This week on From Scratch:

Coursera offers online courses to the public through partnerships with leading universities internationally. Coursera was launched in 2012 and reached its first one million users faster than Facebook or Twitter. Coursera is one of a number of companies offering massive open online courses– or MOOCs– to address a growing global population and the rising costs of on-campus higher education.

Daphne speaks with Jessica about Coursera’s role in pioneering the landscape of higher education, from scratch.

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From joining gyms to taking Yoga classes, finding a workout that was both effective and satisfying did not come easily to Elizabeth and Julie. Unable to discover a cardio program that motivated and inspired (as well as burned calories), Julie and Elizabeth set out to create a new kind of routine. Fusing elements of indoor cycling with upper body workouts, the two opened a
small studio on the upper west side of Manhattan. They soon found themselves attracting media attention, serving celebrities, and opening multiple locations in New York City and the surrounding region.

Julie and Elizabeth speak with Jessica about how an unknown cycling studio transformed itself into a lifestyle brand, from scratch.

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Warby Parker is an online eyeglass retailer that sells low cost vintage inspired glasses.  For each pair sold, Warby Parker provides a pair of glasses to low income people in more than 36 countries through non-profit partners like VisionSpring.  VisionSpring trains female entrepreneurs to give eye exams and sell glasses in their communities.  Neil co-founded Warby Parker with three classmates from Wharton Business School.

Neil speaks with Jessica about how he is helping to change the optical industry landscape by making attractive glasses more affordable to everyone, from scratch.

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Netspend was the first prepaid debit card company focused on the “underbanked” population in the United States. Launched in 1999, Netspend targets people who do not have access to credit cards or hold bank accounts. Bertrand and Roy started the company out of their one bedroom apartment in Austin, Texas with $750. They later raised almost $1.5 Billion in an IPO in 2010 and sold the company in early 2013 to Total System Services for approximately $1.4Bn.

Bertrand and Roy are also the co-founders of Mpower Labs, an investment fund focused on financial services for the underbanked. The brothers emigrated from Mexico with their mother when they were teenagers in 1986.

Bertrand and Roy speak with Jessica about how they have helped to pioneer the international financial services landscape, from scratch.

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