Le Wagon

I joined Le Wagon London in July 2017 and this course really changed my life. 
I wanted to learn how to code as I think this is a great skill to have, but I wasn't expecting to learn so much in such a small amount of time.  The program is well designed,  you have an hour lecture every morning and then spend the whole day to code, which helps a lot to make progress quickly and in a efficient way. Teachers are great and really patient. They also are very meticulous and give you a lot of good habits that a lot of professional developers don't have ...
Everyone has been so supporting, the atmosphere is great, that was honestly one of the best experience of my life and I would recommend it to anyone. 

Working in a free role for a fast growing start-up from the beginning asks a lot of your problem solving capacities. First starting with Google Docs, Excel, Dropbox and other know office applications you soon find the boundaries of those programs and you have to start coding your own. Because at that point I wasn’t able to code myself we hired a lead developer and slowly with every developer we hired I grew in the role of product owner. After a year it started to become clear for me that I missed the build your own solution part more and more, I was ready for a new challenge.

Because we hired 3 Le Wagon alumni from Amsterdam in the early stages of our development team I was well know with Le Wagon. In consultation with the company we decided that it would be the best next step for me to follow the bootcamp and come back after with a bag full of new skills combined already present business skills.

After exchanging Amsterdam for Barcelona I completely submerged for the last 9 weeks in the Le Wagon coding world. Starting well structured, well guided and with clear goals the first 6 weeks flew by. In these first six weeks you learn all basics, get some confidence about your skills with passing tests and of course get to know your new friends. After these six weeks the focus shift completely to the projects and you start working together in the formed teams.  This is a hell of a  ride and worth every minute in it.

For the project we worked on an trip enhancing flight / hotel search. The idea arose from being in Barcelona during the Gracia Festival, the largest neighborhood festival in Barcelona. Of course we’re studying during the festival, but each evening we went on the street, celebrate with the locals. It truly enhanced our experience. This time it was pure luck, but definitely not impossible to engineer. So we came up with a database full of cool events and festival with their closest airport and based on your availability and your origin airport we find the best flights and stays for you. You can check it out on www.daylily.world  

Being back in Amsterdam I directly started as (junior) webdeveloper at the same company. Shifting from product owner to developer is a big change, but so far as the first month is almost passed I really like it.  Creating real working products from the thoughts and ideas we have in the company. The combination of skills is very valuable and the idea that I finally can build by myself again gives me a lot of energy.

I created in 2016 a car rental agency in Paris where I had to develop a showcase site. Having no skills in this field and lack of time, I had to meet many developers (web agency or freelance) to meet my needs.
In order to develop and modernise my tool, I needed to create an online platform like AirBnb. For this, no longer wishing to be dependent on intermediaries, I inquired to acquire the skills necessary to the design of this product.
Le Wagon appeared obvious, my first research allowed me to confirm my choice whether for the courses provided or the duration and the quality of the training.
I therefore integrated the Batch 85 in Bordeaux in the summer of 2017. This city corresponded perfectly to my expectations and allows to have an ideal framework to be able to follow a training throughout its duration.The environment plays an important role and Bordeaux is perfectly suited to work and relaxation on weekends (beach, surf etc.) 
The premises have many advantages including a space of Coworking, a parking for all the people transported. The classroom is ideal and allows to learn in the best conditions.
I met an excellent team, human above all and always listening and helping all along my project creation. The stakeholders and the quality of the tools available enabled me to acquire real skills necessary for the development of my project.
In addition, this training allowed me to develop a new project: FileOn (which you will find in the link below). I am currently still developing this tool which is one on my main activity today.
Le Wagon allows you to acquire the necessary skills necessary for the development of a tech project, to increase your field of action and to create new ideas, to meet wonderful people and all this in only 2 months!
Thanks Le Wagon!

“Finally back to work after your break?”

Were the typical reactions from my work colleagues and friends when I returned to Manchester after a hectic, inspiring, gruelling, and enlightening summer spent learning to code at LeWagon, London (Batch 93). I suppose not many understood why I would be interested in learning to code, I’m a commercial lawyer by trade, and the prospect sits a million miles from the thinking of many in the legal profession. I suppose the answer and motivation is shared by many LeWagon applicants and alumni, and without wanting to put a blanket over each of our respective ambitions, every member of my London batch (including teachers, office and marketing managers, DJs, CTO and CEO) are passionate and curious about the way the world is changing, and the role they can play in it. My participation did not come as an accident, I was looking for exactly this kind of challenge. Boris, Romain and Seb have developed a really clever and engaging 9 week intensive program, and the minimal marketing (largely centred on endorsements from its alumni community and Meetups with inspiring tech leaders and activists) drew me in. You quickly come to understand that at LeWagon you are being taught not just a skill but an approach to developing that skill. The learning platform and materials are fantastic, but there is always an exercise or two that requires you to go further, to utilise online resources available to anyone, and to try and accommodate what you find in the program you are developing. This is learning by ‘doing’ and not by ‘theory’, and it is probably the best example of the distinction between the dynamic learning environment and traditional academic institutions (the number of mid-week coffees and Asahi’s you consume would be another!).

