Build Your Spiky Point of View to Stand Out

Kao recommends comparing outside demand with what you are genuinely interested in teaching. Look for urgent, frequent problems people already ask you about, then find the overlap with a topic you can keep exploring. She cautions against building a course around a new curiosity without evidence that learners want it.

Kao defines a spiky point of view as an evidence-based perspective that other experts could reasonably disagree with. Her example is to plan a course’s audience, demand, and marketing before building the curriculum. She says that approach helped Maven shape its product after launching before it had a name or technical co-founder.

Kao describes instructor Shovan Bhari, who built a leadership course for women in tech without an existing audience. Bhari offered workshops to company employee groups, interviewed women in tech, and joined relevant communities; Kao says her cohorts grew from 25 to 30 students to more than 100. He advises creators to provide real value in free workshops and introduce their course naturally.

Kao’s State Change Method breaks up online teaching every three to five minutes with activities such as chat responses, short exercises, or student discussion. On creator products, he says higher prices require more evidence and trust, and recommends starting with one product and one channel before expanding.