Edspira's mission is to provide a world-class business education for free. All videos are created by Michael McLaughlin, PhD, CPA. Michael is an award-winning university professor who went from teenage homelessness at age 17 to obtaining a PhD from Washington University in St. Louis. He then taught accounting full-time at Washington University in St. Louis, where he won every undergraduate teaching award for which he was eligible. Michael's goal is to help other people achieve their dreams by making it easier for them to learn accounting and finance. He does this by creating video tutorials for Edspira, PDF guides for his email newsletter, and case studies in fraud for his podcast. In his free time, Michael enjoys spending time outdoors with his wonderful wife. In 2012, Michael completed a 2,500-mile “Hike4Kids” to raise $15,000 for neglected and abused children.