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Why We Made a European Alternative to Hacker School

hackerretreat.com

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Re: Why We Made a European Alternative to Hacker School

#21

Post by limist »

pantalaimon wrote: post #16
limist wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. There's no product showroom there, just a cafe on the ground floor. Hacker Retreat is happening in the space above, where MSV's incubated startups usually are. They agreed to let us use the space in between their startup rounds.

Thank you, I had a bit of a feeling this might be some kind of marketing ploy. I guess I'm more used to the classical Hackerspace (of which there are quite a few in Berlin [1]), but I appreciate that you are doing mentoring and imparting best practices. I think 'hacker retreat' gives a bit of the wrong vibe as it sounds more like a place for social gathering (aka a hackerspace) when in fact it's more in the spirit of…

Thanks for the compliment. We certainly enjoy socializing, but effective learning and working take precedence, and we expect an atmosphere of "enthusiastic intensity" at HRet.

The people at MSV have been cool with us. And while they certainly want to have visibility for their program, they've given us all the freedom we need in using their space.

Re: Why We Made a European Alternative to Hacker School

#22

Post by waltherg »

I understand you are not looking to make huge profits and I greatly appreciate the idea behind this and your sister program over at Data Science Retreat.

Unfortunately, I am a PhD researcher just finishing their thesis this summer so I would not believe that my financial situation will allow me to pay for both the retreat and living expenses.

Are the folks you attract mostly financially settled i.e. holding down real jobs?

Re: Why We Made a European Alternative to Hacker School

#23

Post by epsylon »

limist wrote: post #3
terhechte wrote: post #2

Looks cool, do you only have the May/June/July batch option? I'd be interested in applying, however this June I'm in the US for WWDC and other business trips, so I'd need to wait until next year, or do you also offer a Winter batch?

Thanks! Short answer is, it depends. If we get really strong interest and commitment (like 20 people who will definitely be there), we'll do another batch in the Fall/Winter. Someway or somehow, space will be conjured up again and we'll make it happen. :) One idea your question brought to mind is a form/list of people who really want to come and do it, just at a later date. Will set that up...

Same here, I'm busy this summer, but would have been interested in a fall / winter batch.

Re: Why We Made a European Alternative to Hacker School

#26

Post by mbrundle »

waltherg wrote: post #22

I understand you are not looking to make huge profits and I greatly appreciate the idea behind this and your sister program over at Data Science Retreat. Unfortunately, I am a PhD researcher just finishing their thesis this summer so I would not believe that my financial situation will allow me to pay for both the retreat and living expenses. Are the folks you attract mostly financially settled i.e. holding down real…

I'm dead interested in this (just applied) and I'm definitely not financially settled - actually the opposite, finished a postdoc and am currently bootstrapping a startup. But the value of this looks amazing, so if I can put the funds together, I'm sure it'll be well worth it.

Re: Why We Made a European Alternative to Hacker School

#28

Post by limist »

ErsatzVerkehr wrote: post #27

Important details are really hidden on the webpage. For example, who are the mentors? Second: unlike the Hacker School, it's not free. Both of these items should be addressed under "The Essentials".

Depends which page you're referring to.

The article/link above makes the price clear, and also why we charge - we keep things simple and don't do the recruiting model.

The homepage doesn't mention price nor mentors; we wanted to keep it short. We'll likely add the price there.

Both the price and prior mentors (some are very likely to return) are clear on the offer landing page: http://hackerretreat.com/batch-next/ The exact lineup of mentors is TBD because we want to be sure to bring in people that participants want/need. You can judge from our past mentors, and our posts, what the caliber of mentors generally is.

Re: Why We Made a European Alternative to Hacker School

#29

Post by limist »

waltherg wrote: post #22

I understand you are not looking to make huge profits and I greatly appreciate the idea behind this and your sister program over at Data Science Retreat. Unfortunately, I am a PhD researcher just finishing their thesis this summer so I would not believe that my financial situation will allow me to pay for both the retreat and living expenses. Are the folks you attract mostly financially settled i.e. holding down real…

Short answer: There's a mix of people, and a few are students (college or graduate school). Some are remote coders. Some are doing startups. And some quit their jobs to come to Berlin. :)
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