I've been interested in learning sales. Very cool to find a bootcamp for it. I'd be interested in taking this coarse if I could pay upfront instead of paying 10% of my income. Is there an option for this or will there be?
Launch HN: Flockjay (YC W19) – $0-upfront tech sales academy for diverse talent
21–30 of 41 posts
Re: Launch HN: Flockjay (YC W19) – $0-upfront tech sales academy for diverse talent
#22I've been interested in learning sales. Very cool to find a bootcamp for it. I'd be interested in taking this coarse if I could pay upfront instead of paying 10% of my income. Is there an option for this or will there be?
Yes, there is currently a $5k upfront option. Most of our graduates earn 2x their current income in their new tech sales roles (>$75k or more) in year 1.
We charge a fraction of what comparable intense, live coding bootcamps charge. There are apprenticeship options for sales, but real training there is minimal, and you're not learning from experts, or able to fail safely. In many respects they're glorified staffing companies.
Sales reps are amongst the best paid in tech. Investing in the training to be the best is what we focus on.
Re: Launch HN: Flockjay (YC W19) – $0-upfront tech sales academy for diverse talent
#23Hi Shaan, I appreciate when services get creative with monetization approaches. The 10% fee of first year income is quite interesting. It seems like a good way to charge for education because it incentivizes the educator to put the student in the best earning position possible.
Are you able to shed light on how you are able to protect Flockjay from anti-discrimination laws? My guess is perhaps your students become "independent contractors" that makes it not subject to the Civil Rights Act? Does this mean that as a student I would be unavailable for hire as employee and would have to commit to enter into service agreements as contractor instead? Or is the risk not on Flockjay because they are not the one making the hire. If that is the case would this not put companies that use Flockjay at risk of breaking anti-discrimination laws?
From https://flockjay.com/diversity
> We aim to promote diversity and inclusion in our application and training process, in the hiring partners we work with, and in our own company. [...] Diversity includes race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic/educational background, geographic location, and age.
From https://www.dol.gov/oasam/programs/history/herman/reports/fu...
> Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, sex, or ethnic origin; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) prohibits discrimination against employees 40 years and older; and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of disabilities and requires that employers reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities who can otherwise perform a job. As with other labor standards, independent contractors generally would not be covered by anti-discrimination laws.
Re: Launch HN: Flockjay (YC W19) – $0-upfront tech sales academy for diverse talent
#24Hi Shaan, I appreciate when services get creative with monetization approaches. The 10% fee of first year income is quite interesting. It seems like a good way to charge for education because it incentivizes the educator to put the student in the best earning position possible. Are you able to shed light on how you are able to protect Flockjay from anti-discrimination laws? My guess is perhaps your students become "i…
Thanks for the question, it’s an incredibly important one, playing out on the national stage most recently with lawsuits against Harvard.
Diversity is notoriously hard to define, and few companies try due to the risk of such lawsuits. We take a deliberately broad view of diversity as you referenced, and we admit students based on a skills assessment evaluation that aspires to be blind to those criteria. No process is perfect, but this allows us to avoid the issues you mentioned. When companies hire from us, they then evaluate based on skills criteria and our certifications.
Happy to follow up if you have more questions.
Re: Launch HN: Flockjay (YC W19) – $0-upfront tech sales academy for diverse talent
#25Hi Shaan, I appreciate when services get creative with monetization approaches. The 10% fee of first year income is quite interesting. It seems like a good way to charge for education because it incentivizes the educator to put the student in the best earning position possible. Are you able to shed light on how you are able to protect Flockjay from anti-discrimination laws? My guess is perhaps your students become "i…
Thanks for the question, it’s an incredibly important one, playing out on the national stage most recently with lawsuits against Harvard. Diversity is notoriously hard to define, and few companies try due to the risk of such lawsuits. We take a deliberately broad view of diversity as you referenced, and we admit students based on a skills assessment evaluation that aspires to be blind to those criteria. No process is…
> we admit students based on a skills assessment evaluation that aspires to be blind to those criteria
I think that is a good approach. Thanks for the response.
Re: Launch HN: Flockjay (YC W19) – $0-upfront tech sales academy for diverse talent
#26I hope this doesn't go the same way coding bootcamps go.
Re: Launch HN: Flockjay (YC W19) – $0-upfront tech sales academy for diverse talent
#27I hope this doesn't go the same way coding bootcamps go.
It's really hard for great dev skills to be learned in a matter of months. Sales on the other hand, is a different story. People already have many of the core skills, they just need the tools and training to level up, and create a scalable process. A lot of that is learning to use sales enablement tools, and a lot of it is getting practice and personal coaching from experts.
Re: Launch HN: Flockjay (YC W19) – $0-upfront tech sales academy for diverse talent
#28Hi Shaan, I appreciate when services get creative with monetization approaches. The 10% fee of first year income is quite interesting. It seems like a good way to charge for education because it incentivizes the educator to put the student in the best earning position possible. Are you able to shed light on how you are able to protect Flockjay from anti-discrimination laws? My guess is perhaps your students become "i…
Thanks for the question, it’s an incredibly important one, playing out on the national stage most recently with lawsuits against Harvard. Diversity is notoriously hard to define, and few companies try due to the risk of such lawsuits. We take a deliberately broad view of diversity as you referenced, and we admit students based on a skills assessment evaluation that aspires to be blind to those criteria. No process is…
Frankly, it's going to be very hard to avoid disparate impact with a blind skills assessment. I'm not sure whether that's a legal issue in your situation.
Re: Launch HN: Flockjay (YC W19) – $0-upfront tech sales academy for diverse talent
#29When will the first class graduate? I would like to hire a few people immediately, we could also allow for remote phone / video internships or testing during their course.
Re: Launch HN: Flockjay (YC W19) – $0-upfront tech sales academy for diverse talent
#30This is great news. Even as an Engineer, Sales is Hard.