
Launch HN: InsideSherpa (YC W19) – online courses to train then hire students - pasharayan
Hi HN community! We’re Tom and Pasha, co-founders of InsideSherpa (<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.insidesherpa.com&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.insidesherpa.com&#x2F;</a>). Our website hosts online courses (which we call ‘virtual experiences’) that allow any college student to learn from companies for free, and then get hired by them. These courses are created by companies like JPMorgan Chase [1], General Electric [2], Deloitte[3], Citibank [4] and Latham &amp; Watkins [5].<p>There are many talented and determined college students who get overlooked during the hiring process because of arbitrary measures like what university they went to, how their resume was written, or by not having any connections into a company.<p>Tom and I saw this in our corporate careers—we used to work in law and big 4 accounting—and spent a lot of free time helping disadvantaged students improve their resumes. We found that with a bit of editing, skill-building and some exposure to people from big companies, we could increase the likelihood that someone would get an interview and land a job at a big organization. After doing this process manually day-in and day-out we thought there had to be a way to improve employment outcomes for students, at scale!<p>So we started InsideSherpa and decided to take a student-centric approach to understanding the recruitment process. To do this, we talked to tons of students and found consistent anxieties arose: 1. Students were anxious about choosing a career for the next 5 years of their life (and do it in a risk-free manner) 2. Students weren’t sure if they had the skills to be useful to employers (usually when they actually did have the skills) and 3. Many students felt like the big companies were so inaccessible to them they didn’t even consider applying at all.<p>On top of this, we’ve found many large companies tend to only visit a tiny percentage of the campuses in the US. This meant many talented students we met, in more isolated or non-target universities, weren’t even getting a shot to apply for a job.<p>To solve these problems, we created our “Virtual Experience Programs”. These are like an online course, but instead of teaching you theory, like they do at college or in MOOCs, you receive tasks that simulate what professionals do in industry. For example, one task in our JPMorgan Chase Software Engineering program is to quickly update a Python script to find the average of two financial data feeds—something junior software engineers actually do with traders. Other tasks on our platform allow students to build practical skills in law, mechanical engineering, management consulting and investment banking.<p>By doing the Virtual Experience Programs, students can get their name and profile onto a CRM that our partner clients are using for early-talent reachout and hiring. JPMorgan Chase prioritizes its Virtual Experience participants for review in the application process for software engineering summer internships and full-time roles. Students can always opt-out of sharing their data with any firm at any time as well.<p>Our programs are free for any college student to do. We make money by charging employers rather than students. Employers love what we do as it allows them to reach out and find college students who genuinely want to pursue a career in their field, no matter who they are or where they are.<p>We’d love to hear your thoughts on how we can make the hiring process better for college students!<p>[1] The JPMorgan Chase Software Engineering Virtual Experience: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.insidesherpa.com&#x2F;virtual-internships&#x2F;prototype&#x2F;R5iK7HMxJGBgaSbvk&#x2F;Technology%20Virtual%20Experience" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.insidesherpa.com&#x2F;virtual-internships&#x2F;prototype&#x2F;R...</a><p>[2] General Electric Program: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.insidesherpa.com&#x2F;virtual-internships&#x2F;prototype&#x2F;EhPoi4AiGigk4CJKq&#x2F;Global-Leadership-Program" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.insidesherpa.com&#x2F;virtual-internships&#x2F;prototype&#x2F;E...</a><p>[3]  Deloitte Program: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.insidesherpa.com&#x2F;virtual-internships&#x2F;prototype&#x2F;FqFtWwQzNxJ8Qsh5H&#x2F;Technology%20Consulting" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.insidesherpa.com&#x2F;virtual-internships&#x2F;prototype&#x2F;F...</a><p>[4] Citibank Program: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.insidesherpa.com&#x2F;virtual-internships&#x2F;prototype&#x2F;icdo6cFXmnQtb8WLK&#x2F;Virtual-Banking-Program" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.insidesherpa.com&#x2F;virtual-internships&#x2F;prototype&#x2F;i...</a><p>[5] Latham &amp; Watkins (Law) Program: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.insidesherpa.com&#x2F;virtual-internships&#x2F;prototype&#x2F;jDTDRBDa5XfECcEk9&#x2F;LathamWatkins-Mergers-Acquisitions-Virtual-Experience-Program" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.insidesherpa.com&#x2F;virtual-internships&#x2F;prototype&#x2F;j...</a>
======
apcomp
I did the JPMorgan Chase Internship a couple of weeks ago and I enjoyed it!
Some bits (last 2 tasks) I was guided a bit too much through the PDFs but I
definitely couldn't have done the tasks without them (maybe there should be a
middle ground, give me the basics and let me finish the task?).

