Tade Oyerinde and Teddy Solomon know a few things about building communities that last.
Afterall, Oyerinde is the founder and chancellor of the online school Campus, while Solomon is the co-founder behind the college social app Fizz.
The two spoke at TechCrunch Disrupt this year, breaking down the strategies that helped them scale their companies while retaining consumer interest.
Campus offers associate degrees in areas like information technology and business administration. It also offers certificates in specialities like cosmetology and phlebotomy. There are more than 3,000 students enrolled in Campus, and it employs more than 100 professors on at least a part-time basis, Oyerinde says.
Oyerinde said Campus decided to launch à la carte courses since employers, in particular, have been asking for classes that can teach their employees individual skills like vibe coding.
He’s realized that a lot of people are looking to upskill and believes that in the future, everyone will have some sort of membership or subscription service that helps them develop new skills.
“Everyone in this room, not just two-year degree-seeking people, will be able to go to Campus and learn with us,” he told the audience. “Live, online classes, taught by amazing people.”
Techcrunch event Join the Disrupt 2026 Waitlist Add yourself to the Disrupt 2026 waitlist to be first in line when Early Bird tickets drop. Past Disrupts have brought Google Cloud, Netflix, Microsoft, Box, Phia, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, and Vinod Khosla to the stages — part of 250+ industry leaders driving 200+ sessions built to fuel your growth and sharpen your edge. Plus, meet the hundreds of startups innovating across every sector. Join the Disrupt 2026 Waitlist Add yourself to the Disrupt 2026 waitlist to be first in line when Early Bird tickets drop. Past Disrupts have brought Google Cloud, Netflix, Microsoft, Box, Phia, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, and Vinod Khosla to the stages — part of 250+ industry leaders driving 200+ sessions built to fuel your growth and sharpen your edge. Plus, meet the hundreds of startups innovating across every sector. San Francisco | WAITLIST NOW
Teddy Solomon; TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 Day 3 at the Moscone Center West in San Francisco on Tuesday, Oct 29, 2025. ( Photo By Slava Blazer Photography ) Image Credits:Slava Blazer Photography / Slava Blazer Photography / Flickr (opens in a new window)
Oyerinde makes use of the Pell Grant to help keep the school affordable for most people. He also has a team of billionaires on his company’s cap table — like OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Discord’s Jason Citroen — meaning he doesn’t feel much pressure to focus on profits above all else, he said.
... continue reading