📚 The future of higher ed

PLUS: Google is changing the way it tracks you. Brought to you by The Hustle together with CMA. March 09, 2021 [The Hustle] [The Hustle]( TOGETHER WITH [CMA]( Game(make it)Stop On Monday, $GME stock jumped 40%+ on news the company tapped activist investor and Chewy co-founder Ryan Cohen to lead the company’s pivot toward online sales. The Big Idea [mortarboard]( Coursera’s IPO signals big changes ahead for higher ed At certain points in 2020, Google search volume for “masterclass” [surpassed]( that of “business school.” Folks are increasingly questioning the value of traditional higher ed. Why pay Harvard $80k per year when you can take the university’s computer science courses for [free on YouTube](? That’s a reality partially brought on by Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) over the last decade. And now, one of the largest MOOCs, Coursera, is going public In 2011, Stanford professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller [posted videos]( of Ng’s machine-learning course online. In short order, 100k+ people viewed it -- and boom, Coursera was born. Today’s Coursera isn’t that different, just magnitudes larger: The platform boasts: - 4k+ courses from 200+ schools and companies - 77m registered learners - A 59% 2020 revenue jump, to $293.5m Coursera offers everything from one-off courses to certificate programs and some accredited bachelor’s and master’s degrees. But it’s not the only MOOC shaking things up [EdX]( built its name around free Harvard-MIT computer science courses and has 35m users. Another, [Udemy](, is used for upskilling by 80% of Fortune 100 companies. A widely reported challenge for MOOCs are completion and re-enrollment [rates](, which in 2018 sat around 3% and 7%, respectively, according to an MIT study. Which leaves the future of higher ed unclear The market for online degrees is expected to reach $74B by 2025 -- and by 2030, the global education market [could reach]( $10T. NYU Professor Scott Galloway [predicts]( we’ll see hybrid offerings from partnerships the likes of MIT/Google, UCLA/Netflix, and Berkeley/Microsoft that offer “80% of a traditional four-year degree for 50% of the price.” But the jury’s still out on how online degrees will replicate the magic and unbridled joy of a beer pong tournament. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Coursera%E2%80%99s+IPO+signals+big+changes+ahead+for+higher+ed%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F03092021-Coursera-IPO%3Futm_campaign%3DTuesday%2BEmail%26utm_content%3D03092021-Coursera-IPO%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( Snippets - Tech pain: Even as the Dow Jones Index rose nearly 1% on Monday, the tech-focused [NASDAQ]( fell 2%+ as people continue to sell off high-growth tech stocks that have gotten frothy. - Microsoft hack: The company is responding to 4 zero-day vulnerabilities [being exploited]( by a state-sponsored Chinese group, following the recent SolarWinds hack that impacted 18k organizations around the globe. - More from cyberspace: McAfee [is selling]( its enterprise unit to Symphony Technology Group for $4B, a year after Symphony bought another security firm (RSA) for $2B. - PayPal makes a crypto purchase: The company [is acquiring]( Israeli crypto security startup Curv. The price of the deal is unknown but reported to be up to $300m. - GE is sending off its aircraft-leasing business (1.6k+ planes) in a $30B+ deal with Ireland’s AerCap in an attempt to [restructure]( the company. - Speaking of airplanes...Amazon acquired a minority stake in air cargo contractor ATSG for [$131m]( (we wrote more on Amazon’s shipping ambitions [here]().  Digital Privacy [Google sign]( “OK, now take the exact same photo but from a slightly more artistic angle” (Source: Getty Images / David Paul Morris) Google will stop tracking you for ads… but there’s a catch Google announced last week that it will stop selling ads based on tracked individual browsing history (cookies). But it’s likely not an instance of the company adhering to its former [unofficial motto](, “Don’t be evil.” As Y Combinator’s Paul Graham [notes](, it’s more likely that Google simply found a more effective way to target ads that’s less prone to regulation. So, what juicy data is Google using now? Google [says]( it has been developing a privacy sandbox (an isolated environment where code can be tested) to target ads without collecting user data from various sites. Instead, machine learning will categorize users into groups or cohorts with thousands of other people with similar interests. In layman’s terms, this just means they’re following a more amorphous, blobby version of you. This sounds great on the surface… but there’s a catch The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) [pointed out]( a year ago that Google’s plans for a privacy sandbox may be less positive than they appear to be. “Today, trackers follow you around the web, skulking in the digital shadows in order to guess at what kind of person you might be,” writes the EFF. “In Google’s future, they will sit back, relax, and let your browser do the work for them.” Google gets to keep Googling, while organizations without Google’s data (read: everyone but Google) will have to find new ways to target ads. