Brian Tobal is a serial entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of Hickory, a Y Combinator (S15) backed enterprise learning platform headquartered in New York City. He is a 4x founder with 3 exits, with a career rooted in education technology and building innovative learning tools.

Brian holds a B.S. in Technology Education from California University and brings early hands-on experience as a teacher and educational researcher, including work at the Harlem Children's Zone, before transitioning into edtech product leadership at Thinkful.

Brian designed Hickory's core product around the science of spaced repetition, addressing the critical insight that up to 70% of employee training is forgotten within five days. His background in curriculum design and product management uniquely positioned him to bridge pedagogy and enterprise software.

As CEO of Hickory from 2015 to 2018, Brian led product design, curriculum development, and company growth, achieving a successful exit. He subsequently scaled Flatiron School's academic programs globally at WeWork and co-founded SchoolHouse, a microschool platform, serving as CEO from 2020 to 2022.

Hickory served thousands of learners across startups and enterprises, with its algorithm-driven retention platform targeting sales and customer service teams. Brian's work across four ventures reflects a consistent mission to transform how people learn and retain knowledge at scale.