Y Combinator launched a MOOC — and it was brilliant
YC should be an inspiration to EdTech startups. And no, it’s not because of their accelerator.
Y Combinator recently launched Startup School, an online course where they intend to enroll 10,000 startup founders — and it’s free. Over the course of ten weeks, the online-only program offers content (video lectures), collaborative problem solving, and the YC network (200 YC alums volunteered to meet the participants weekly). It simulates as best as they can the classic YC experience, moving the analog program online for the first time.
Startup School is a MOOC, a Massive Open Online Course, which was pioneered by Coursera, Udacity, and EdX. Compared to other MOOCs, Startup School boasts compelling metrics: 80% completion vs the peer average of 13%. The difference can probably be attributed both to the allure of the YC brand and a product that blends online education with social mentorship. What a great proof point for MOOCs.
What I’m even more excited by…
…is that here we have an example of a free education paid for by a business! On the backend, this is lead gen for YC. As YC expanded their horizons to international geographies, this is a fantastic and scalable way to rapidly build their networks across the world and source the next batch of startups to invest in. The expense is justifiable based on its merits in marketing and acquisition.
Of course, the social impact of bringing the YC magic to a broader set of participants is also excellent and that’s what the press focuses on. We need more organizations to democratize access to their product.
YC is not the only startup to realize this.
The Big Know is a Minneapolis-based startup that produces MOOCs paid for by brands. They work with brands such as UnitedHealthcare and produces video courses teaching health-related topics, e.g., “Living well with diabetes”, “Mindfulness and meditation.” As the typical consumer tend to be apathetic about their health insurance provider, UnitedHealthcare sees these videos as a way to increase the engagement of and improve their connection with their customers. There are analogous use cases in customer acquisition.
The Big Know’s MOOCs also see excellent completion and satisfaction metrics when compared to the average MOOC. From the brand’s perspective, this is an excellent investment of their marketing dollars because customers are more willing to watch these videos than an ad. The customers are learning something instead of being sold to, which starts to evolve their relationship with the brand. It’s a win-win.
Why this is a big deal
The cost of higher education is going through the roof (I wrote about it here). I’m bullish on alternative models of higher education, but I think the successful models need to unlock other ways to fund their product offering that is not from the student’s pockets.
Some education today is already financed by businesses, but mainly out of the training or recruiting budgets. YC and The Big Know are two examples of how you can access marketing dollars to finance your educational product with a concrete ROI. EdTech entrepreneurs can certainly learn from them.
✌ I am an early stage investor at Upfront Ventures. I am passionate about the intersection of improving human potential and big, transformative businesses. If you care about the same things, drop me a line at chang@upfront.com.
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