

Ask HN: I've bootstrapped a tech ed startup. Now what? - benkt

My startup does brick&amp;mortar CS ed, but it also does some interactive java tutorials: https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ktbyte.com&#x2F;intro . I feel like most of the companies in the space I&#x27;m in are venture backed. I&#x27;m not. Should I be?
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virmundi
The question is: "Are you targeting Westerners with money?" American, and I
extrapolate to other Western countries, don't care much for education after a
certain income level. I don't mean they dislike education. They just don't see
it as a priority in spending since they already have a public school system
available.

If you are targeting this demographic, you'll need venture money. If you are
targeting poor Asian countries, you need savvy. These countries are poor. They
know the value of an education. As a result, parents will pay for their kids
to get an education if they can.

If you can target poor nations, then you have to get your product known. The
rest will follow. You should be able to do this on your own, assuming you've
planned a runway.

~~~
thejteam
Just a few thoughts. The parent poster is absolutely right that people will
not pay for education, as all of the failed tutoring centers outside of cities
will attest to. I almost started one myself but caught myself before I lost a
lot of money.

While they may not spend money on education, one thing that people will spend
a lot on money on is daycare and summer camps(for the daycare). The brick and
mortar classes here have a real potential to expand into full blown licensed
after school daycare.

To expand, this could possibly be a franchise model, or possibly just be a
training class for people who want to start something on their own. And then
they can sell them class materials as well.

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phantom_oracle
Java is not "sexy" and too difficult to learn compared to the dynamic
languages.

My advice would be to instead focus on the corporate market (depending on how
good you are with Java yourself).

For example, I am developer X working at bank FF. We're old school, so we use
tech that was big 10 years ago. Our systems are all Java. I got my CS degree
and have tried to keep up with Java updates itself, but I've probably missed a
couple of things over the years. My company approaches ktbyte.com to come do
some instruction lessons for Java 7/8\. I'm getting the lessons for free and
when I'm done learning, the knowledge I have will enable me to obtain a Java
certificate from Oracle/Sun (you'll need to connect with them here).

Anyway, that is what I might consider, instead of the crowded "teach anyone to
code" market. You could easily negotiate good terms with Oracle and because
it'll only be you in the start, your main expense would be travel.

No need for venture money there.

~~~
benkt
We started with Java because our middle/high school students do algorithmic
competitions, and the choice is either Java or C++. At least Java is also used
on the AP Computer Science exam.

What you say about training is interesting though. I suppose I would need to
start contacting companies to reach out to whoever does training. Do you have
any leads here?

~~~
phantom_oracle
Are you based in the US?

Unfortunately, I am not, so I cannot assist with leads.

