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Skillsoft Buys Codecademy for $525M

skillsoft.com

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Re: Skillsoft Buys Codecademy for $525M

#101

Post by zds »

stevenking86l wrote: post #83
zds wrote: 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!).

Thank you and congrats! I took a Python course on codecademy and it led to a career change and basically a complete life transformation. You convinced me, and I’m sure a lot of others “Yes, I can do this.”

this is why we show up to work in the morning! thank you so much. if you have more you want to share, shoot me an email!

Re: Skillsoft Buys Codecademy for $525M

#102

Post by PureSin »

zds wrote: 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!).

Congrats Zach! - Kelvin

Re: Skillsoft Buys Codecademy for $525M

#103

Post by grendelt »

zds wrote: post #93
dang wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Looks like these were the first two HN threads: Show HN: Codecademy.com, the easiest way to learn to code - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2901156 - Aug 2011 (232 comments) Codecademy Surges To 200,000 Users, 2.1 Million Lessons Completed In 72 Hours - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2914854 - Aug 2011 (75 comments)

that first one brings back memories! thanks for resurfacing these, @dang!

You missed a great opp here, zds.

"dang, thanks for resurfacing these!"

Re: Skillsoft Buys Codecademy for $525M

#104

Post by sangeeth96 »

zds wrote: 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 a lot and congrats to you and the team for this big milestone! I accelerated my webdev journey via Codecademy, even learned Python I believe. It's a wonderful platform that I still recommend to folks who come to me for advise.

Re: Skillsoft Buys Codecademy for $525M

#106

Post by r-w »

lsalvatore wrote: post #90
Siira wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A badge of honor and respect is also known as a “signal.” Not that signaling is inherently bad, quite the opposite, signaling is essential. But it would be great if we could discover cheaper and more accessible ways to signal. PS: I don’t think a CS degree is just signaling, but it could be improved an order of magnitude if the incentives of the professors and the institutions were aligned with teaching people market…

Yes I totally understand your point of view. I spent almost a decade paying off a six figure debt for my CS degree. The funniest part? I learned almost nothing about web development in school. No marketable skills that would have really helped me when I first started my actual job! How can I argue this is a good thing? Well, the best analogy I can think of is a black belt in karate. It takes 10 years or whatever to g…

But should most people do it primarily for that reason? At the end of my 4½ years, I think not.

Re: Skillsoft Buys Codecademy for $525M

#107

Post by paul7986 »

In 2011 (April) at a Baltimore Hackathon I unsuccessfully pitched the same idea that is Codeacademy (Codacademy launched in June, July or August i think) for others to join/help me work on. Later creating CodePupil(dot)com but like everything I started it was pretty much solo and within a few years would lose steam.

My comment is more so to tell others never to give up or at least try not to. Many who don't see great reward ...monetarily or as Zach is seeing here and has seen people being gracious for helping them learn an invaluable skill/changing and enriching their lives.

Re: Skillsoft Buys Codecademy for $525M

#109

Post by warner25 »

lsalvatore wrote: post #76
evancoop wrote: post #72

With each new opportunity to learn to code without the expense of a four-year degree in Computer Science, don't we reach a point at which either: 1) The four-year degree in CS is actually seen as something of a negative indicator 2) We acknowledge the silent part out loud, e.g. "the college degree is a signal, not a delivery mechanism for professional skills." ?

I'm saddened that we're comparing a degree in CS to a subscription to Codecademy. I am curious if you've gotten a degree yourself, and whether that degree was from a reputable school. My CS degree is one of my proudest and most difficult accomplishments in my life. The difference in someone with a 4 year CS degree and a bootcamp graduate is jarringly apparent and one that I have uncomfortable experience with. My foll…

My first thought is that "writing code" is not the same as CS, of course.

Second, your comment about "a reputable school" is interesting and indeed, probably, part of the disagreement with some people. On one hand, I'm open to the idea that someone can get a rigorous computer science education at any school, regardless of the prestige or admissions rate or rankings. On the other hand, I work with a bunch of people who are in some stage of earning an undergraduate degree through various online programs, and I sometimes see them doing schoolwork when things are slow (e.g. on a night shift), and I'm shocked that it confers college credit. I'm talking about classes on basic algebra that I learned in the 8th or 9th grade. Someone with a master's degree from a similar program bragged about writing his entire "master's thesis" in one sitting while drinking and receiving a grade of 100%... Anyway, it bugs me that they might think of their degree(s) as equivalent to mine. It's also easy to imagine that they might end up having a low opinion of all college degrees afterward, not realizing how much more rigorous the experience can be at other schools.

Re: Skillsoft Buys Codecademy for $525M

#110

Post by unobatbayar »

zds wrote: 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!).

Will you continue to work on Codecademy? What's the next chapter?
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