In terms of hiring, InsideSherpa mentions that I can give permission for
recruiters to look at my work. This kind of put me off submitting an
application for their internship. I guess it's the feeling of that they will
look at my code and see that it's identical to the PDFs. I don't feel like my
code will be able to differentiate me against other people. Also, since I
followed the guide too much, if I was questioned on anything about the virtual
internship in an interview, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to answer it. Maybe
it's just me and not InsideSherpa, and a sign that I should be solving the
problems on my own without their guides.

Despite this, it is a good program. It gave me insights on what I would maybe
be working on at JPMorgan. The reply rate/time of InsideSherpa's software
engineers was high/quick and I was able to get assistance quickly. It exposed
me technologies that I've heard of but never used before.

------
f00_
I actually got a job after completing the modules for
[https://www.workatastartup.com](https://www.workatastartup.com), the last
module asks you to apply at ycombinator companies.

Would recommend to others. The tasks aren't very difficult, there are PDFs
that hold your hand pretty well.

Also completed the JP Morgan Chase one recently for fun. Wonder what the law
ones are like.

~~~
mettamage
What modules? No one reaches out to me via that site. Is it because I'm
European?

~~~
f00_
Possibly because you're european, most companies are US based and would need a
to apply for a visa right?

This is the actual virtual internship I did, which doesn't actually seem
accessible from the workatastartup website:
[https://www.insidesherpa.com/virtual-
internships/prototype/o...](https://www.insidesherpa.com/virtual-
internships/prototype/oRMogWRHeewqHzA7u/College%20Students:%20Learn%20how%20to%20work%20at%20a%20YC%20startup)

There's are frontend, backend and analytics modules.

------
sandGorgon
Very cool! At RedCarpet we have been hiring this way for years. The same
problem exists in India..but 1000x worse. The ROCKS program
([https://www.redcarpetup.com/rocks/](https://www.redcarpetup.com/rocks/))
trains people and we hire from them. In fact, we have close to a 100% hire
rate for people from the ROCKS program at other places.

Kudos for building this. I hope you find much success.

~~~
gnaman
This is great! Just recommended rocks to a friend looking for an entry level
position.

~~~
sandGorgon
thanks!

------
wurichard
10000% relevant. I’m a new grad and although I’m a startup founder now, I
spent a good part my college years growing white hair while recruiting. The
idea of shining a light in the corporate black box of recruiting and
democratizing access to those nebulous “skills” that are so important to
career advancement is, frankly, life changing. I genuinely genuinely wish I
had this in college. Best of luck.

------
johnpowell
All the testimonials are of incredibly fantastic looking people. It almost
feels like a crypto ICO were the CTO was just a random picture from Instagram.
Feels fake or maybe you just tossed up people you found attractive that were
actual clients.

