Skill set.

• Author: Walker, Cameron
• Position: NC TREND: Charlotte Region

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While learning something new can be as easy as clicking on a YouTube video, SkillPop founder Haley Bohon is building a Charlotte-based business on the premise that people want to learn in person, in a cool space surrounded by others with similar interests.

"I had this idea--I could not shake it--that there should be a better way to learn things," says Bohon, a Greensboro native and N.C. State University alumna.

The idea of a pop-up learning community came about last June during a late-night conversation with her husband. By September, she had conducted market research, surveyed city residents, created a business plan and hosted her first event--a hand lettering class taught by a local calligrapher. The class was full, reviews were positive and the next day, she quit her full-time job as a project manager with Charlotte-based Passport, a software developer that makes an app for parking.

During the last year, more than 2,000 students have taken lessons in cross-stitch, photography, investing, artisan bread making, social media and more. The idea of adult enrichment classes is not new, but SkillPop presents an alternative to more time-consuming courses offered by community colleges and municipal arts departments. (A two-hour SkillPop class costs about $30, while a 10-week basic art class at a community college runs about $200, not including books or supplies.) It's also become a way for young professionals to connect socially.

"Part of my hope with building SkillPop is that it's something...