✎ Edit
Feature Story

The Student Whisperer: How Karan Goel Built Two Edtech Exits by Recognizing That College Students Need More Than Better Tests

A serial founder discovers his true business only after his first one succeeded.

By JB Journal Staff Editorial May 8, 2026

When Karan Goel was 30 years old, his adaptive learning company PrepMe was being acquired by Ascend Learning. On paper, it looked like a win. His team had built the first platform to actually personalize test prep for college readiness exams—SAT, ACT, PSAT. They'd served hundreds of thousands of students. Fortune Small Business had run their photo on the cover. The Chicago Innovation Awards had recognized them.

Goel should have felt accomplished. Instead, he felt like he'd solved the wrong problem.

JB Journal

Three more paragraphs you'll love.

$15/month unlocks every story — the full archive of deep-dive features across fashion, business, culture, and influence. No ads. Cancel anytime.

Become a Member — $15/month

⚡ Pay with Lightning (BTC)

Already a subscriber? Restore access

JB

Support independent journalism
about real entrepreneurs.

$15/month unlocks every story — the full archive of deep-dive features across fashion, business, culture, and influence. No ads. Cancel anytime.

Become a Member — $15/month

⚡ Or pay with Lightning (BTC)

Already subscribed? Restore access

Spread the word

Share this story

← All Stories
Read Next

More from JB Journal

JB Journal Editorial

Carolina Herrera's "Shopping for a Cause" Highlights Fashion's Growing Role in Social Impact

Luxury fashion and community advocacy intersected at Carolina Herrera's "Shopping for a Cause" event in La Jolla, where influence, philanthropy, and cultural awareness came together under one purpose-driven experience.

Read story →
JB Journal

The Lemonade Stand: How Two Tech Founders Blew Up a 300-Year-Old Industry by Treating Insurance Like a Social Contract

Daniel Schreiber had never worked a day in insurance. Shai Wininger had built Fiverr from scratch. Together they decided the most hated industry in America was also the most broken — and that fixing it might just save them both.

Read story →
JB Journal

The Freight Whisperer: How Ryan Petersen Digitized the World's Most Opaque Industry and Raised $3.2 Billion Moving Boxes Across Oceans

He learned global logistics by importing motorcycles from China in his dorm room. Then he spent a decade building the software that made the world's supply chains visible for the first time — and discovered that disrupting a $3 trillion industry is a lot harder than explaining why your container is late.

Read story →