Unfortunately looks are important so it might not be terrible to add people
where I think "this could be me" instead of, "this seems fake".

~~~
pasharayan
Hey johnpowell thanks for the feedback! Are you referring to the student
testimonials on the bottom of the homepage? We'll look into this.

------
josenriagu
I have just recently completed the JPMC virtual software engineering
experience on InsideSherpa and I must say it is really a nice platform. First,
you get warm reminder emails to remind you that someone is always available,
should you run into any issues and also to push you to continue putting in the
effort. Next, the platform is quite easy to navigate. The modules were clearly
explained, with intro videos and next module is unlocked as you complete the
current one. Finally, the documentation/instructions for each of the modules
in the virtual experience were very detailed and helpful. I ran into some
issues for missing a crucial part of the instructions. So do not ever miss a
line of the documentation or instructional materials, you never know how much
time that may cost you.

------
taylanu
[1] I went through the JPMorgan Virtual Internship Experience, and honestly,
at first, I watched the videos, got interested, then closed out the tab. I
delayed and procrastinated for weeks before truly diving into it.

Over two days on and off in between classes, I got personal support from the
team at InsideSherpa and completed the program. The guides were incredibly
helpful, and I felt like I learned a lot from the modules. It was great seeing
a finished product in the end with a live price ratio graph. Highly recommend
the program!

------
garyisufi
I found the JPMorgan Chase Software Engineering Virtual Experience very
useful. I learned a lot about JPMorgan Chase's framework and how to utilize my
background in software with industry tasks. I believe the Virtual Experience
was nicely structured as it gives guidance on how to complete each task with
an element of freedom to add things you may find useful into the given files.
I really appreciate the support given in completing each module and I would
like to thank InsideSherpa for this wonderful experience!

------
omarhaneef
Um... this is really good actually.

How many internships/jobs do you have total.

If you can scale this, it will be amazing for students.

I know someone who would be a perfect candidate in London. Is there a way to
focus the virtual internships by location?

~~~
pasharayan
We're working on a way to focus programs by geography! Currently we have 25+
programs live; I've just listed some of our ones with a direct UK alignment
here:

JPMorgan Chase [Software] [We talk to their UK team]:
[https://www.insidesherpa.com/virtual-
internships/prototype/R...](https://www.insidesherpa.com/virtual-
internships/prototype/R5iK7HMxJGBgaSbvk/Technology%20Virtual%20Experience)

White & Case UK [Law]: [https://www.insidesherpa.com/virtual-
internships/prototype/H...](https://www.insidesherpa.com/virtual-
internships/prototype/HECBn5zqCvBpAXitG/White-%26-Case-UK-Programme)

Linklaters [Law]: [https://www.insidesherpa.com/virtual-
internships/prototype/x...](https://www.insidesherpa.com/virtual-
internships/prototype/xeFy6yZxrCvssEatT/Linklaters%20Virtual%20Internship)

Pinsent Masons [Law]: [https://www.insidesherpa.com/virtual-
internships/prototype/P...](https://www.insidesherpa.com/virtual-
internships/prototype/PzAt3ZjFWa5iJ8jj3/Pinsent%20Masons%20UK)

------
abhinuvpitale
I really like this idea, its a super nice and relevant way to recruit. Rather
than solving an obsolete algorithm question, this approach really enforces
some pragmatism towards solving interesting and `relevant` problems.

~~~
pasharayan
Thanks for the kind words abhinuvpitale! Yes, this is exactly what we found -
there's an irrelevance to some hiring processes because they tend to ask
obsolete or academic questions.

One problem with asking pragmatic questions is that not everyone has had a
chance to do practical work - hence why we also tackled that problem with an
educational lens too.

------
kevinM1
Hi, I enjoyed the Inside Sherpa program i learnt a lot from doing it.

It definitely can give your CV a little edge by having a big company there.

Yet to hear anything from JP which is the virtual internship i completed, but
i never expected it to be an instant entry ticket. Its only been around a week
since completion so perhaps they may reach out to me. Afterall spending time
doing an internship specific to their company should at least mean they
contact me.

Other than this I feel that doing an InsideSherpa program is worth the cost of
your time. I will keep this post updated if i receive and contact.

------
SimpleHello
It is very good that you guys are doing this. OK here is what I think.

It would be good to have more programs, in particular programming related
programs. I have recently completed 1 of the programs, it did stimulate and
provide some insights, but it did not have too much room for me to think, (not
as 'interactive', as everything is given, I guess the participant can try to
solve the problem by themselves first, but then they would need to learn more
about a particular library or framework)

The support was also great

Thanks

J

------
maxxgrok
I participated in the JPMC program and the Deloitte program. Both were pretty
great for getting my feet wet in software engineering and technology
consulting in a real way. I'd recommend them as a free experience. They're
pretty representative of what I imagine working for each company is like and
were useful to gain some experience in each field.

------
t3ychenzhan
I finished the JPMrogan Chase Software Engineering Virtual Experience
program.I love it! It's very helpful for CS students who look for industry
experience. I learned a lot of practice coding skills from this program.It's
sliently easy than I expected.But I think the idea is absolutely Coo1!!

------
ohfr
Completed the JP Morgan program, really enjoyed it! Definitely recommend for
anyone looking for experience and a leg up in the market. The contents were
straight forward, maybe a little easy but still help you learn.

------
imamun
The JP Morgan virtual internship was very helpful and had a very detailed
guide. Although there were some minor compliance issues they were easily
solved. Pasha also answered all my questions quickly and efficiently.

------
cliffdover
IMO there should be more information for international applicants. It's
obvious that the outcome might not be the same if you live in certain regions.

