Osman Rashid
Osman Rashid | |
|---|---|
 Rashid in 2019 (or earlier) | |
| Born | 1970 (age 54–55) London, UK |
| Alma mater | University of Minnesota |
| Known for | SOAR, Chegg, Convo |
Osman Rashid (born 1970) is a Pakistani-American entrepreneur and businessman based in Silicon Valley, California. He is known for founding and leading multiple ventures in education, enterprise software, and consumer technology.
Rashid was the co-founder and CEO of Chegg, an online textbook rental and student hub, from its inception in 2005 until early 2010.[1] He later co-founded and served as CEO of Kno, Inc, a digital education platform company, which was acquired by Intel in 2013.[2][3] He subsequently founded Galxyz Inc.,[4] in 2014, an educational software company focused on language arts and science programs for primary and middle school students.[5]
He is currently the CEO of Convo Corp,[6] an enterprise collaboration software company, and the co-founder & chairman of SOAR Education, an initiative aimed at expanding access to affordable STEM education in Pakistan.[7][8] Rashid is also the co-founder and CEO of Khoj Resorts, a hospitality company developing eco-conscious resorts in Pakistan,[9] chairman of Khan Academy Pakistan, the local initiative of the U.S.-based nonprofit education platform,[10] and chairman of Jaglot Gathering, a strategic forum focused on technology, education, and policy innovation in Pakistan.
Personal life
[edit]Rashid was born in London,[11] 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 a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from University of Minnesota in 1993.[12]
Career
[edit]Before founding Galxyz, Chegg and Kno, Rashid also started Gravitywell, an ASP based customer service company, and worked at Venturian, a subsidiary of ATIO Corporation, where Osman was VP of Business Development and Marketing. Between start-ups, Osman was Director of Business Development at Chordiant Software, Inc.[13]
Awards
[edit]He was awarded Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of The Year Award in 2009 for Consumer Products in Northern CA.[14]
He has also been recognized as Forbes Impact 15 for 2012[15] and in Inc.’s Immigrant Edge: 9 Wildly Successful Entrepreneurs.[16]
Philanthropy
[edit]Osman helped spearhead Chegg for Good program which plants a tree for every rental made, and to date has helped plant over 6 million trees. At Kno 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 Pakistan which is bringing critical care and prevention of diseases to millions of young and needy children in Pakistan through a network of Urgent Care Clinics.[17]
He plans to set up an Endowment Fund to provide quality education to the financially disadvantaged, of which the platform is SOAR STEM Schools.[18]
References
[edit]- ^ "Rosensweig to Leave Guitar Hero; Takes Over as CEO of Online Textbook Rental Start-Up Chegg". All Things D. 2010-02-02.
- ^ "Intel Education Welcomes Kno to the Family". CRS@Intel. 2013-11-08.
- ^ "The Kno, a Tablet for the College Market". New York Times. 2010-06-02.
- ^ "Galxyz – A next-generation science learning platform". Galxyz. Retrieved 2025-05-22.
- ^ "Chegg Co-Founder Osman Rashid Announces Galxyz, A Gaming Startup Focused On Science Education". TechCrunch. 29 April 2014. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
- ^ "Team communication and collaboration software". Convo. Retrieved 2025-05-22.
- ^ "SOAR STEM Schools". SOAR Education. Retrieved 2025-05-22.
- ^ "Speaking with Osman Rashid, Serial Entrepreneur with multiple exits in US". TechJuice. 2020-05-21. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
- ^ "Khoj Resorts". Khoj Resorts. Retrieved 2025-05-22.
- ^ "Khan Academy Pakistan". Khan Academy Pakistan. Retrieved 2025-05-22.
- ^ "Chegg CEO Rashid applies Netflix concept to textbooks". USA Today. 2009-01-12.
- ^ "The Spark Academy".
- ^ "ABC News".
- ^ Rashid, Osman (2009). "Hall of Fame - EY Entrepreneur Of The Year". eoyhof.ey.com. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
- ^ "Forbes Impact 15 for 2012". Forbes.
- ^ "Inc.'s Immigrant Edge: 9 Wildly Successful Entrepreneurs".
- ^ "ChildLife Foundation". ChildLife Foundation. 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-14.
- ^ "SOAR STEM School".