I recently stumbled across this fascinating interview with Ryan Carson, the creator of Treehouse. In it, Carson provides his perspective on the web community, his previous businesses and how he sees Treehouse affecting education.

I enjoyed Keven Rose’s relaxed and fun interviewing style. When I get the time, I am going to check out more on Foundation.

Here are some notes from the interview:

• Organizing events is good way to insert yourself into the center of a community.
• Well-educated people think about education as an investment.
• When people pay for education, they want an expert to teach them.
• It’s not just about money. Contacts and social equity matter too.
• One needs to be clear about deliverables and deadlines to successfully work with people.
• Gantt charts are a good way of visualising timelines and responsibilities.
• Hire people as contractors initially, and if things work out, make them full time employees.
• If you intend on making money selling something, don’t make a free version available and split customers.