Website Planet interviewed Harry Chen, Co-founder of
Altcademy. We will learn what helped their affordable and challenging courses reach over 50.000 aspiring software developers across 101 countries since the platform first launched in 2020, and will lastly get insights on the most recent trends in the industry from his experience as ex Micorsoft, and founder of other two startups: BetterWriter.ai andEmailRefinery.
Please, introduce Altcademy to our audience. What is your story and mission?
Altcademy is one of the most affordable coding bootcamp. It’s 100% online and self-paced. We offer a wide range of coding courses with an emphasis on the fundamentals. We strive to provide a high-quality education, so that our students can become successful software developers. Our mission is to make coding accessible and affordable to everyone, no matter their location or financial situation. We’re passionate about creating an inclusive and supportive environment for our students to learn and grow. We believe in the power of software and coding to help make the world a better place.
What sparked the idea, and how has it evolved so far?
The idea for Altcademy was sparked by the founders’ desire to make coding accessible and affordable to everyone. We wanted to create a place where anyone, regardless of their background or experience, could learn to code.
We wanted to make coding education accessible to those who might not have had the opportunity to attend a traditional coding bootcamp or university. So, we built a comprehensive online learning platform that offers a wide range of coding courses. Our courses are self-paced, so our students can learn at their own speed. We also offer support from our instructors and mentors, so our students can get the guidance and help they need. We’ve since evolved our platform to offer more advanced courses and more interactive learning experiences.
Give us an overview of the technologies used to build Altcademy and the process you followed
We use Ruby on Rails as our backend framework, which is an open-source web application framework written in Ruby. This allows us to develop our platform quickly and efficiently. It also provides a wide range of features that make our platform customizable and secure.
We use React as our frontend framework. React is a JavaScript library that helps us build interactive user interfaces. We use this to create a simple and user-friendly UI/UX for our students.
Finally, we follow a comprehensive process for building our platform. This includes planning, design, development, testing, and deployment. We also use continuous integration and deployment methods to ensure our platform is always up to date and running smoothly.
What makes you stand out from the competition?
Our courses are very comprehensive and also super affordable, with prices almost 10x cheaper than traditional coding bootcamps. With a self-paced learning approach that can be done anytime and anywhere. Our experienced team of instructors and mentors are committed to helping our students succeed, and our supportive community of students are all working towards the same goal – to become successful software developers.
Can you share any recent success stories from your students?
We’re always inspired by our students’ success stories! Recently, one of our students, Mark, was able to find a job as a software engineer after taking a course with us. He credits Altcademy for giving him the skills and confidence to pursue a career in coding. We’ve also had students who have become senior developers after just two years in the industry, which is a testament to the quality of our courses and the dedication of our students. We’re proud of our students’ successes and feel privileged to be able to help them achieve their goals.
What tools and channels are you using to promote Altcademy?
We use a variety of channels to promote Altcademy. Our primary channels include SEO, Google Ads, and Facebook Ads. We also use content marketing and influencer marketing to reach our target audience. We have a presence on social media, including Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, to help us engage with our audience. Additionally, we use email marketing to reach our existing students as well as prospective students. Finally, we rely on word-of-mouth referrals to help spread the word about Altcademy.
How do you envision the future of your industry?
We envision a future where coding is a requirement for many different jobs and industries due to the increasing prevalence of AI. We believe that having coding skills will be essential for anyone wanting to keep up with the ever-changing tech landscape. We also hope that coding education will become more accessible and affordable, so that anyone can learn how to code and take advantage of the opportunities that technology can provide.
How will AI impact the future of your industry, and do you plan to use it?
AI will have a significant impact on the future of our industry, as it will enable faster and more complex data analysis, automation, and more personalized learning experiences for our students. We plan to use AI to help our students get the most out of their learning experience by providing personalized recommendations based on their unique learning goals, preferences, and progress. We also plan to use AI to automate certain tasks and processes, such as grading and providing feedback, so our instructors can focus on providing the best possible learning experience for their students.