~~~
pasharayan
Thanks for that feedback! One of the reasons we settled on an online course
system is because they allow anyone, including international students on visas
or students from other countries, to have a chance to upskill with these big
firms.

We do take your point though about slightly different outcomes for people in
different regions. We'll look to make that messaging clearer!

------
vaibhavverma9
Really cool. Wish I had this when I was in college. Makes sense to learn
before hiring, rather than the other way around.

~~~
pasharayan
We had started InsideSherpa wanting to build something we wished we had in
college!

------
MohammadRahman
I think InsideSherpa quickly gives a student what sort of skils are required
in big companies, what sort of person a company is looking for. This is
definitely something praiseworthy. I am grateful to them for giving me the
opportunity to see the job environment.

------
jeremiahlee
“While Sherpas became famous in the Western world for their service to
climbers, they are no more synonymous with a porter (the actual profession)
than say, Americans are to cowboys.”

Excellent post by someone else who made the mistake of using "Sherpa" in a
company name, learning about cultural respect, and rebranding.

[http://lostmahbles.com/naming-a-mistake](http://lostmahbles.com/naming-a-
mistake)

------
rexpop
Why not hire, and _then_ train your workers?

~~~
pasharayan
That's a great question! Feedback from employers about graduates have always
been around new graduates and hires not being 'work ready' \- and we've found
many colleges aren't flexible enough to solve this problem quickly.

So our solution was why not give that training that makes everyone 'work
ready' accessible to the world? That way when people do hire, they won't have
that complaint anymore and people will know if they'd like the actual job
itself!

------
Alexbouaziz1
Love it! Congrats

------
cm2012
Super neat.

------
ywang551
I ACTUALLY got fast-tracked in JPMC Software Engineering after completing the
program!

------
audreycaprianni
Love this idea! Students rarely have a meaningful opportunity to understand
the scope of work they would do on the job until they do an internship. And
depending on the uni/individual it could be the case you only intern at one
company before locking in a graduate offer.

From a student perspective, I think it would be so valuable for students to do
actual tasks to test for personal engagement, and also get recognised by the
company for taking initiative to get to know them and the role.

------
jeremiahlee
Unless you’re a member of the Sherpa ethnic group, you are not any kind of
“sherpa”. This is culturally insensitive to the 18 Sherpa clans.

Educate yourselves and rebrand:

[https://qz.com/128842/the-problem-with-calling-your-
career-c...](https://qz.com/128842/the-problem-with-calling-your-career-coach-
a-sherpa/)

[https://reclaimingsherpa.wordpress.com/2013/05/27/tweet-
exam...](https://reclaimingsherpa.wordpress.com/2013/05/27/tweet-examples/)

~~~
cm2012
There are about 5,000 English loan words that have other meanings to other
cultures. It's not even slightly realistic to stop using them.

~~~
jeremiahlee
Sherpa was the name for an ethnic group long before English speaking people
decided to reduce a culture to a single job.

