In the late 90s and early 2000s, I wanted to work in tech but didn’t have the skills.
At the time, we didn’t have the resources we have today. It took me years of tinkering and trying to figure it out. It was frustrating and took way longer (and more money) than it should have.
After I finally broke through and got a job in tech, I learned more in the first 3 months from my manager at the time than I had the 5-7 years prior. Having someone breakdown concepts and explaining why things are done a certain way from real-world experience was invaluable.
When you’re outside of tech, it can all seem so complicated and you think it’s all about coding which can be an extremely complicated subject.
But after a few years in the space, you come to realize that it’s not so out of reach. Most of the people in tech aren’t engineers. They didn’t study computer science. Not everyone is a brilliant prodigy with a Mensa level IQ.
Like anything, it can be learned.
Early in my career, I remember getting into a heated debate with a coworker about working in tech. His opinion is a commonly held fear for people getting started. That only some people can build software. Well, that’s BS.
Even back then, I whole-heartedly believed anyone can build software.
For years, I’ve wanted to prove my point of view. Probably in the form of some education venture. But it was never my highest priority.
It wouldn’t be my first time in tech education.
I was the first Career Coach at DesignLab, the leading design bootcamp in the industry, and worked on their flagship program, UX Academy.
I’ve written three books to help people get into tech: Hired, UXD and Getting Started as a UX Designer.
Based on reader feedback, these books were helpful, and I’ve received some incredibly moving messages from readers. However, I know most people don’t take action on the books they read, and considering how few people read niche non-fiction books, the impact is limited.
It was the right direction but wrong format.
I’ve seen first hand how you can transform lives with cohort based learning in a bootcamp format. Community and friendships are formed. Students helps students and build lasting connections. Add a mentorship and coaching aspect, facilitate it online so it can scale and you have an environment primed for massive impact.
This all led me to build my own online course.
As a part of my 12 startups in 12 months challenge, I’m starting off with the project that’s been on my “to do” list for… basically, my entire 15+ year career.
Why now? The challenge is a big part of it, but over the last year, we’ve seen a major shift.
People are quitting jobs in numbers we’ve never seen. I’ve read over 40% of adults are planning a change in the next year.
People want to work remotely, spend more time with their loved ones and have the ability to control their lives. I completely get it. In 2013, I made the same decision and have never looked back.
It’s sad it took a pandemic for people to wake up and realize they’re not living the life they want. But better late than never.
I’ve been fortunate that I’ve lived my dream lifestyle for so long and I want more people to be able to experience the life I have (or their version of it).
It wouldn’t have been possible without knowing how to build software and SaaS — the most scalable, consistent, predictable and untethered business that in most cases is perfectly conducive to remote and asynchronous work.
Yes, there’s a lot of tech courses out there. But most of these courses are focused on specific skills and bootcamps are focused on getting a job. These are great and have really opened the doors for many.
But none of these options give you the tools to build and scale your own SaaS app from scratch. They’re not made for aspiring founders.
I’m hoping to offer the best alternative to spending tens of thousands of dollars hiring freelancers or spending years trying to learn it all on your own.
If you’re interested in learning how to build a software product from the ground up as a founder or early stage employee, even if you CAN’T code, subscribe to be amongst the first to know when it’s available to the public.