The Early Years

John Connolly: When we were in diligence, we had a hard time figuring out exactly what Kajabi was. What got you excited about the opportunity?

Ahad Khan: I was doing my own version of diligence – going through websites, Google searches, trying to understand the community. What I found was the best of the internet: people taking knowledge that used to require being physically in a room and putting it online. A family in Australia teaching something, random people from Ohio, entrepreneurs in Europe – all turning their expertise into products that could be sold globally.

I’m from the Midwest. I love technology that impacts real people’s lives, not just “how do I get my coffee delivered at 5 AM.” Kajabi solved real needs in an elegant way. The company had already powered half a billion dollars in GMV with 20,000-plus customers.

That’s a lot of revenue per customer. They’d built something foundationally sound.

Connolly: And this was before anyone was talking about the creator economy.

Khan: Kajabi was powering the creator economy before there was a creator economy. That’s what happens when you’re building something real – the market figures out what you’re doing, not the other way around. When the hype cycle hit in 2020 and 2021, a lot of venture dollars flooded in and a lot of companies got built on shaky foundations. Most of them are dead now. Kajabi survived because it was built the right way from the start – profitable, deliberate, thoughtful growth. That’s what I love about Spectrum companies. They’re foundationally built different.

Connolly: It took many iterations to get [co-founders] Kenny and Jonathan to agree to bring us on as a partner. What’s it been like having Spectrum involved?

Khan: I can honestly say I wouldn’t be at Kajabi if it wasn’t for Spectrum. When you join a company, you’re taking a leap of faith. But when you look around the boardroom and see people you have relationships with, people you trust – that makes the move easier.

Joining a bootstrapped business is actually what I love. Bootstrapped means profitable, growing, eating what you kill. It’s built the right way. The opportunity is to accelerate what’s already working. When I joined, it was a team of 60 or 70 doing great work, but there were opportunities to level up – analytics, finance that drives decisions rather than just reporting, thinking about the business more methodically. That’s a natural transition for a bootstrapped business when they partner with people like Spectrum.

Connolly: When we were still getting to know Kajabi, I actually bought a ticket to the user conference. I went there, and I felt this maniacal focus on the customer – you call them “heroes” – permeating everything. That’s what we search for at Spectrum.

Khan: That customer centricity is what Kenny built from day one. The nomenclature matters – calling customers “heroes” elevates the relationship and makes it central to every decision. Every month at our all-hands, we have a hero present their business, talk about what they love, what they don’t like. We feed that back into the product. If you start with the customer, and you build a financially sound business around that, magic happens.

In the Trenches

Connolly: The company’s grown phenomenally. It was around $20 million when we got involved, now approaching $200 million. What were the pivotal moves?

Khan: We always start with what our customers have earned. At Spectrum’s initial investment, creators had made maybe half a billion dollars on Kajabi since inception. We’ve crossed $10 billion now. [Editor’s note: Kajabi creators have earned over $11 billion as of January 2026.] The customer base has three or four X’d. The team went from 80 people when I joined to over 250.

But we didn’t just hold onto what we had. We rebranded, repositioned. We used to be a courses business – now we’re a creator commerce platform. We launched podcasts, newsletters, communities, coaching, digital downloads. We went from a one-trick pony to a multifaceted commerce platform. We launched payments, which is huge. We’re rolling out SMS and social messaging. All of that required tough calls in the boardroom about where to invest.

Connolly: You also raised $550 million at a $2 billion-plus valuation. How did that come together?

Khan: That fundraising doesn’t happen without Spectrum. We had five investors come in – four or five came directly through your personal relationships or other Spectrum connections. We ran a thoughtful, deliberate, timely process. Some was secondary, some was primary. We put cash on the balance sheet and shortly after made our first acquisition ever – a company called Vibely that became our community product. The fundraising set us up to deliver on the promise we made.

The Long Game

Connolly: You and I have had a standing call every two weeks for over five years. What’s that been like?

Khan: It’s one block of time where I can bring up anything – sometimes a discrete problem, sometimes just “this is really difficult.” When you’re in it every day, it’s all-consuming. You need moments to step back. A lot of that happens because of questions you ask that force me to think in a different frame.

What I appreciate most is the humility. A lot of times you’ll say, “You should talk to someone else in our network.” It’s not about having all the answers – it’s access to people and ideas. Spectrum knows who they are. They bring experience from other portfolio companies, but they’re not shy to connect you with someone who’s further along or has specific expertise.

Connolly: That’s the most rewarding part of this job – working with people like you who are building great businesses. If we can play some small role in your success, that’s incredibly rewarding. What we bring is stepping out of the business a little bit, seeing multiple businesses, knowing what’s happening in the market.

Khan: The cultural fit matters too. There’s a healthy competitiveness – we all want to win. It’s not just hanging out; we’re here to accomplish something. Best idea wins, regardless of where it comes from. But at the center of all of it is high communication and high trust. Without those, you can’t get to anything else.

Connolly: What gets you excited about where Kajabi is headed?

Khan: I talk to creators all the time, and they’re becoming more sophisticated – more entrepreneurial. Three or four years ago, everyone wanted more followers or more brand deals. Now they care about their brand, their direct relationship with audiences, their ability to monetize in a controlled way without relying on CPMs that oscillate. They want to sell products, build memberships, own the relationship.

These are all things Kajabi’s been doing for 15 years. Goldman has a report projecting the creator economy will be a half-trillion-dollar industry by end of 2027. We’re scratching the surface. Our big hairy audacious goal is half a million creators on Kajabi making $20 billion a year. Right now we’re at about a tenth of that. The opportunity in front of us is enormous.

Connolly: We’re in the early innings of helping these businesses grow and thrive. Most creators still make money through advertisements. There’s a whole new way to monetize expertise and audiences.

Khan: And as creators get more sophisticated, they’ll meet us where we’ve been building. In 5, 10, 15 years, this will be the new way commerce happens. We just have to keep educating creators on the best way to build a business – and keep building the platform they need to do it.

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Ahad Khan is President of Kajabi, the leading platform for creator commerce. John Connolly is Managing Director at Spectrum Equity, where he helps to lead investments in internet and software companies.

To improve readability, this interview has been edited for clarity and conciseness. These edits do not materially alter the meaning of the discussion.

As of the date of this conversation, Kajabi is a current portfolio company of Spectrum Equity. Spectrum Equity partners with management teams, and results for this investment reflect company-provided historical information and management execution. Statements regarding future growth, platform scale, and economic impact are forward-looking and based on current expectations. Actual results may differ materially. Portfolio company results are not indicative of fund performance. Spectrum Equity did not pay any direct compensation to current or former employees of this portfolio company in connection with the statements made herein. In certain circumstances, Spectrum Equity may have the ability to exercise influence over portfolio company matters, including employee compensation, promotions, and other employment decisions, and certain portfolio company executives may also be investors in Spectrum Equity funds.