What Harvard Didn't Know: I Was Already Building an 8-Figure Startup | Stephen Turban, Lumiere Education

Stephen Turban was two semesters into his Harvard PhD when he got called into a Zoom room and confronted with his own face on the Lumiere website. The ultimatum was simple: PhD or startup. He chose the company. Four years later, Lumiere is 100 people strong and doing eight figures. We talk about using a startup as an exit strategy from academia, the hidden cost of scattered focus, content tactics that actually work, and why creating belonging matters more than preserving optionality.For: founders, operators, aspiring entrepreneurs, content creators, anyone building globallyIf this episode helped you, leave a review on Apple Podcasts or follow on Spotify so you never miss an episode. It takes 30 seconds and it's how the next founder finds us.CHAPTERS0:00 - Intro1:10 - Derailing his PhD for Lumiere5:00 - Research to Startup Mindset6:30 - Focusing on a Niche9:00 - Ageism, new kid on the block11:15 - Why not raise money13:20 - My Biggest Mistake: The Assistant Company18:00 - Building a Controversial Public Persona20:59 - Moving to a New Country25:50 - Online vs Real Life PersonaFOLLOW US⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@FoundersInMotion⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thea.yaps⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@foundersinmotion⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/theango/⁠⁠⁠⁠Hosted by Thea Ngo, a Wharton grad, venture capital investor, and (your new favorite?) interrogator behind Founders in Motion. Subscribe for the stories that don't make the headlines yet.Subscribe for the insider playbook on building companies, growth tactics, and founder stories.