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Skillsoft Buys Codecademy for $525M

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61–70 of 124 posts

Re: Skillsoft Buys Codecademy for $525M

#61
post #56

So how are the new owners going to squeeze more than $525 million out of it?

Another thing that makes me suspicious is that Skillsoft just went through chapter 11 bankrupty summer of 2020. It's near the start of a pandemic and people are at home yet these guys struggle? Also look how many owners skillsoft has passed through.

Re: Skillsoft Buys Codecademy for $525M

#65
post #8

First time I ever programmed was using Codecademy around 2013. I was always an average student in school. Never had the motivation/curiosity to study since I felt it was all pointless. Never had any programming/computer classes in school. I completed the python course that was available at the time that eventually guides you to build your own version of battleship with 2 players. It was an eye-opening experience for…

Thanks for sharing this. Do you still have your code for your battleship game? All of my earliest programming projects have been lost to time.

My first major programming project was in high school circa 2005. A basic graphing calculator written in JAVA with Spring and all the UI elements made in MS Paint.

I wish I still had that code.

Re: Skillsoft Buys Codecademy for $525M

#66
post #44

Welp, I signed up with the service in January of 2012 but I'm done with Codecademy now. When Skillsoft bought Element K, it did not go well for the majority of us there. Not only that, but they were my biggest competitor in sales. So not only was I not impressed with how they treated a company after buying it, but it's almost out of principle that I wouldn't support a company that has been such a barrier to success f…

Having not used Codecademy, I'm curious: were you really able to get nearly 10 years of value out of it? My understanding was that it was mostly to teach people how to code to an intermediate level.

I feel like it was. It used it as tool to learn intermittently along with many others.

Re: Skillsoft Buys Codecademy for $525M

#67
post #13

Co-Founder and CEO here. We started Codecademy and launched on HN 10 years ago. I'm so thankful to this community for helping us to get started and to see up the momentum! We're committed to making sure that the product stays as great as the one you've used for years (and gets even better!).

Thanks so much! Codecademy taught me to program and it’s something I’m still getting paid to do 10 years later. Amazing product!

Re: Skillsoft Buys Codecademy for $525M

#68
post #13

Co-Founder and CEO here. We started Codecademy and launched on HN 10 years ago. I'm so thankful to this community for helping us to get started and to see up the momentum! We're committed to making sure that the product stays as great as the one you've used for years (and gets even better!).

quite fun looking through your activity on HN, right back to a :- Show HN: Codecademy.com, the easiest way to learn to code

very cool

Re: Skillsoft Buys Codecademy for $525M

#69

I get a feeling that the comments here read like eulogies. Maybe that's just me due to exposure to skillsoft over the years.

Took them as validation anecdotes -- sort of like thank yous to the team. Kind of really like these threads! That being said, I've now asked a few folks about Skillsoft and they weren't that bullish about it. Kind of just hoping for a good return for the employees at Codecademy who worked hard to get to this stage (an exit).

At this price the deal probably minted quite a few new millionaires, so I think it’s a good thing for people who worked on something for 10+ years.

It’s no S1 but for a lot of early contributors it’s probably a ticket to never having to work again.

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