Y Combinator MOOC for Tech Startups Attracts Thousands of Views

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.

About the Author

Sri Ravipati is Web producer for THE Journal and Campus Technology. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Training the Next Generation of Space Cybersecurity Experts

    CT asked Scott Shackelford, Indiana University professor of law and director of the Ostrom Workshop Program on Cybersecurity and Internet Governance, about the possible emergence of space cybersecurity as a separate field that would support changing practices and foster future space cybersecurity leaders.

  • modern college building with circuit and brain motifs

    Anthropic Launches Claude for Education

    Anthropic has announced a version of its Claude AI assistant tailored for higher education institutions. Claude for Education "gives academic institutions secure, reliable AI access for their entire community," the company said, to enable colleges and universities to develop and implement AI-enabled approaches across teaching, learning, and administration.

  • AI microchip, a cybersecurity shield with a lock, a dollar coin, and a laptop with financial graphs connected by dotted lines

    Survey: Generative AI Surpasses Cybersecurity in 2025 Tech Budgets

    Global IT leaders are placing bigger bets on generative artificial intelligence than cybersecurity in 2025, according to new research by Amazon Web Services (AWS).

  • university building surrounded by icons for AI, checklists, and data governance

    Improving AI Governance for Stronger University Compliance and Innovation

    AI can generate valuable insights for higher education institutions and it can be used to enhance the teaching process itself. The caveat is that this can only be achieved when universities adopt a strategic and proactive set of data and process management policies for their use of AI.