Prelude news - Learning sprints: What and When?
I'd like to take you on a little tour of a few changes that I've made at Prelude, and a few things to come.
Validation
Starting a business is hard and scary. There are a lot of software development education organisations out there, it's a big market, but it is competitive and difficult in a lot of ways.
When I started Prelude, I knew I could teach. But to make a successful business I would need to turn my teaching into successful products.
What does a successful teaching product look like? Here are a few characteristics:
- People buy it
- Participants engage with the material and process
- Participant feedback is positive
- Participants come back for more
- Participants put their skills into practice after the training
When people buy tickets to my training they tend to show up, lean in and have a good time.
What's more, many folks end up buying tickets to future events and coming back for more!
So I would say the product is validated. But there is a lot more work to do. And I've made some recent changes.
Growing the good - Connection is key
One of the things people really like about how I run my training is that they get to nerd out with other participants. The training itself is asynchronous and remote which would leave people feeling disconnected by default, so I have put a few mechanisms in place to keep people connected to me and the larger group.
The bigger and more varied the group, the more engaged the participants are with each other.
To max this out I do a few things:
Different time zones
The learning sprints I run are timed in a way that allows folks from different time zones to join in and interact. There are no synchronous "classes" or "lectures" that people need to attend at specific times, and if someone joins late because they are in a different country or need to take their dog to the vet, they are not disadvantaged.
There are optional, synchronous group discussions scheduled throughout the sprint duration in which folks can ask questions, or just hang out (these are really interesting). And participants can talk asynchronously as well.
Different skill levels
I've designed the coursework and learning mechanisms to allow for different skill levels. If someone is early in their learning journey they can take the time they need to get through the work, and if they have any foundational knowledge gaps, then I'm there to help.
On the other hand, if someone is already quite experienced, they don't need to slow down. They can also indulge in some optional side quests and challenges to enrich their experience.
This works really well.
In the last learning sprint I ran I had a junior dev from Columbia, a German software engineer with 20 years of experience, a hobbyist from th US, and a bunch more people. It was a very varied group.
Many of the folks who attended were repeat customers, and everyone gave me positive feedback.
Different goals
When I run a learning sprint I don't only stick to one course. The number of people who I can support in a learning sprint is limited by my ability to context switch between them and keep track of everyone. It doesn't matter too much what they are sprinting on so long as I have the expertise to support them.
In the last learning sprint, some folks were learning about Django AllAuth, while others were learning about Modern frontend development.
On top of that, participants had their own personal goals that they were encouraged to share with the group.
This led to some rich conversations!
A new schedule option: 4 Day sprints
Up until recently I was only running training over weekends: Participants would lean in and learn for a whole Saturday and Sunday, full time. They are encouraged to work for 6-8 hours pre day. It's been good, but there are downsides:
The good:
- People don't need to take leave in order to take part
- The hard deadline encourages effort
The bad:
- a lot of folks have family obligations over weekends, or other scheduling difficulties
- it can be exhausting by the end
I've introduced a new option: The four day learning sprint.
A four day learning sprint happens during the week - from Monday to Thursday or Tuesday to Friday. It is a part time commitment.
I am personally present only at certain times during the day: Typically from 09:00 to 13:00 and from 19:00 to 23:00 GMT+2. Each of these time slots is 4 hours long. Participants are encouraged to attend one of these every day.
| Weekend sprint | Four day sprint |
|---|---|
| 2 days | 4 days |
| Full time | Part time |
| 6 - 8 hours per day | 4 hours per day |
If you want to know more, please take a look here for details:
New look!
If you have been following me for a while and you visit the links above, you'll notice that Prelude looks a whole lot better.
I'll admit that V1 of the website was built somewhat in self-defence - my focus was on building a great product, not necessarily on having the best looking website. But I have been meaning to clean that up for some time.
On that note, I'd like to give a HUGE thank you to my good friend Daniela van Aswegen from The Good Place.
Dani did a lot of the design work and helped me think through my brand archetype - it was a very useful exercise and I'm sure it'll pay dividends for a long time to come
What's next?
Earlier, I spoke about how the product itself has been validated. My customers learn a lot, have fun while doing it, and come back for more.
I do, however, wish there were more of them.
I've received a lot of feedback from my customers and there are a few things that have come up again and again. I am quite convinced that my sales funnel is very leaky and I'm on a mission to plug those leaks.
The main pieces of feedback I get are around trust and clarity.
Sceptical about the teaching methods
A lot of students tell me that when they heard about how I planned to run the training, they were sceptical. They either were not sure that it would work, or they were not sure that it would work for them.
They were brave and tried things out anyway and it worked really well.
I've even had quite a few professional educators (various professors and technical trainers) show up and wax lyrical about the approach. So I know it is solid. But potential customers often don't.
So my plan on this front is to add more clarity and share more stories.
What I am going to do is:
- collect stories from past students and share those - I want to show what people were unsure of, and how things worked out
- share better information about why the approach is as it is - the science and thinking underlying the approach
- make the mechanism itself clearer so folks know what they are buying
Are you interested but unsure?
If you are interested in taking part in one of the upcoming learning sprints, but you are not sure if it's for you, I'd like to invite you to to schedule a short call with me using this link.
Paying in South African Rands
One big sticking point is that I price my products in U.S. Dollars, but the ticketing system I use works in South African Rands. So when folks choose to buy a ticket, they suddenly see a number that is 18 to 19 times bigger than the Dollar value. As I write this $1 is R18.23.
Even though the prices are equivalent, it can be a jarring experience. And a lot of people are unsure if their credit cards will work in the usual way when buying the tickets, or if they are being scammed.
This is a big problem, and it isn't simple to fix. I have not yet been able to find a ticketing system that ticks all the boxes I need to tick. Payment gateways are also a challenge in South Africa, especially if I want to give customers a cohesive experience.
This is the next big hole in my funnel that needs to be fixed.
And then?
I do have a few plans for what happens next. There is a lot to do with my funnel - I spoke about the major leaks, there are a few smaller ones as well. And there are also ways I'd like to widen my funnel and reach more people.
I also have a few different products in the pipeline - both for individual customers, and for businesses. And an interesting collaboration or two coming up.
I'm pretty excited and look forward to sharing more in the future.
Do me a favour...
If you know anyone who would be interested in, or would benefit from what I'm doing, please share this with them and put in a good word. Referrals are golden!
If you are interested in my training but you aren't sure if it's for you, please feel free to schedule a short call using this link. I'll be happy to answer your questions.
Lastly, if you have been interested in my training but haven't been able to attend a weekend sprint, consider joining my four day sprint. Details here.
Want to learn from me?
I'm running some technical training over at Prelude. These are damn fine learning experiences for individuals and teams.
You can either join a weekend learning sprint, where you would be encouraged to be present for 6-8 hours per day; or a four day long learning sprint where you would be encouraged to join one 4 hour session per day.