Dilshad Hothi originally grew up in India and came to the UK at aged 21 to complete his master's degree in marketing. He then joined a large training provider and was a director of Sales there for a number of years before starting The Knowledge Academy with his wife Barinder in 2009. Barinder also worked in Technology Sales, working for Microsoft and IBM.
In 2016 the Daily Mirror carried out an investigation into the company's practices. It revealed how The Knowledge Academy can, at its discretion, "change prices at any time", "cancel or reschedule any course" and swap their courses for a "Virtual Training" alternative. They were also found to be re-selling a course run by a rival company, without their knowledge.