Some of the best learning happens when you read stories about real people and real companies. Read them for ideas, for lessons, and inspiration. This week’s stories and strategies from real life are about Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker, Skillshare, Instacart, Phantom Consulting, and Motif.

From the Economist: Hit me baby one more time

“Napster’s founders demonstrate the challenges of entrepreneurial second acts.”

From Abigail Tracy: Skillshare and Its Mission to Change Education

“This startup built an alternative education system that’s poised to have a major impact on the learning landscape.”

From  Kimberly Weisul: Instacart Delivers Groceries–And Near-Instant Gratification

“Instacart founder Apoorva Mehta thinks an hour or two is too long to wait for your groceries. Here’s what he’s doing about it.”

From Caroline McMillan Portillo: Running a global small business – from Charlotte

“It’s no easy task to juggle a workforce across five countries. Especially when they’re as varied as China, India, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.”

From Kathleen Pender: Motif aims to disrupt discount brokers, mutual funds

“Motif Investing of San Mateo was recently named No. 4 on CNBC’s second annual ‘Disruptor 50 list,’ ahead of better-known startups Spotify, Uber, Dropbox, Pinterest and Airbnb.”