Ryan Carson – Treehouse

This is a great venture. Carson seems to have many of the characteristic traits of a leader and entrepreneur. I think having a strong team and building a culture at a workplace can mean great success for employees. When a leader can create an environment that people want to be a part of, work is often done in a more efficient way and immense passion grows.

Ryan Carson appears to be an ideal role model as an entrepreneur. His experiences both in his education and his professional life lend him the credibility of leading a start-up business to level of success. He seems genuinely concerned for his employees and values a culture of family and collegiality in the workplace. His trust in his employees is apparent in the level of responsibility that he places on them in their roles within the company. My hesitation as an EVA to invest in Ryan Carson would be his lack of experience in the field of education. His background is primarily in computer science. While Carson possess the technical ability to create the videos and streaming service for Treehouse, does he have the experience to create tutorials that will resonate with users - can he make them education and tool for learning? Apparently 140, 000 registered users believe that he can - so who am I to question his success?

After having investigated TreeHouse and its founder, Ryan Carson, there certainly seems to be common theme amongst the entrepreneurs that we have been examining. For Carson, and so many others with an entrepreneurial flair, TreeHouse is not his first startup. It highlights the difficulty in getting a company (that is fresh, marketable and sustainable) off the ground. It appears as though this company is doing a lot of good things to reach new customers and expand its reach. Carson appears to be a highly motivated individual who possesses some important leadership skills. I think that he recognizes the importance of his staff and that their success will likely ensure his company’s success. His bio describes him as being a champion and supporter of self-directed learning and I may assume that this leads to his staff as well. Some further exploration indicated that he is a supporter of the 4-day work week and one that he has instituted as well. The Business Insider did an interesting article on him and can be seen here: http://www.businessinsider.com/treehouse-ceos-32-hour-workweek-2015-6 Carson believes that this philosophy means less wasted time and a higher level of productivity (as well as work/lifestyle balance) for his employees. Well, as an employee, I would definitely see benefit in that. When do I start? But, how do I view TreeHouse from an investor perspective? I do see how this service has some value to an investor. In fact, this service be marketed towards individuals looking to upgrade their skills to enter the workplace or, perhaps, find a better job. However, another potential is to focus efforts on targeting existing companies and offering courses/training/support to their staff. Imagine a company being able to utilize a company like TreeHouse to enrich or refresh the skills necessary for their employees to match those necessary for future growth. Or, maybe a valuable employee (or group of employees) are lacking expertise or skillset in a certain technology. TreeHouse may be able to provide training or a learning course for them. I am definitely fascinated not only in the service(s) that TreeHouse offers but also in the way in which they support their employees. A case for the 32-hour work week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztoHewIu2DU