“How tough is it?”

A question from friends, family and colleagues a little more curious as to what I was doing this summer. The answer to this question now is different to that at various checkpoints during the course. I spent the first four weeks really labouring to grasp all of the key methods and concepts of Ruby, puzzled at how I might come to rely on them further down the road (the feedback at this stage comes via a dark terminal interface, and not in the browser), and worried that perhaps my brain was wired a little differently to the rest of the group. You soon realise that you are not alone, and the environment supports rather than oppresses you. As long as you commit to the syllabus, are willing to make mistakes, and ultimately shout for help or guidance then you make progress! The inevitable challenge of the steep learning curve is well met by the teachers and assistants who are extremely supportive and passionate about the program and the environment. Many have been on the receiving end (having attended previous batches), and they all share a real drive and commitment to ensure the platform and materials evolve and stay current for their audience (which includes alumni as well as students!).

What now?

I’ve got to continue with the coding (it’s an itch) and I’m now well equipped to build and contribute to new projects. I am also actively considering ways in which I can leverage my new skills (in particular new approaches to problem solving) to my current legal career. Empowered by the course, I’m challenging myself to become much more creative, to seek out more like minded people across the ever growing legal tech and engineering scene, and to utilise the LeWagon alumni network!

Before LeWagon:

I was a consultant working at a global management consulting company in Japan. Specialising in business strategy, I have worked with various public companies on their strategy development and implementation.

Why I joined:

I was in the process of starting my own company. Whichever directions I looked, there were fancy websites, apps or marketplaces that are becoming part of “the norm” amongst successful startups. Even though my startup idea is not in the tech arena, the risk of treating it as a blackbox was too great to ignore, and I needed a rapid, intensive course to boost my understanding of coding and the current landscape at higher level.

The Le Wagon experience:

The Le Wagon course definitely exceeded my expectations in several ways because:
1. Your code competency level guaranteed to be at another level at the end, thanks to:
    1. Well-structured curriculum and daily exercises with instant feedback
    2. Experienced and talented teachers to provide in-depth, step-by-step coaching
    3. Focus on learning by doing, rather than theory
2. Attract topnotch students (e.g. Oxbridge etc) and talented people in their fields in every batch
    1. Best learning points often come from students’ questions
    2. Stimulate and accelerates the learning curve
    3. Give scope to dive into interesting optional topics
3. Opportunity to develop teamwork, project management and public speaking in the final project
    1. The people skills are not ignored by Le Wagon - after all coding is just a tool
    2. Give you training for potential future investor pitches
    3. Show off your achievement to your friends and family 

After Le Wagon:

I am definitely at a better position with more insights about the way web app are designed and built. Le Wagon not only provided knowledge and skills, it taught me enough so that I can be self-sufficient to continue learning beyond. Not to mention it’s vast network of alumni and the possibility to connect with similar minded entrepreneurs that will be valuable after the course too.

Prior to enrolling in Batch 74 in London, I was responsible for leading my employer's integration team to onboard companies that we had recently acquired.  While knowledge of just about every aspect of the company, and the experience I gained during my time there was invaluable, I knew that there was more out there for me.  One thing I found particularly frustrating was my complete lack of experience in coding and development.  While I worked very closely with our dev team, and was able to storyboard and lay out detailed specifications for enhancements and new modules, I was completely incapable of contributing or really understanding the foundations of the programs themselves.  For years, I had wanted to make the investment in myself and start down the path of learning to code myself.  Last January, I finally made the decision to pull the trigger and take the first steps down that path.  

After extensively researching the programs available, I narrowed my choices down to 3 options based on the skills I desired to obtain the curriculum focus of each respectively.  One of those three "finalists" was Le Wagon.  At first, I was a bit hesitant due to the fact that it was located in Europe and I, myself, was an American.  However, after further examining and comparing the respective focuses of each program, it became abundantly clear that Le Wagon was exactly what I was looking for as it is a full stack course with a very strong focus on entrepreneurship and product development.  Additionally, I felt that taking myself out of my comfort zone would benefit me in terms of eliminating distractions and allowing me to fully focus on the course (being able to clear my mind and explore a new city abroad was an enticing aspect as well). 

Once I was accepted into the program and completed the pre-coursework, I was off to London and it was the best decision I could have possibly made.  Throughout the 9 weeks of the batch, the amount of knowledge I gained and the abilities I gained far surpassed my expectations.  In addition to the coursework, the resources provided to every student that they keep forever are absolutely incredible and valuable.  On top of that, the vast and ever-expanding network of global alumni is an Mzing asset.  The entire alumni community is very unique as everybody has gone through the same trials.  Through the alumni channel created by Le Wagon, a massive forum for collaboration and help exists and is filled with people who are more than willing to assist each other.  The connections that can be made through the alumni network is an unbelievable resource in itself.

