Startup Institute

Overall Experience

This is one of the best decisions that I've made in regards to my career growth and development. I'd been designing professionally for several years after graduating with my BFA. I didn't have a lot of new things that I could show in my portflio due to my NDA. SI was going to be an outlet to allow me to do that and grow personally and professionally. Also, I wanted to really grow my network in a meaningful way. I was not not only able to network with many amazing alumni and industry people I was able to speak with and have coffee with founders of some amazing startups in the area.

Overall Curriculum

Days are broken up with morning standup where we learn important things as a team. Then we speak with industry leading executive level employess at the top startups in the Boston area, which is amazing. After that we do some learning that involves the entire cohort. There is a real emphasis on "not being an asshole" and having empathy and learning about the ins and outs the startup world.

In-track Curriculum

The course work for the web design track was varied and covered many subjects. However, as a person that has been in the industry for several years there wasn't too much that I didn't know, to be honest. There was some courses where I learned new subject areas and that was really cool allowing me to take deeper dives on my own time. 

Instructors

Allan, Rich and Stephanie are amazing. They are a great team and are awesome instructors and work tirelessly for all students in the program. They really went above and beyond to make me feel like I was the only one there when we had a cohort of 45 people.

Job Assistance

In my opinion, between the network that I grew and the job placement this is what truly separates SI apart from other bootcamps - that and community. The community is amazing. Not only are your classmates working really hard to help you land that dream job, SI is designed so that everything you do from the first day you get there until however long it takes for you find a job they are helping you. 

I had a great time at SIB. I learned a lot, met a large number of interesting and influential instructors, and enjoyed the company of my classmates. I also got a very strong job offer quickly - for a pretty high level, interesting, and well compensated programming position at a Boston area startup that had just closed a Series A and was (and still is) growing rapidly. I did learn a lot going through the curriculum and attending classes, but I feel that the strength of my classmates and of the alumni network are what really caused SI to pay off.

I also think potential boot camp applicants should know 2 things that separate SI from other boot camps. First, it is explicitly startup focused, which means both the student body and partner companies are a self selecting bunch that have a lot in common. Second, it is run for the benefit of the students and the startup community; its fees are far lower than most boot camps because the point is to provide a sustained influx of diverse talent to the startup community.

Coming into Startup Institute with a good ammount of experience and skill, I wasn't sure exactly what my take away was going to be.  What I found was an amazing community that was supportive, energetic, optimistic, and engaged in helping me, my fellow classmates, and the alumni, further our careers and pursue the things we were passionate about.  While it may not be the most technically focused course, I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to be involved in startups and to anyone who has really committed to a career change.  I have since been lucky enough to serve as a mentor to subsequent classes and be involved in helping the program develop.  I absolutely love them and recommend them without reservation.

The Startup Institute isn't just a career accelerator or a skill-specific bootcamp. And it's not just a hybrid of the two, as it also provides life coaching, network building, friendship making, and hands-on/real scenario learning.  The SI curriculum is thoughtfullly created and constantly being iterated upon (sometimes mid-session) to incorporate student and alumni feedback. It is designed such that you have the freedom to choose different paths within the curriculum, are tasked with the responsibility to determine the best path for you, but are granted the security that there is no wrong path. You will benefit, grow, learn, and succeed even by meeting the bare minimum. Not only do you learn skills specific to your track (Marketing, Sales, Web Design, Web Development), you learn about the other tracks, what they entail, and how they work together with respect to specific problems and larger company missions. You are learn enough about yourself--your passions, your gifts, your desires, your strengths, your areas of improvement--such that you can tell your story (from the past), use it as a tool (for your present), and use it as a compass (for your future). In addition to the tactical skills and introspective education, SI provides three more major benefits:  a network that will grow and support you until the end of time, hands on experience with real startups and real problems, and the simulation of a startup environment (thanks to its beautiful curriculum). All of this prepares you to find a job you love, stay in the job you love, and to continue to grow and thrive in the tech startup community for years to come!

