There is a ton of astroturfing going on in this thread. The article looks like an ad... Where are the contrasting opinions?
Udacity Raises $105M Series D, Bringing Valuation to $1B
31–40 of 80 posts
Re: Udacity Raises $105M Series D, Bringing Valuation to $1B
#32I interviewed at this place -- comically bad. They're all clearly drinking the koolaid around a fire of VC money -- their CEO's ties to Google and resume will let them raise whatever funds they desire, but the people I talked to seemed elitist and really concerned about everything but the end product. We'll be talking about a "unicorn" failing in 2017 when they burn through this $105M...
Did they give you a job offer?
No, it was obvious we were not right for one another.
Re: Udacity Raises $105M Series D, Bringing Valuation to $1B
#33I've used quite a few other (pay) MOOC services; subscription based, pay by class, free, etc...
Pluralsight, Udemy, Lynda, Coursera, Code School, Stack Skills
I've also used some small independent ones as well (Bitfountain is just one example).
The thing I would be really curious to see (but unfortunately don't think we will see any time soon) is how the profit numbers stack up on these different pay models.
For the subscription based services I will pay a monthly fee for no more than one service at a time and I will make heavy use of it during that time period. This is what I did with Pluralsight, Code School, and Lynda. Got a subscription and used it for awhile then canceled when I was done with the material I was interested in or I didn't have enough time to spend for it to be worth the money.
I also cap the value at about $50/month max. Not that Udacity has bad content, but there is great content on the competitors too. I can sign up for Pluralsight + Lynda + Code School every month and still have money left over to buy some courses outright on Udemy or Stack Skills.
In total I've spent a lot more money on buying courses outright from sources like Udemy. Originally I was looking there for some specific technical classes, but they have so much variety I have spent more money on things like art, photography, and design classes.
Wow... I went off on a bit of a tangent there. Anyway; really would be interested in seeing how much money is being made by these different services as well as seeing percentages/dollars of how much of that passes through to individual content creators etc...
Re: Udacity Raises $105M Series D, Bringing Valuation to $1B
#34I used to think these online educational companies wouldn't be very profitable in the long run. Then I discovered Udemy. In the last two months I've bought three courses on Udemy (at about $10-$20 each). The courses aren't your conventional CS classes. I bought a course on Photoshop mastery. Another on Android programming, and another on Adobe Illustrator skills. I've enjoyed the material so far. I have undergrad and…
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Re: Udacity Raises $105M Series D, Bringing Valuation to $1B
#35I interviewed at this place -- comically bad. They're all clearly drinking the koolaid around a fire of VC money -- their CEO's ties to Google and resume will let them raise whatever funds they desire, but the people I talked to seemed elitist and really concerned about everything but the end product. We'll be talking about a "unicorn" failing in 2017 when they burn through this $105M...
I curious what you mean by "everything but the end product". Care to elaborate?
Re: Udacity Raises $105M Series D, Bringing Valuation to $1B
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wouldn't be so down on vocational training for software...It is a field that has an unusually high requirement for ongoing learning. And when you have to learn some new tech, usually you have to do it now, and in-place, not next September, in the nearest college town. Given the high ongoing learning requirements that software has, I think there is a pretty clear need for training that's delivered where you are and…
Oh. To be clear. I think on-going training is great especially given the pace of change. And things like automated evaluation of code is something that actually works pretty well in MOOCs in my experience. (Unlike peer grading.) However, the argument for platforms like Udacity hasn't in general been that they're a great advancement for vocational training but that they disrupt higher ed generally. And that's probably…
That depends on how sensitive higher ed is to competition from vocational training for things like programmers, right? Something like Udacity isn't going to replace a traditional CS degree, but something more like an IT degree could just be high-end vocational training offered by a traditional four-year institution, and as college costs rise, it could start to eat into the lower end.
Re: Udacity Raises $105M Series D, Bringing Valuation to $1B
#37GOT EM
Re: Udacity Raises $105M Series D, Bringing Valuation to $1B
#38No they raised $105M in preferred shares with 1x or more liquidity preferences. The common stock is worth no more than the value of a way out of the money penny option that is only excercised in the case of a liquidity event. Meaning the real valuation of the company is maybe two or three hundred million. Of course founders don't tell employees that because they can get talent for pennies on the dollar this way.
Re: Udacity Raises $105M Series D, Bringing Valuation to $1B
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
really? Companies pay _sooooo_ much money for employee training. a billion for this makes a hell of a lot more sense than billion dollar valuations for companies in races to the bottom.
If these kind of valuations were based on company training budgets, I'd be happily convinced. I haven't heard that argument being made but maybe it's the basis.
Not that I want to defend a billion dollar valuation from a private company with no liquidity... But the sector is one that is arguably incredibly lucrative. Last year I was reading lots of CVs as we were trying to hire people. The number of people who have Coursera courses on their CV is amazing. And to be honest, it works (on me, anyway ;-) ). It communicates the idea that they have initiative and that they value improving themselves. These are traits that I want in people that I work with.
Personally, I hate organized forms of education (and I spent 5 years teaching English as a foreign language in a high school!) Point me a text book, or blog posts or whatever and I will work through it at my own pace and in the order that I prefer. But I have to admit that it's pretty hard for me to put anything on my CV. The Coursera certificates (and I suppose these "nanodegrees" -- I haven't looked into this and know nothing about it) have a lot of value in that sense. From my experience hiring, I think it's certainly worth a few hundred dollars to have things like that on your CV. If it catches on (as it appears to be doing), then the bar will be raised and you will have to spend more to stand out. There is definite opportunity.
Re: Udacity Raises $105M Series D, Bringing Valuation to $1B
#40I am one of the first cohort of Udacity to complete Front End Web Developer Nanodegree. However, when I applied for a developer job(something called Udacity Experience Program) on their career site, few weeks after I got an email describing I am not a good fit for the role.
I have been looking for an entry level developer job for last couple of months. During job interviews when I mention regarding the Certification Program from Udacity or discuss on the projects that I did it does not ring a bell to most of interviewers.
Agreed I learned a ton on front-end development from the program but so far the nanodegree has not really helped me in my job search.
It will be interesting to see if Udacity can gather and publish data on number of nanodegree holders getting developer jobs after completion.