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Hey @shaan_hathiramani . This looks interesting. Is it similar to what Lambda School is doing? In terms of studying and paying later?
Would love to get more insight into this
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@shaan_hathiramani follow up :) is it only for people that can live/study in Pacific Time? Nothing for European students, I assume
@itstheandre Hi Andre! The business model is similar (we love Lambda!) in that we invest in our students, train and coach them for free, and only get paid if they get a job. The difference is we take a fraction of tuition once hired: similar coding bootcamps take 17% of 3 yrs of income, and we take 10% of first year income. Hope that helps!
@itstheandre We differentiate with our live, interactive classes, coaching and training, so for now, yes, it's limited to those who can make class (5-8pm PST). We'll definitely be expanding availability and options!
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@shaan_hathiramani Hey! And regarding possible students from Europe? Any idea of how that might work? Or should we adopt to the Pacific clock?
@itstheandre For now, our classes are live at 5-8pm PST. We will be opening up to Europe in the future, but if you can make those hours today, then you're in 😃
Hey Product Hunt! Shaan here, founder/CEO of Flockay. My team and I created Flockjay to make tech accessible for people from underrepresented communities. We're doing this by targeting a branch of the industry that itself has been neglected in this age of engineering bootcamps.
Happy to answer any questions below! ALSO, special offer for PRODUCT HUNT:
1) If you're interested in applying, skip the line in the app (<10min to fill out) and use Referral Code: KITTY
2) We want to spread the word among the people that matter most. Refer meaningful people in your community with a link generated here, and you both win: https://flockjay.com/refer
@shaan_hathiramani Cool concept, love to see how recruitment is being disrupted in this way. What are the requirements to start your course? Do you have any restrictions when it comes to age, education level etc? Could you also shed more light on what happens to students once they complete the course as far as gaining a job? And do the employer partners compensate you in some way, too? Thanks
@abadesi Hi Abadesi, great questions! I'll answer each of them seperately below 😄
We've found success in high-paying roles like sales and business development correlates less with advanced degrees, and more with skills/superpowers you already have, like conscientiousness, curiosity, coachability, and emotional intelligence. Our application process (a short 10-minute form, and a live, personal video chat with our team) looks for these skills, rather than any education or age requirements. In fact, we welcome learners from non-traditional backgrounds - it's at the core of our mission.
@abadesi We spend the last third of our course actively preparing students for the job process. Students start mastering the products of hiring companies, and we provide interview prep and coaching, along with resume feedback. We connect students that are ready for a job with breakout tech companies who share our values of creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. As companies struggle to predictably hire top, diverse sales talent, and our graduates are fully ramped ~3 weeks into the job vs avg. of 3mo, they may compensate us for the placement, like other recruiting firms they work with.
@abadesi We also provide post-hire support for our hired graduates - we've found that this is a huge area overlooked by many of these programs. Having mentors available to help navigate the first few months of a life-changing job opportunity can make a huge difference.
Big fan of this concept. Aside from job training, are you planning on providing a hiring platform (similar to Jopwell) or interview prep down the line?
@fernandotherojo Thank you! Our goal is to build relationships with top hiring partners who share our values of diversity and inclusion, and do exactly that. We provide not only interview coaching and prep, but also resume review, and perhaps most importantly, training on company products before hired. We have an awesome list of top tech companies that's growing weekly, and we are grateful and humbled by the support in the community!
@shaan_hathiramani Got it, makes sense. For the big tech companies, the key part to recruitment tends to be a referral and warm intro to a recruiter, so I assume HR partnerships can go a long way.
@fernandotherojo Absolutely. Part of what we're doing is starting a conversation around skills-oriented hiring, instead of degree-oriented hiring. So many highly qualified candidates are overlooked because HR Applicant Tracking Software (ATS) screens for keywords like "Salesforce" and "Business Development." We want to provide both education AND access to underserved jobseekers.
