The Hong Kong founder and CEO of Preface, an edtech company, talks about taking learning anywhere and everywhere in the latest episode of our Crazy Smart Asia podcast
Having lived an eventful life, Tommie Lo has learned a lot of lessons. Now he’s intent on teaching. The founder and CEO of the learning platform, Preface, was born to a multi-generational Hong Kong fishing family.
Rather than follow in the footsteps of his father, grandfather and great-grandfather, Lo was able to carve out a completely different path. He has gone from studying at a public school and waiting tables to working with the team that got Barack Obama elected president of the United States and eventually, founding his own company. Lo’s journey is equal parts incredible and inspiring.
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Today, Lo is opening up people’s options for learning beyond the traditional confines of the classroom. Using AI and Machine Learning, Preface is providing people with a hunger for knowledge, across all ages, with access to instructors and course materials.
In the latest episode of our Crazy Smart Asia podcast, Lo discusses his personal experiences with schooling, taking lessons out of the classroom and building a company with goals close to his heart. Here are a few excerpts from the episode. To listen to the full episode, click the audio player below or subscribe via Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
On his origins
“I grew up in a fisherman’s family. So it’s somehow ironic for me to build an education platform, or it’s a perfect reason I’m building it. I had no regular schooling. I just couldn’t go to school because I had to follow my father’s boat.”