About the Founder Nai Wang

Nai Wang immigrated to Phoenix, Arizona with his parents and grandparents when he was 2 years old. He grew up in a family-owned Chinese restaurant and spent the majority of his early life working there. Nai spent many nights and weekends serving customers while trying to do his homework in a booth. His family even grew hard-to-find Chinese vegetables in their suburban backyard! It was here where Nai learned the value of hard work and persistence

Nai didn’t receive any allowance for his work but did get $2 a day for lunch - so during his sophomore year of high school, he figured out a way to keep his $2 and still eat. With his food service background, he volunteered to work in the school cafeteria washing dishes, serving fellow students, and stocking items. In return, he got to eat anything that was being served - food like pizza, hamburgers, and fried burritos kept his belly filled…but getting food wasn’t his only challenge in school.

As a child, Nai struggled academically, even failing a math class because he was unable to focus. Growing up with very little, Nai and his family couldn’t afford medical treatment for his ADHD. That’s why he fell in love with video games that stimulated his brain and engaged him at the pace he needed.

Nai’s parental expectations were that he could only become one of the Big 5 - a Doctor, Lawyer, Architect, Engineer or Disappointment. A self-taught programmer, he started college as a Computer Science major, but quickly became bored. Much to his parent’s chagrin, he changed his major from Computer Science to Psychology to pursue his fascination with the complexities of the human mind. His courses helped him finally understand why he couldn’t retain information like his peers and helped him discover the power of combining the logic of programming with the chaotic nature of the brain. This is when he combined his passion for learning with his engagement with video games.

Birth of KP

KP, which stands for Knowledge and Practice, opened for business in 1997 as a shared idea between a college student, a restaurateur, and an educator. Their idea was to create something better than a book or VHS tapes by creating a living, interactive book using computers. With Nai’s restaurant background, culinary arts seemed to be a smart place to start because, at that time, Home Economic classrooms weren’t using any technology.

Armed with a video camera, a computer, and a state-of-the-art multimedia programming language, KP set out to record 67 videos, shoot hundreds of photos, and write the beginning of a new curriculum in Culinary Arts. It took 2 years of blood, sweat and tears before the first version was ready.

In 1999, KP brought the program to their first test school, EVIT in Mesa, Arizona. EVIT was a tech center that serviced a dozen schools with diverse populations. The reaction to the program was magical!!! Instructors marveled at how engaged students became as they watched videos; and how they rewound and repeated the process until they “got” it. Nai and his team knew they were on to something big.

In 2000, KP sold its first version of the program, but since none of the classrooms had computers or even an IT department, the version came with a custom-built computer made by KP that could handle the software. Six schools signed on that first year and that began KPs slow growth period.

As KP grew in size, it reinvested all of the earnings into production, adding to its library and technology until they met all standards. Being the only one without a real job, Nai took a chance and took loans for hundreds of thousands of dollars to sustain KP during the growth period. His bet paid off.

By 2005, studies in the Culinary Arts were becoming more popular and KP was the only company that focused on a student-centered learning experience. The combination of gamification, instant gratification, ease of access, and emerging adaptive learning models made KP a very popular choice for new Culinary Arts programs. KP grew and started building a new curriculum and a learning platform called KP Compass.

Surviving an Economic Collapse

The year 2008 was an incredible one for KP…but events in the rest of the world eventually hampered KP’s growth. Having invested heavily in a new adaptive platform that used AI and gamification, KP launched KP Compass in 2010…but by then, budgets in education were being slashed to a fraction of what they were previously by the Great Recession of 2008.

Like every other tech company affected by the economic downturn, KP went into survival mode working to grow its relationships with other publishers using KP Compass and developing a new experimental math program led by a former State Senator & Superintendent of Education. In survival mode, KP continued doing what it did best, developing new learning technologies.

In 2013 KP launched its newly reimagined Certification Curriculum. The certification Curriculum turned out to be a smashing success as teachers were able to get students to pass their coursework at an impressive rate.

In 2018, after spending 4 years on a new experimental program, KP launched Fluintcy, the Math Fluency Project. Fluintcy also turned out to be a roaring success. Schools reported that students not only maintained their math scores but raised them by 2 years. At the time, KP was very excited and went into 2019 with extremely high hopes. Schools were set to take their state standardized tests and armed with that data KP went full steam with Fluintcy. Sadly, as the pandemic descended on the world in 2020, all state testing ceased and the project was scaled down until 2022.

KP’s Future

Over the years, many teachers and peers have said to Nai, “you are 10 years ahead of the game.” Looking back, it’s easy to believe as the first product produced in 1997 took 10 years to peak. The same goes for KP Compass. The pandemic and the universal adoption of online learning models have certainly transformed learning environments. As a result, in 2022, KP is developing new products and ideas in the works and knows its core customers will play a key role in the future of education.

KP PUB U will be the next evolution in teacher-driven content combined with technology using gamification and AI. While it’s been an exhilarating 23-year ride. KP is eagerly forward to what the next 10 might bring as we all put our Knowledge into Practice to make a brighter future for all.