# Ray Blakney

> I build human-first online education companies, without venture capital. Co-founder of Live Lingua. President & Partner at egelloC. Harvard i-lab mentor.

Ray Blakney co-founded Live Lingua (bootstrapped online language school, Entrepreneur360 honoree 2015, sold 2023) and Querétaro Language School, is President & Partner at egelloC (college admissions), co-founded Productized Education, and mentors at Harvard Innovation Labs. Topics: bootstrapping human-first online education, productized education, growing without venture capital, building a business with a spouse, guest podcasting, exits.

Profiles: [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/raymondblakney), [X](https://twitter.com/rayblakney), [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/raymond.blakney)

## Writing

- [If You Run an Online School, I Hope You’re Ready](https://rayblakney.com/if-you-run-an-online-school-i-hope-youre-ready/): The New Year's resolution crowd is about to hit every online school. Here's why they need more hand-holding than other students, and how the CAC Framework helps turn their January…
- [1454: Productized Education: Transform Your Courses Into High-Impact, Scalable Programs (Marketer of the Day)](https://rayblakney.com/1454-productized-education-transform-your-courses-into-high-impact-scalable-programs-marketer-of-the-day/): Robert Plank and I discuss why video-only courses get commoditized while schools with live teachers keep delivering results. I cover the CAC factor…
- [Connection to Teacher: Humanizing Online Learning With Real Relationships](https://rayblakney.com/connection-to-teacher-humanizing-online-learning-with-real-relationships/): Students learn best when they feel a real relationship with the person guiding them. How online schools can build teacher connection into onboarding, day-to-day support, and milestones without burning teachers…
- [Accountability to Teacher: Creating Gentle but Firm Checkpoints](https://rayblakney.com/accountability-to-teacher-creating-gentle-but-firm-checkpoints/): Even self-motivated students do better with a guide who checks in. How to design teacher checkpoints that feel like coaching, not policing, and scale beyond the first twenty students.
- [Scaling Operations: The Backbone That Keeps Your Productized Education Business Running](https://rayblakney.com/scaling-operations-the-backbone-that-keeps-your-productized-education-business-running/): Operations never get the spotlight, but they decide whether an education business can scale. How tech, finance, and people ops evolve from founder-led to hired help to real leadership.
- [Episode 686: Education Businesses That Actually Work in 2025 (Millionaire University)](https://rayblakney.com/episode-686-education-businesses-that-actually-work-in-2025-millionaire-university/): Kirsten Tyrrel and I talk about productized education. When knowledge is commoditized, the value in education is connection and accountability, not…
- [154: From 9-5 Engineer to Starting 20+ Companies (Freedom Formula (now Diary of a Franchise))](https://rayblakney.com/154-from-9-5-engineer-to-starting-20-companies-freedom-formula-now-diary-of-a-franchise/): Neel Parekh and I talk about my path from corporate engineering to starting my own businesses, why you need a clear "why" and realistic expectations, and…
- [#34: Ray Blakney, Founder & CEO, Rayvensoft Ventures (In The Thick of It)](https://rayblakney.com/34-ray-blakney-founder-ceo-rayvensoft-ventures-in-the-thick-of-it/): A long-form (about 1 hour 40 minutes) founder story with Scott Hollrah: being born in the Philippines, growing up in Turkey, the Peace Corps in Mexico,…
- [Episode 207: The Blueprint for Success (Leverage Everything)](https://rayblakney.com/episode-207-the-blueprint-for-success-leverage-everything/): A short (about 14 minutes) episode on strategies and tips for entrepreneurs, including an unexpected approach to…
- [From Startup to Scale-up: The LiveLingua Story (The Language Leaders Podcast)](https://rayblakney.com/from-startup-to-scale-up-the-livelingua-story-the-language-leaders-podcast/): For language-business founders: the founding story of Live Lingua, how to scale an online language school (including getting to the top of Google), where…
- [E14: Bootstrapping a Company with Your Wife (Cache Flow)](https://rayblakney.com/e14-bootstrapping-a-company-with-your-wife-cache-flow/): About building and bootstrapping a company with my wife as a co-founder, and using other people's podcasts as a marketing…
- [Episode 130: How to Run a 7-Figure Business from Home (The YES Effect)](https://rayblakney.com/episode-130-how-to-run-a-7-figure-business-from-home-the-yes-effect/): About the "pajama entrepreneur" path: leaving a high-pressure career and building multiple six- and seven-figure online businesses from home. A 30-minute…
- [Growing Your Business with Podcasting… Without Having a Podcast (Entrepreneurs on Fire)](https://rayblakney.com/growing-your-business-with-podcasting-without-having-a-podcast-entrepreneurs-on-fire/): John Lee Dumas and I talk about using other people's podcasts to grow a business, no show of your own required. We get into bootstrapping, building online…
- [SPI 547: The Right Way to Guest Podcast and Grow Your Brand (Smart Passive Income)](https://rayblakney.com/spi-547-the-right-way-to-guest-podcast-and-grow-your-brand-smart-passive-income/): Pat Flynn and I dig into guest podcasting as a growth channel, which Pat frames as "the new guest blogging." We cover how to get a host to say yes,…
- [#106: Creating 7-Figure Online Businesses in Superman Pajamas (Joyous Expansion)](https://rayblakney.com/106-creating-7-figure-online-businesses-in-superman-pajamas-joyous-expansion/): Brett Dupree and I talk about starting a business with my wife as a partner, taking it online, and running online businesses from home (yes, sometimes in…
- [IAM1123: Entrepreneur Brings the Language Immersion Experience (I AM CEO)](https://rayblakney.com/iam1123-entrepreneur-brings-the-language-immersion-experience-i-am-ceo/): A CEO-focused interview about building Live Lingua around the immersion approach to language learning, and the lessons from running multiple businesses…
- [Podcast 148: Ray Blakney on Sword Fighting, Bootstrapping 7-Figure Businesses and Changing the Game with Podcast Hawk (The Maverick Show)](https://rayblakney.com/podcast-148-ray-blakney-on-sword-fighting-bootstrapping-7-figure-businesses-and-changing-the-game-with-podcast-hawk-the-maverick-show/): A wide-ranging episode covering kendo and sword fighting, how I bootstrapped seven-figure businesses, and what we were building with Podcast Hawk to help…
- [437: Bootstrapping Six and Seven Figure Businesses from Scratch (The Wantrepreneur Show)](https://rayblakney.com/437-bootstrapping-six-and-seven-figure-businesses-from-scratch-the-wantrepreneur-show/): A conversation about bootstrapping, building six- and seven-figure businesses without outside funding, starting with Live Lingua and the companies that…
- [Episode 28: Ray Blakney, CEO of Live Lingua (Making Conversations Count (Konpasu))](https://rayblakney.com/episode-28-ray-blakney-ceo-of-live-lingua-making-conversations-count-konpasu/): Wendy Harris and I talk about how Live Lingua grew during the 2020 lockdowns, organic SEO versus paid ads, avoiding burnout, being realistic about what…
- [Learning Languages with Ray Blakney (Nomadtopia)](https://rayblakney.com/learning-languages-with-ray-blakney-nomadtopia/): For current and aspiring nomads, this one is about learning a new language as an adult living abroad. Drawing on my own experience as a serial expat and…
- [How to adapt during a global crisis (Change Work Life)](https://rayblakney.com/how-to-adapt-during-a-global-crisis-change-work-life/): I explain how the 2009 swine flu outbreak forced us to move our language school business online, and what that experience suggests about adapting a…
- [015: Start a Seven Figure Online Business. Get Bored. Start a New Business (The Entrepreneur Ride Along)](https://rayblakney.com/015-start-a-seven-figure-online-business-get-bored-start-a-new-business-the-entrepreneur-ride-along/): Jake Lang and I go behind the scenes of building Live Lingua (twice): the move from a brick-and-mortar school to online, driving traffic with SEO, what…
- [211: 4 Steps to Efficiently Create Content That Gets You Ranking at the Top in Google (Copy That Pops)](https://rayblakney.com/211-4-steps-to-efficiently-create-content-that-gets-you-ranking-at-the-top-in-google-copy-that-pops/): A practical SEO conversation. I walk through my four-step process for content that ranks: research what your audience is actually searching for, create…
- [Episode 126: Building businesses for the long-term (Entrepreneurs in Motion)](https://rayblakney.com/episode-126-building-businesses-for-the-long-term-entrepreneurs-in-motion/): The episode opens with a question: "What would you do if your business disappeared overnight?" That happened to me, and I talk about rebuilding from the…
- [Ray Blakney on Travel, Living in Mexico & Live Lingua (The World Wanderers)](https://rayblakney.com/ray-blakney-on-travel-living-in-mexico-live-lingua-the-world-wanderers/): A travel-focused conversation recorded from Querétaro, Mexico. We cover growing up living around the world, going to Mexico with the Peace Corps, starting…