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Google+will+stop+tracking+you+for+ads%E2%80%A6+but+there%E2%80%99s+a+catch%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F03092021-Google-ads%3Futm_campaign%3DCoursera%2BIPO%26utm_content%3D03092021-Google-ads%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( SPONSORED Today’s top Accountants, CFOs, and Financial Analysts have this in common... This floored our team: “[$1,696 or more in returned lifetime earnings for every hour of study time](.” For most, that’s over $500k in additional lifetime earnings. What field of study can net those returns? Law? Medicine? Comp Sci? Keep guessing. The answer is a CMA® (Certified Management Accountant) certification. And yes, it’s what the most successful business leaders at Amazon, IBM, and Microsoft all have in common today. Plus, CMAs report a higher earning and higher job satisfaction [Check out this infographic from IMA® to see exactly what we mean.]( If you’re looking to advance your career and master the kind of skills that will make you invaluable to any organization, it’s time to check out the CMA®. [Download the infographic →]( SPONSORED Humans of New York founder Brandon Stanton has a lot to say About storytelling. About the power of platforms. About the evolving responsibility of social media influencers. And in their [newest Real Talk event](, RingCentral is sitting down with him to cover it all. Tune in as Time’s “30 Under 30 People Changing The World” honoree shares how he’s given a voice to those who typically wouldn’t have a platform to tell their story, [how everyone has a story](, and the power of social media. Only one more day to save your spot for the event on 3/10. [Register now →]( Investor of the Day [group photo] Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff (straw hat) creeps into photos like he creeps into late-stage venture deals (Getty Images / Joe Scarnici) The largest tech companies have in-house VC firms. And few have been on the investing hot streak that Salesforce -- the $190B+ software giant -- is on right now. Salesforce Ventures notched ~$2.2B in investments gains last year, with investment markups accounting for ~40% of its earnings per share (EPS). Here are some 2020 hits, per [CNBC](: - Snowflake: A $250m investment at the data warehousing firm’s IPO is up more than 3x - nCino: A 12%+ position built up over many years that is now worth $800m+ after the fintech firm IPO’d last year - Zoom: A $100m investment at IPO that Salesforce exited last year after a 3x gain Last week, Salesforce Ventures scored another win when another one of its investments -- identity management startup Auth0 -- was acquired by competitor Okta for $6.5B. The firm’s $120m investment saw a 3.4x gain in just 8 months. Startups like Salesforce’s money because the company is hands off (doesn’t take a board seat) and doesn’t block deals. TRENDS The post-pandemic industry set to boom in 2021… Our latest Trends report outlines some of the biggest post-pandemic opportunities our researchers could identify. We focused on one space that’s been picking up exponentially more interest since the new year started  - Vacation experiences in the post-pandemic world. In the report, we outline the largest business opportunities our analysts could identify in niche travel & experience spaces - ideas you can get started on this week. When you read through, you’ll learn: - How you can double down on the $1B “glamping” trend and create outdoor experiences people want to pay for - How VR/AR experiences could redefine vacation, and some ideas to get you started - The $10M opportunities in niche “travel boxes” and the strategies that have proven successful - And much more. If you’re not already a member of Trends, [sign up today for a free trial]( to get access to the full discussion. [Get access →]( Ambassador Giveaway Want to own a SaaS business? We’ve partnered with [MicroAcquire]( to give away a SaaS business valued at up to $25k. How to enter: Copy and paste your referral link: and share it with as many people as you can. The ambassador with the most referrals between Monday 3/8, 8:30 AM PT and Friday 4/2, 11:59 PM PT will win. Plus, we’ll be setting the winner up for success! Here’s how: - [Andrew Gazdecki](, the CEO of MicroAcquire will select the best business in the price range with happy customers and a working product - all acquisition costs will be covered - Andrew will also be mentoring the winner for a month (He’s a 30 under 30 entrepreneur who’s founded and sold two SaaS businesses) - The winner (and their new company) will be announced in the daily for all 1.5 million subscribers to see [Share to Win →]( How did you like today’s email? Today's email was brought to you by [Trung Phan](, [Jacob Cohen]( and [Elizabeth Howell Hanano](. Editing by: Zachary “MOOC” Crockett, Frieda Wander (Bail Bondswoman). [PODCAST]( [JOBS]( [CONTACT US](mailto:news@thehustle.co) [Facebook]( [Youtube]( [Instagram]( [Trends]( 2131 THEO DR. STE F, AUSTIN, TX 78723, UNITED STATES • 415.506.7210 Never want to hear from us again? Break our hearts and [unsubscribe](list=thehustle). [The Hustle](