Osman Rashid

Osman Rashid
Osman Rashid, Kno's CEO
Born London
Alma mater University of Minnesota
Known for Kno, Chegg

Osman Rashid, winner of the prestigious Ernst & Young California Entrepreneur of the Year (2009), is an executive and an entrepreneur in Silicon Valley, California. He has worked both in the enterprise software area as well as consumer products.

Previously, he was co-founder and CEO of an online textbook rental and student hub Chegg, remaining involved in it until early 2010 after dramatically growing the company from its inception in 2005.[1] He was also co-founder and CEO of Kno, Inc., (acquired by Intel in November 2013)[2] a digital education platform company.[3] Kno, Inc. has received funding from Andreessen Horowitz,[4] Intel Capital, Goldman Sachs, FLOODGATE and GSV Capital, while Chegg was funded by KPCB, IVP, Gabriel Ventures and others.

Currently, Osman Rashid is managing two companies. He is the CEO of Convo Corp [5], an enterprise software company that focuses on In-Context collaboration that replaces email as the conversation tool at work. He is also the founder and CEO of Galxyz Inc. [6], an education software company focusing on creating next generation language arts enhancement products for Primary and Middle School students.

Galxyz is a provider of the following products:

  • Blue Apprentice[7] An immersive intergalactic science education game for Primary and Middle School students aligned with Next Generation Science Standards.
  • VidMaker[8] A video making app which augments learning for Primary and Middle School students across Language Curriculum.

Personal life

Osman Rashid was born in London[9], did his early schooling in Ghana and finished middle and high school from Islamabad, Pakistan. He later moved to the United States where he received his bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from University of Minnesota in 1993.

Professional career

Before founding Galxyz, Chegg and Kno, Osman Rashid also started Gravitywell, an ASP based customer service solution, and worked at Venturian, a subsidiary of ATIO Corporation, where Osman served as VP of Business Development and Marketing. Between start-ups, Osman was Director of Business Development at Chordiant Software, Inc.

Awards

Ernst & Young awarded him an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of The Year Award in 2009 for Consumer Products in Northern CA.[10] The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year© award is the world’s most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs, spanning more than 140 cities and 50 countries worldwide.

He has also been recognized as Forbes Impact 15 for 2012[11] and as Inc.’s Immigrant Edge: 9 Wildly Successful Entrepreneurs.[12]

Philanthropy

Osman Rashid helped spearhead the Chegg for Good program which plants a tree for every rental made, and to date has planted over 6 million trees. As well as the Kno for Good program, he developed a partnership with DonorsChoose.org to donate $1 of every sale made to help classrooms get school supplies. Osman is actively involved as a board member at ChildLife Foundation[13] which is bringing critical care and prevention to millions of the youngest and neediest children in Pakistan through a network of urgent care clinics.

References

  1. ↑ "Rosensweig to Leave Guitar Hero; Takes Over as CEO of Online Textbook Rental Start-Up Chegg". All Things D. 2010-02-02.
  2. ↑ "Intel Education Welcomes Kno to the Family". CRS@Intel. 2013-11-08.
  3. ↑ "The Kno, a Tablet for the College Market". New York Times. 2010-06-02.
  4. ↑ "Kno Wants a Slice of Apple". Time Magazine. 2010-11-11. Retrieved 2010-11-19.
  5. ↑ "Team communication and collaboration software". www.convo.com. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
  6. ↑ "Galxyz". www.galxyz.com. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
  7. ↑ "Galxyz Blue Apprentice, Science Education Game for Kids". Blue Apprentice. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
  8. ↑ Inc., Vidmaker. "Vidmaker | Online Collaborative Video Editor". www.vidmaker.com. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
  9. ↑ "Chegg CEO Rashid applies Netflix concept to textbooks". USA Today. 2009-01-12.
  10. ↑ "2009 Northern California region award recipients".
  11. ↑ "Forbes Impact 15 for 2012".
  12. ↑ "Inc.'s Immigrant Edge: 9 Wildly Successful Entrepreneurs".
  13. ↑ ChildLife Foundation
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