Teachable turned the internet into a classroom anyone could own. Ankur Nagpal built it in 2013 after watching YouTube creators leave millions on the table. The platform let people create and sell courses with zero technical knowledge required. Hotmart acquired it in 2020 for a reported $250 million. By that point, Teachable had paid out over $1 billion to its creator base — real money, not engagement metrics.
Founded
2013
HQ
New York, NY, USA
Total Raised
$12.5 million
Founder
Ankur Nagpal
Status
Acquired (Hotmart, 2020)
Website
teachable.comTHE ORIGIN STORY
Ankur Nagpal was a developer watching online creators struggle to monetize their audiences beyond YouTube ad revenue. Platforms paid peanuts.
He built a simple course-selling tool in 2013, called it Fedora, and launched it through Y Combinator in 2015. After rebranding to Teachable in 2014, the product took off with creators who needed a professional storefront without a developer.
WHAT THEY ACTUALLY DO
SaaS plus transaction fees. Teachable charges monthly subscriptions across Basic, Pro, and Business tiers.
Lower tiers carry a transaction fee on every sale. Higher tiers drop the fee to zero.
Either way, Teachable collects recurring revenue while creators handle their own marketing and content.
THE PRODUCTS
Teachable course builder, coaching products, digital downloads, Teachable Payments, affiliate center, and student analytics dashboard.
HOW THEY GREW
Creator-led word of mouth. Teachable encouraged successful creators to share their revenue numbers publicly.
When someone sees that a fitness coach made $200K selling a course, they sign up. The platform became its own marketing engine.
An affiliate program rewarded existing creators for referrals and kept acquisition costs low.
THE HARD PART
MONEY TRAIL
YC Seed
2015 · Led by Y Combinator
$200K raised
Series A
2016 · Led by Accomplice
$5M raised
Series B
2019 · Led by Accomplice
$8M raised
WHO BACKED THEM
Y Combinator (W15 batch). Series A and B led by Accomplice.
Hotmart acquired the company in 2020 for a reported $250 million.
Related Profiles
Companies
Coursera
Both platforms serve online learners but from opposite ends. Coursera partners with universities and corporations. Teachable gives independent creators direct control. The contrast shows two different bets on who produces the most valuable online education.
Udemy
Udemy is a marketplace where learners browse and buy. Teachable is a white-label builder where creators own the relationship. The platforms serve similar markets with fundamentally different structures — one favors discovery, the other favors creator brand-building.
Head-to-Head
Compare Teachable vs another company.