On a related note, First Round recently released their annual State of Startups which reports that sales remains the hardest executive role to fill, above engineering, design, etc. The right product and salesperson can be super dangerous. 💰
@rrhoover It's crazy! As an industry, we focus most of our energy on teaching people to code. Yet, in a recent poll of 250 US college and university officials, not one school offered coursework in tools like Salesforce and Outreach. Meanwhile, the best sales reps are amongst the highest earners in tech. 💰💰
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@rrhoover So true Ryan! As a hiring manager in tech, could not agree more and the ability to tap into a vetted pipeline like Flockjay's is really powerful.
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This is a cool idea, and builds on the rubble of similar models in the dev bootcamp space, which had great models but unfortunately faced the difficult truth that great dev skills just can't be learned in a matter of months.
Sales on the other hand, is a different story.
As a founder of a B2C/B2B tech company in SF, I've experienced first-hand the serious shortage of junior salespeople in the market. What we need are smart, driven people with a modicum of experience. We can't take folks from square zero, but we can take them from square one.. and it sounds like Flockjay can help get folks there.
Very excited to see your progress, guys. Be in touch once your first class is ready.
Pros:
Good solution for a problem I experience every day
Cons:
Is the total addressable market big enough? How do you solve the geographic disparity between supply and demand for sales personnel?
Great questions!
1) 1 in 9 professionals in the US work in sales, and for the rest, we spend 40% of our time moving others. So in many ways, we're all in sales, not to mention other non-engineering roles!
2) If I understand you correctly, you're asking how to connect top talent not from the coasts, with tech companies that are largely from the coasts. It's something we're super focused on, and our goal is actually to help companies build presences in cities that have incredible talent that we help train and build.
3) Excited to work with you! Will follow up offline. There are so many high-potential candidates who are overlooked in the hiring process due to things like ATS screening keywords, lack of an industry connection, not speaking the tech language, and not knowing how to use tools like Salesforce.
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I’ve loved my experience @LambdaSchool so far and the model you’re using to apply this concept to sales has me super excited.
Door to door sales paid for my time at
University. As a major or minor skillset it always pays for itself.
I have two questions. First, how well would your program work for a seasoned summer salesperson who wants to make the leap straight into enterprise sales? All the hustle, grit, persistence and passion but lacking the salesforce experience. (I have two younger brothers and multiple friends looking to make this path change right now.)
Second, I am curious what the placement goal is for graduates of the program. Are you aiming for entering the market as an sales executive / account executive role or is this focused on landing entry level BDR/SDR roles?
@lambdaschool@bwinterrose Thank you for your support and questions!
1) Some of our most successful graduates are those making a similar transition. We’ve found that background in retail sales, and other comparable roles (even if they don’t have sales in the title) set people up for success in our program. There’s a ton to learn in the transition to enterprise SaaS sales, specifically in understanding the buyer journey, integrating sales enablement tools and software in the selling cycle, understanding different technical products and industries, and speaking the language. I’d be happy to personally answer any questions you/your brothers/friends may have at shaan@flockjay.com. Please connect us!
2) We place graduates for BDR/SDR roles primarily for now, but we have large demand for AE roles both on the applicant and hiring side, so we do work on those as well. Happy to chat more.
Hope that helps! Please shoot me an email to follow up 😃
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@shaan_hathiramani this is a great service. I am interested to know, what are you personally looking for in a Community Lead or Partnership Sales Manager? How do you want this company to scale?
I can contribute to your team because I believe in the product.
@jarquevious_nelson1 thanks for the kind note @jarquevious_nelson1 ! Would love to learn more about your passion and vision. Drop us a note at hello at Flockjay dot com and we will find time to chat.
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This is a cool idea, and builds on the rubble of similar models in the dev bootcamp space, which had great models but unfortunately faced the difficult truth that great dev skills just can't be learned in a matter of months.
Sales on the other hand, is a different story.
As a founder of a B2C/B2B tech company in SF, I've experienced first-hand the serious shortage of junior salespeople in the market. What we need are smart, driven people with a modicum of experience. We can't take folks from square zero, but we can take them from square one.. and it sounds like Flockjay can help get folks there.
Very excited to see your progress, guys. Be in touch once your first class is ready.
Pros:Good solution for a problem I experience every day
Cons:Is the total addressable market big enough? How do you solve the geographic disparity between supply and demand for sales personnel?
Flockjay
Flockjay
Flockjay