhood challenges and impressed upon students that it does not matter where you start in your teen years, as long as you are tenacious, passionate, and a hard worker, you can pave your own way to success. Mrs. Weinman also shared how the inspiration from the book, Summer Hill, followed by an unorthodox education at Evergreen State College, and a passion for teaching at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena were all precursors for starting lynda.com.
As Armon probed, Lynda described her entrepreneurial traits. “I do not take no for an answer easily,” she explained. “There were numerous times that either the economy said no, or people said no to Bruce and I. There were barriers along the way but those moments defined how big we would go or which steps we would take.” Bruce and Lynda used their creativity to find new strategies, implement new solutions to problems, and adapt quickly to changes in their environment. The road to success was not always easy, as they had to overcome many obstacles and make sacrifices along the way to find success for not only themselves but also for their employees.
Mrs. Weinman and her husband Mr. Heavin are notable local philanthropists and are known for their generosity and commitment to the arts and education. Among many of the organizations they support, the Boys and Girls Club have a special place in their hearts and it is one of the charities that Mr. Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn, also supports.
When Armon asked about the upcoming acquisition by LinkedIn (May 2015), Mrs. Weinman explained that lynda.com and LinkedIn have a shared vision of connecting relevant knowledge to those in need of new or stronger skills. LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional networking company, has reached 350 million registered users.
When asked to give her thoughts on success and being an entrepreneur, Lynda Weinman said, “Entrepreneurship is a metaphor for life. For many, being successful is to make a lot of money and that is fine. But for me being successful means that I’m doing something I love and am being a positive force for the human condition.” She continued, “Know that it is OK to have some failures in life—try to learn from them and then put one foot in front of the other and carry on.”
Mr. Bruce Heavin, Co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer; Mr. Terrence Dixon, K-12 Academic Solutions Advisor; and Ms. Kate Blake, Community Relations from lynda.com, were all in attendance. Mr. Terrence Dixon from lynda.com remarked, “The fact that this event was put on and executed solely by the students/Entrepreneurship Club is really impressive. This shows great initiative, tremendous focus, and leadership, and I had a great time during the assembly, which continued over lunch with faculty members of Laguna Blanca. I cannot wait to connect with these Club Students in few years to see where they are headed in life!”
Tyler Hurley ’16 also shared his experience about the assembly. “It was great to have such a successful and inspiring local entrepreneur come and speak to our school. It is impressive that Armon is getting a lineup of such successful business people.”
Ms. Margaret Baker, member of the LBS Board of Trustees, added, ”Armon’s ability to interview a guest in such a natural, conversational way is a rare talent. He drew the audience into the discussion, Lynda became engaged with everyone, and the audience became fascinated with her story. Armon’s interviewing style reminded me of how American journalist Charlie Rose stayed out of the interview and made his guests feel comfortable so they revealed so much more about themselves.”
The entire interview was videotaped by Kylan Tyng ’16 and will be available in the near future.
To join the club or to learn more about upcoming events, please join Armon Ghodoussi’s Facebook Group @ “LBS Entrepreneurship Club.”
Community
Laguna Blanca is Santa Barbara’s premier private, co-educational, college preparatory day school for students in Early Kindergarten through Grade 12.