Last but certainly not least, the aspect of Le Wagon that truly tops off the program and makes it so amazing is the staff.  It seems impossible that Le Wagon was able to put together an entire team of such incredibly talented people that are also some of the most energetic and personable I've ever met, but they certainly managed to do so.  It couldn't have been more obvious from Day 1 that the staff didn't treat everybody as just a number, but that they truly cared about investing in their relationships with each individual and making sure they succeeded.  The structure of the program creates amazing friendships and bonds with not only your classmates, but with the staff itself, and for that I am truly grateful.  The 9 weeks were very challenging, but they flew by and I never imagined I would genuinely have a much fun as I did throughout the course.   The final weeks were particularly rewarding and enjoyable as the batch broke into groups and launched functioning apps that were started from scratch during the course.  I admittedly was completely blown away by the presentations of every single app during "Demo Day" at Google Campus on the final day.  I couldn't believe that these amazing programs were created in a matter of two weeks by people who had no prior experience a short 9 weeks earlier.  I couldn't be more satisfied or thankful for my decision to enroll in Le Wagon and will forever cherish the friendships and connections I made through it in addition to the skills I gained!

My name is Anderson, I’m Brazilian but have been living in Japan for quite a long time now…

I’ve always wanted to be an entrepreneur, ideas would come to my mind and I would imagine how to set them up, analyzing viability, and obviously how to make money out of them.

I’ve had 3 businesses in Brazil before I decided to come live in Japan. I currently own an Ad Agency which has been creating audiovisual content in Yokohama for the last 10 years.

Recently, I came up again with an idea my mind wouldn’t get rid of. But for it, I needed some technical knowledge that I knew was not my strong suit.

I first tried to look for a software house or freelancers both in Japan or abroad but this approach had three major issues for me:

1/ I had no clue on how to select which language I needed for the project and even less on how to assess the professionals willing to take it on.

2/ Lack of commitment from potential partners, I came to talk with a bunch of agencies, but clearly I felt I was just another client, not a partner to build something new.

3/ This approach came with pretty high costs which I could not tell if it was due to the ambition of the project or because I was a first timer getting fooled…

That’s when I decided I needed to study to understand better the tech startup ecosystem and turn myself able to put my idea in practice.

I searched for different training options, but nothing really exciting until I found out about Le Wagon in a very important IT media in Japan. I found the Bootcamp format and proposal to be just what I needed, and after reviewing some students’ opinions (on this site!), I contacted Le Wagon Tokyo. It was too late for Tokyo as the next bootcamp would start next week. I couldn’t wait for the next one in 3 months… But to my great surprise, I discovered that one was scheduled in my hometown of São Paulo in one month. Planets finally had aligned.

I crossed the Ocean and went…

To sum it up, that’s the been the best decision I made so far, I was afraid I would be completely lost, and I was a little at first, but with the help of teachers, teaching assistants, other students, but especially thanks to a great methodology and learning platform, I can say that today I can decide on technical facts I understand and I can even jump into the code whenever I feel I can correct or add something up myself.

The idea I had is now live because I could convince a group in the bootcamp to follow me and we turned it into our last weeks’ project. It’s called Tripdeo, stay tuned cause you’re going to hear about it soon!

Since I was young, I have spent a lot of time, doing various online courses to try to learn how to code by myself without a lot of success. I made an Engineering school hoping I'll learn the basics of code. Unfortunately it didn't happen. Moreover I didn't really appreciate the industrial world.
I knew I would want to work in the startup environment and in the tech world. So I decided to enroll at Le Wagon a few weeks after my diploma. Le Wagon exactly met my needs and I felt confident to work right after the bootcamp.
The teaching method is pretty incredible and before enrolling, I didn't expect I would learn this much in only two months. I'm currently working as a junior web developer in a web agency and Le Wagon gave me the basic and necessary knowledge to build websites in RoR. Le Wagon was one of the most powerful experience in my life !

I am Math student in Queen Mary University. I was always intrested in coding but never have time to properly do it. During my first year of university, I was doing some codecademy courses which gave me some basic knowledge. Then I realised that I love to code and want to extend my coding knowledge. That is why I join lewagon.

Lewagon gave me a great opportunity to meet new friends. A learned a lot during a bootcamp. After I bootcamp I feel confident enough to do mine own project and learning hard concepts on my owm because I go that base knowledge from Lewagon. 

Lewagon gave the passion to code and motivation to learn more!

Hi, my name is Luana, I'm a civil engineer by training and I was at a moment of my life when I wanted to change something in my career. I chose Le Wagon on the recommendation of a friend and to be honest I was a little afraid at first to “jump" as i did not know anything about programming. But let me tell you that I completely loved the course, the studying environment was awesome, the friends I made there were the best, and the teachers are great. 
After I completed Le Wagon bootcamp, I now feel confident to talk about programming with anyone and have been able to finally kickstart the personal projects I had in mind for so long. 
Today 100% of the work I do is linked to the knowledge I got from the course, either on the freelance gigs I took or my own projects.

"I was working in finance in the biggest fintech in France but after 3 years, I needed to change and I wanted to have more technical skills. I choose Le Wagon because of all the good reviews and because of it's own methodology. You have to be proficient, it's intensive and you practice a lot, coding with great partners each time. I didn't regret it at all. Now I'm back in Paris and continue to code on my spare time. My goal is to start a freelance career as a developer in 2018.

Monteil Alexandre - Batch 63 - Montreal"