By 2017, the startup had gained such traction that it raised $9 million in funding to expand its offerings. The company eventually acquired Linux Academy in 2019, cementing its position as a powerhouse in the cloud education space. Impact on the Tech Industry
: Offering training at a fraction of the cost of traditional classroom-based corporate courses.
Before entering the tech industry, Kroonenburg practiced law as an immigration attorney in the United Kingdom. Following the global financial crisis, he found himself unemployed and decided to pivot careers entirely. ryan kroonenburg
Beyond individual student success, Kroonenburg has been a vocal advocate for the "cross-certification" trend. He noted in 2020 that 64% of professionals in the field were already cross-certified, a number that continues to rise as companies demand versatile skill sets. Acquisition and Legacy
: Designing content specifically to help students pass AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud certifications. By 2017, the startup had gained such traction
Ryan Kroonenburg is a prominent figure in the technology and education sectors, best known as the co-founder of A Cloud Guru (ACG) , a leading online learning platform for cloud computing. His journey from an unemployed lawyer to a multi-millionaire tech entrepreneur has become a definitive "reinvention" story for the digital age. From the Courtroom to the Cloud
Ryan Kroonenburg: The Lawyer Who Democratized Cloud Computing Before entering the tech industry, Kroonenburg practiced law
Starting with just a single course on the Udemy platform, A Cloud Guru quickly grew into a standalone training empire. Kroonenburg’s teaching style was revolutionary for its time, focusing on:
Today, Ryan Kroonenburg is recognized as an AWS Community Hero, a title awarded by Amazon to individuals who have made a significant impact on the AWS ecosystem. His story serves as a template for career pivoters, demonstrating that a lack of an IT background is not a barrier to becoming a leader in the tech world. Linux Academy acquisition? How I Passed the AWS Solutions Architect Associate Exam
His entry into the world of cloud computing was famously fueled by a rejection. After applying for a position at Amazon Web Services (AWS) and not getting the job, Kroonenburg noticed a significant gap in the market: AWS training was prohibitively expensive and often inaccessible to individual learners. Seeing an opportunity to lower these barriers, he and his brother, Sam Kroonenburg, founded A Cloud Guru in 2015. Founding A Cloud Guru