When Tyler Maloney first enrolled at NC State for undergrad, he felt his only options were to become an engineer, a doctor or a lawyer. To that end, he ultimately graduated with a bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering in 2014.
But by a “stroke of luck,” Maloney was also recruited by a friend onto the Engineering Entrepreneurs Program (EEP) senior design team at NC State. And even though he had “no idea what [entrepreneurship] was” and had little to no experience with entrepreneurship at the time, Maloney decided to join. From there, he felt that his education came to life.
“[Through this program, I realized] this is why I’m learning these things in the classroom and this is how I can apply them in a way that impacts society,” Maloney said. “This is how I can take an idea and turn it from nothing into something.”
After getting a taste of the world of entrepreneurship, Maloney went on to earn his MBA from Stanford Business school, found three companies, and raise over $20 million. He is currently the CEO of his newest venture, TeachMe.To, where he is working to expand access to sports and reduce the challenge of finding lessons from expert coaches and facilities.
These efforts are not going unnoticed, as TeachMe.To has been backed by notable investors—one being Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI. Again, by stroke of luck, Maloney linked up with Altman not through their shared Stanford MBA connections, but by finding out that they had attended the same middle school only 10 years apart.
Described on Maloney’s LinkedIn as the “Airbnb for private in-person lessons,” TeachMe.To is a San Francisco-based startup that connects instructors to interested students across a broad range of sports and activities, such as pickleball, violin, and dance. Through this effort, the startup can break barriers that some may feel toward joining sports or activities that have often been inaccessible for social and economic reasons.
“A lot of these skills like country club sports (golf, tennis) are inaccessible to beginners and as a result, they become very exclusive,” Maloney explained. “It shouldn’t be that hard to get into those skills…I think there’s a lot of big social value in making those ‘elitist skills’ easier and more accessible to the everyday person who wants to get started and doesn’t know where to begin.”
The idea of TeachMe.To struck Maloney when he wanted to learn how to kiteboard in San Francisco. Through his research, he found that most kiteboarding companies either had bad websites or didn’t provide enough information. He also found that individual instructors would have outstanding reviews and knowledge, but might not offer clear platforms for their services.
These instructors are potentially losing out on a $15B market for in-person lessons, according to Maloney. From his own experience and general knowledge about customer service, he knew that many people are deterred from buying something they want if the user experience is not clean.
That’s why TeachMe.To’s straightforward dashboard makes the onboarding process for both customers and instructors easier, keeping things both hassle-free and easy on the eyes. According to Maloney, this startup is the first to handle everything for the instructors, such as customer service, scheduling, and providing insurance. That way, instructors can focus on teaching and customers on learning.
TeachMe.To will onboard instructors based on experience and will then assist with listing and advertising. The startup’s revenue comes from small fees paid by the instructors.
When TeachMe.To first launched its platform in 2022, it delivered about two lessons a day. In 2023, that number leapt to 40 a day, and now, in 2024, the company averages around 200 lessons per day. The platform is available in every major city in the U.S. and in countries like Canada and Australia.
Maloney is asking for anyone who is interested in teaching or learning a new skill to check out the TeachMe.To website and keep tracking the startup’s journey.
As the world continually readjusts to an in-person culture post-pandemic, as well as constant changes in technology, Maloney believes that more people want to spend more time picking up hobbies and activities. But without access to a good company or a referral to a good instructor, this can be harder than it ought to be. Maloney’s cross-continent connections from San Francisco to the Triangle can help expand that access for anybody and everybody who is ready to learn and enjoy a new activity.
“The world’s changed a lot and all people want to do is get out of the house,” Maloney said. “Allowing customers to make personal choices based on what they’re looking for and exposing new, personal information about the coaches themselves can be powerful to enable that fun and curiosity again.”
