Introducing Ko

Our education systems are struggling with incentives.

Educators play a critical role in determining how well students learn, but less people are becoming teachers due to low wages, tough working conditions, and lack of career mobility. This leads to staffing shortages in schools and burnout among remaining teachers.

When our teachers lack the support and incentives to do well, student achievement and mental health are also negatively impacted.

Many students persevere through school hoping to get into college and find their dream job, only to end up without relevant skills for employment, in jobs that provide low satisfaction, and burdened with student loan debt.

Meanwhile, it might not be a coincidence that people are struggling with mental health issues worldwide.

These problems are all interconnected and must be tackled strategically as a whole.

At Ko, we believe that better incentives for sharing knowledge will lead to better outcomes for individuals and society. This is why Ko exists – our mission is to improve quality of life through education.

We’re building tools for educators to publish, organize, and earn income on educational resources. Learners will be able to discover educational content, subscribe directly to topics they care about, and learn anytime, anywhere.

This is how we plan on getting started:

Build a network dedicated to education and cultivate real relationships. No ads. No likes. No vanity metrics. Private interactions by default. Educators can also be learners, and vice versa. All members are only expected to share knowledge and learn.
Support multiple formats, optimizing for efficiency and focus. Education happens in many ways. We’re building a versatile set of tools to let people teach and learn however works best for them. Our goal is to maximize productivity and minimize distraction.
Integrate payments infrastructure. We want to make it as simple as possible for any educator to set up an online business. We’re starting with tools to set up paid subscriptions so that educators can establish sources of recurring income.

Our founding team is just me for now - my name is Mike Tang. I’ve designed and shipped software in education, publishing, and personal finance. Before working in tech, I pursued a career in urban design and sustainability. My career transitions couldn’t have been possible without online educational resources from various people I've never met. They didn’t just change my life – they empowered me to change my own.

Building Ko is my way of paying it forward for future generations. Our possibilities are endless and I’m excited to share progress and lessons learned along the way.

If you're interested in joining early and influencing the direction of Ko, request early access and feel free to reach out on Twitter.

Ko [ 子 ] means “child” in Japanese and represents our commitment to the promise of future generations.

Our logo is inspired by the giant sequoia pinecone because their species grows when its on fire.