## Videos

- [Transform Your Courses Into High-Impact, Scalable Programs (Marketer of the Day)](https://rayblakney.com/transform-your-courses-into-high-impact-scalable-programs-marketer-of-the-day/): The video version of Marketer of the Day episode 1454: building an online school that holds up against AI with live teachers, homework and the CAC…
- [Education Businesses That Actually Work in 2025 (Millionaire University)](https://rayblakney.com/education-businesses-that-actually-work-in-2025-millionaire-university/): The video version of Millionaire University episode 686: productized education, and why connection and accountability are where the value lies once…
- [How to Bootstrap 7-Figure Remote Businesses (The Professional Hobo)](https://rayblakney.com/how-to-bootstrap-7-figure-remote-businesses-the-professional-hobo/): Nora Dunn and I talk on video about growing up Filipino-American in Turkey, living abroad, and bootstrapping multiple seven-figure businesses that run…
- [The Right Way to Guest Podcast and Grow Your Brand (Smart Passive Income)](https://rayblakney.com/the-right-way-to-guest-podcast-and-grow-your-brand-smart-passive-income/): The video version of my SPI 547 conversation with Pat Flynn: getting booked on podcasts, making the most of each appearance, and turning listeners into…

## Pages

- [About Ray](https://rayblakney.com/about/)
- [Businesses I Have/Had](https://rayblakney.com/businesses-i-have-had/): For many years when people asked me how many businesses I have been a part of, I would say something non-commital like “Oh, a…
- [Contact](https://rayblakney.com/contact/)
- [Podcasts](https://rayblakney.com/podcasts/): I’ve been a guest on 21 podcasts, talking about bootstrapping, online education, SEO, guest podcasting and building businesses from home. Each episode below has…
- [Press](https://rayblakney.com/press/): Resources for podcast hosts, journalists and editors covering edtech, entrepreneurship and bootstrapping. Please use whichever bio fits your space. Short bio Ray Blakney builds…
- [Random Tools, Quizzes, Calculators & Potions](https://rayblakney.com/random-tools-quizzes-calculators-potions/): Like most entrepreneurs with ADHD, I sometimes get distracted and do random things. So this is my workshop where I include a list of…
- [Scrolls](https://rayblakney.com/scrolls/): (Blog Posts For The Uninitiated)

## Optional

- [RSS feed](https://rayblakney.com/feed/)
- [Sitemap](https://rayblakney.com/sitemap_index.xml)