23 Apr IU Alumni and Former Lessonly CEO Max Yoder to Keynote 2024 Founder & Funders Network Ventures Summit
On paper, Max Yoder seems exactly like the kind of IU student who would go on to write a book. He fell in love with reading while at IU by checking out classics from the Wells library. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts through the Individualized Major Program. And sure enough—nine years after finishing his degree he wrote Do Better Work, a book about communication and teamwork.
Max Yoder
What might surprise you is that Max wrote the book while CEO of Lessonly, a software training company that he co-founded just two years after finishing his degree at IU.
“I loved to write and was encouraged by Kyle Lacy, Lessonly’s head of marketing, to do more of it,” he explained. “After a few false starts, we settled on a guidebook for our teammates. We asked, ‘What does it look like when we are making progress at Lessonly?’ We realized we were being vulnerable, having difficult conversations, highlighting what was working, sharing before we were ready, and so on. The book clarifies these behaviors in all sorts of ways. It became a centerpiece of the team.”
On Friday, May 17th, Yoder will provide the keynote speech for the Venture Summit. Yoder is a husband, father, author, musician, and co-founder and former CEO of Indianapolis-based Lessonly. He graduated from Indiana University in 2010 and co-founded Lessonly in 2012. The company grew to 300 employees and $30 million in annual revenue before it was acquired by Seismic in 2021.
Yoder’s biggest takeaway from his experience founding Lessonly was the importance of other people.
“To do interesting work, I need other people,” he said. “Anything we accomplished [at Lessonly] was the product of many people bringing their specific values, skills, and perspectives to the task. Before entrepreneurship, I wanted to be a one-man band. Now I know other people’s music makes my music much more compelling.”
Currently, Yoder is focusing on two areas: music and supporting a friend with his own entrepreneurial ventures.
“I am learning how to be a sound engineer and to mix music,” he explained. “I spend a lot of time playing and recording improvised music with my friends. A band I’m in, Immediate Orchestra, has an album out soon.”
Yoder is also helping his friend launch a dog food company, Kibbies.co.
“I spend a couple hours every week on it—not a ton,” he said. “Matthew, the CEO, is also an IU alum. He is all about making dog food for the middle path—not too expensive that it’s out of reach, not so cheap that it’s made with months- or years-old powder mixes. He’s using real food, and Daniel, our chef, makes every kibble.”
Yoder’s top piece of advice for entrepreneurs is to be vulnerable.
“It’s okay if you aren’t sure about something,” he said. “That doesn’t mean you’re unsure about everything. It’s also okay if you’re scared, excited, sad, or otherwise. Building a team that can handle humans being humans—however pleasant or unpleasant the current situation may be—is crucial.”
During the keynote session, Yoder plans to share lessons his team learned as Lessonly grew.
“I’m going to share the behaviors that the Lessonly team zeroed in on—the stuff that kept us in sync and enjoying one another as the business got bigger and more complex,” he said.
When Yoder thinks back on his time at IU and what influenced him, he summed it up in one word: context.
“Everything I experience is framed—intentionally or not,” he explained. “Some things are put in the frame, a world of things are left out. I didn’t have that clarity before IU. It benefits me every day.”
He misses fall and spring on the IU campus and the ease of connecting with others.
“The walks on campus were magical,” he said. “The flowers and the architecture—lots to appreciate. And the chance to meet someone around the corner at a similar life stage as me, someone I might be friends with forever. Pretty special.”
Yoder is especially looking forward to his daughter Marni being at the Venture Summit.
“She doesn’t know much about my time at Lessonly,” he said. “She was one when we sold the company. She’s mostly known me as her dad, a guy who loves her mom and likes to play music. I imagine Marni coming to see me talk will put a lump in my throat.”
Registration for the Summit, which is limited to 250 attendees, is now open on the IU Ventures website. Registration is $100 and includes all Summit programming and networking opportunities.