The Brown & White

What do you get when you combine a risk-taker with a great idea?

A Brown and White reporter interviewed John Katzman, founder of The Princeton Review, last Thursday. They discussed the current state of education, challenges that the test preparation industry faces and started his latest company 2tor, Inc., which offers online degrees in collaboration with universities.



Q: Starting The Princeton Review, what was it like?

A: When I graduated, I took a job on Wall Street, but I wanted to start a business. Six weeks later, I decided the job was not compelling, and there was no good reason to delay. I borrowed $3,000 and created brochures, which I sent out to guidance counselors around New York. My first employees were high school students and then some recent grads. As we grew, we created an informal, but intense, community of friends (and more - there have been over a hundred marriages at the Princeton Review).



Q: What is the biggest challenge the education industry faces?

A: Neither colleges nor K-12 schools use distance-learning well enough. There's an opportunity to create better and more student-centered learning while lowering costs.



Q: You left The Princeton Review in the summer of 2008 to start 2tor, Inc. Was it hard for you lo leave something you started and have been with most of your life?

A: It was time. And as much as I've loved running The Review, it's a lot of fun doing another start-up.



Q: What do you want 2tor to be in five to 10 years?

A; I'd like us to be working with schools as great as USC or Lehigh, running the five or ten best degree programs online. And I'd like us to be working with 30,000 students a year around the world in those programs.



Q: What impact has the economy had on 2tor and The Princeton Review?

It's made financing a real pain in the butt. But education is somewhat recession-proof, and I'm confident we'll grow right through this downturn.



Q: Describe your management philosophy and style.

A: I look for smart, agile, sane, happy, kind, hard-working leaders. I am less worried about experience and specific areas of expertise. Then I try to let them do their jobs. At any moment, I'll focus on one thing. Right now, I'm nailing down finance for the company in the worst financing environment anyone can remember, while keeping half an eye out for problems in other areas of the company.



Q: Talk about a time your company was facing a challenge and you came up with an innovative solution.

A: Princeton Review had great techniques and people, but no one had heard of us. I was afraid an established competitor would steal our ideas and roll them out in cities before I got there. So we came out with a book, Cracking the SAT. It hit the New York Times best-seller list and got us a ton of press. Though it gave away some good ideas, it established them as ours and got our name out there.



Q: What is the most important leadership quality to have in business?

A: Trust. Your customers, vendors, and employees have to believe you're competent and honest, and are watching their backs.