Startup Institute's program is an experience that I wish everyone could take part in. The people who run the program weave technical instruction together with direction in professional and personal growth in such a way that each and every student leaves with the knowledge, confidence and tools to bring excellence to the industry.

Actually, as graduates, we never leave Startup Institute. We become part of thier community. As alumni, our cohort regulary gets together to socialize and share experiences. It does not stop there, our cohort is just a part of the entire community of graduates that come together a couple times a year to have fun, support each other, continue to grow our networks and pay forward. 

Startup Institute's cohort is a combination of students pursuing Sales, Technical Marketing, Design and Web Development. One of the best experiences is working on a partner project with students from each discipline. We work as a group to find solutions to real problems in the industry. Going to the partner's office and working side-by-side with their people provides experience unequal to any found in a classroom.

That said, the classroom work at Startup Institute provides a deep understanding of required tools and the current issues facing the industry. The classes are run by professionals who work in the field, bringing real life experience and knowledge to every subject. The classwork is challenging, bringing you up to speed quickly.

The experience comes down to the people who run it. They are truly awesome in all they do.

Startup Institute does an excellent job of recruiting a diverse group of creative, motivated, and hardworking students.  The Sales and Account Management track gives students small-group access to instructors working at all levels of sales organizations at a variety of startups, ranging from early stage companies (scrappy three-person startups) to some of the hottest, larger emerging companies in the tech world (e.g., Twitter, The Muse).  Through a variety of exercises, from lead list generation and CRM use, to cold calling and emailing, to handling customer objections and closing, instructors take students through lessons covering the entire sales funnel with a great deal of one-on-one attention.  The program incorporates mock interviews and job counseling, and culminates in an opportunity for students to pitch themselves as valuable employees on a stage in front of hundreds of local startups.  

I attended the Startup Institute's web development track during the summer of 2015. It was a great experience. I dramatically expanded my professional network and met many of the local leaders in the tech startup industry. I transitioned into web development from an entirely different career -- I was an English professor -- and by following SI staff's advice I was able to land a half-dozen interviews, two job offers, and one career that I love. Startup Institute's support for students in their job search is real. Highly recommended.

Startup Institute is not your typical bootcamp, in that it's not just coding, but rather four separate tracks running in tandem: Designers, Developers, Marketers, and Sales. This unique structure really worked well for those ready to take advantage of the collaborative opportunities offered through the program. I went through as a developer and came out more knowledgeable about marketing and sales than I anticipated, and it's been a great boon to my job hunting skills. It's great to be able to say you're a UX designer, but to be able to show that you've done more than that and can sell the product too – that's what lands you the job!

After working to get a couple startups off the ground, I realized I needed a bigger network and additional knowledge/skills to really make a difference at a young, growing company. I found Startup Institute to be just the career accelerator to build on my business development foundation and prepare me to fuel growth at the next startup I joined.

The dynamic 8 week program introduced me to the people and companies that make up the Chicago tech ecosystem. Being immersed was energizing and rewarding for both my hard skills and soft skills development. I learned way more than I expected about early stage companies and the factors that contribute to their success.

The frameworks and methodologies I picked up at the Startup Institute by real startup practitioners have helped me succeed in my current role. I really enjoyed the hands on learning and partner projects that allowed me to quickly apply the newly acquired skills. 

The alumni network has been a huge benefit since completing the program. Startup Institute continues to host events to support the network and tech community in Chicago, and I find it to be a great way to connect with so many likeminded people. I also credit the alumni network with helping land my current role.

Startup Institute was probably the most productive 8 weeks I've ever had. I had been teaching myself web development for a few months prior to signing up and I learned more in the first 2 weeks of SI than I had in 2 months of working on my own. They did a great job of providing knowledgable instructors and just about all of them were open to helping with problems outside of the classroom time. The most valuable asset however was definitely the network and the SI community. When I finished the program I still had a little ways to go before I was ready to be a self-sufficient member of a development team and through the connections I made at the Startup Institute I was able to find a startup that was hiring junior devs to shape them into the specific brand of engineer that they needed. I still keep in touch with all of my classmates and I have, on several occasions, referred friends and colleagues from my past life to working SI alumni for jobs.