MOOCs

Y Combinator MOOC for Tech Startups Attracts Thousands of Views

• By Sri Ravipati
• 05/03/17

Silicon Valley startup accelerator Y Combinator has become infamous for working with many successful tech businesses at the early stage, including Dropbox, Airbnb and Reddit. The company last month opened up registration to its massive open online course (MOOC) called Startup School, which simulates the experience that a number of select companies are actually going through in residence for three months at Y Combinator headquarters.

Startup School was designed to be a resource for anyone considering starting their own company. According to its website, it wants startups to improve, whether or not they go through the main Y Combinator program. The 10-week MOOC has garnered more than 80,000 video views, MIT Technology Review reported.

Now in week five, the MOOC has published a few videos. Most recently, “How to Get Users and Grow,” led by VP of Growth at Facebook Alex Schultz, teaches startups how to get users and how to keep track of growth. Prior to that, a four-part video series called “How to Build a Product” was hosted by:

• Y Combinator CEO Michael Seibel;
• Aaron Levie, CEO and co-founder of Box;
• Solomon Hykes, CTO and co-founder of Docker;
• Tracey Young, CEO and co-founder of Plangrid;
• Harry Zhang, co-founder of Lob; and
• Jan Koum, CEO and co-founder of WhatsApp, among others.

At the end of the MOOC, a Demo Day will take place online in conjunction with the in-person three-day event where startup founders share what they have built. The event attracts some of the tech industry’s top investors.

More information about Startup School is available on the Y Combinator site.