Alumni In the Media: Chuck Cohn, Varsity Tutors CEO

Sydney Miller, PMBA 44, is a former journalist & editor, and perpetual student. She writes the following for the Olin Blog.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently profiled the Olin alumnus behind one of the fastest-growing tech companies in the country.

Chuck Cohn, BSBA ’08 and a 2017 Emerging Leader Honoree, is the founder and CEO of Varsity Tutors, a live learning platform that connects students with personalized instruction online, on mobile devices and in person.

In his interview with the Post-Dispatch, he offered this advice to other entrepreneurs:

First, do something you are passionate about. It can be incredibly hard to build something that customers and the world value, so it’s important that you are passionate about the work you are doing. I know the work we are doing actually helps people and I get to see the positive feedback, testimonials and the impact we have on a lot of learners and it is really rewarding.

Second, listen to your customers. If you build something that solves their problems and helps them, you are a lot more likely to be successful. It’s important to survey your customers and never accept the status quo.

Last, you need to test everything. You need to constantly be trying to improve every aspect of your operation. Eventually you’ll build something special.

Check out the full Q&A with Chuck on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

#OlinKudos, Chuck!