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I'm just thinking out loud here, but for 2 million users learning to code and improving their skills, there is a chance they want to change jobs or are already

by Oras 2y ago

I'm just thinking out loud here, but for 2 million users learning to code and improving their skills, there is a chance they want to change jobs or are already looking for one. Have you thought of adding a hiring feature? Where people upload their CVs, and companies search (anonymously) for talent? There is a hiring model called PPA (Pay Per Application), or monthly fees to search CVs. Your unique selling point would be companies are not getting hundreds of custom AI CVs flooding their application; they search for what they want, and you're helping both sides. Good luck! edit: grammar

zurfer 2y ago
even easier, just a job board (like stackoverflow), where companies pay to advertise a job.
- rkowalick 2y ago
  the job board could even pitch jobs in the language an exercism user is currently learning
authorfly 2y ago
This is a tarpit monetisation method unfortunately. (I learnt the hard way) It's common for student ideas too (as in ideas with students/recent graduates as endusers/customers). The general argument is - we can specifically identify talent and motivated learners/skill-possessing people, who will look for jobs. That's exactly what companies need and companies pay $5k-$10k a head during good markets for this rare STEM skill, like programming! Problem - The people on these platforms are 70% likely to give up within 6 months or go into another field Problem - Experience means 10x more than education to employers, especially fundamental experience Problem - Your information on potential hires as the provider becomes outdated fast and supply-demand changes in hiring market can reduce your commissions by 50-75% in one year (as happened from 2022-2023) I would go as far as saying these users - because they are typically earlier career - are actually worse for connecting with jobs boards/hiring than literally any random iPhone user for advertising purposes. And companies don't pay much to advertise to random iPhone users. I wish it wasn't so, but it is so according to how companies act. If OP wants to monetise this way they should consider an affiliate programme to a CV upload or Jobs board site, it will test any appetite for hiring these people at the moment much quicker.
ihid 2y ago
It's also worth pointing out the Exercism isn't for coding newbies - it's for developers learning new languages. This often gets missed.
- sickblastoise 2y ago
  I think this is a major selling point. If developers could upload their CVs, exercise could package together the users yoe + industry experience with the users learning veracity + main language. I think that would be a solid product that hiring people would pay money for.
- lolinder 2y ago
  Shouldn't that make it even easier to monetize? I appreciate the resolve to keep things free for those who can't afford to pay, but a lot of your users are presumably actively employed making 6 figures. You could follow the Sublime Text model and basically have an honor system—if you're actively employed making more than $X, please pay us. If you're not, you're welcome to use it for free! The Tech Resume Inside Out [0] uses this model (though not on the honor system) for similar reasons. [0] https://thetechresume.com/ https://thetechresume.com/
  - voidee 2y ago
    Yes. Good idea. Another thing. There are several podcasts who have a free feed and paid one. Sam Harris’ Making Sense comes to mind with their free feed and a paid one for full access to all content. But they understand not everyone can pay. If one is unable to pay, they can simply email to ask for a free annual membership. Pay what you want albums on Bandcamp are another example of a sliding scale. Suggested price $10, but artists can define their minimum.
codezero 2y ago
That's a particularly difficult vertical to enter. Most large companies (and a lot of small ones) would consider them an "agency" and wouldn't consider any of their candidates. I know that Recurse Center, which is fucking amazing, ran into problems like this when trying to place their participants.
IshKebab 2y ago
Maybe, but as a company a place that appears to be designed to teach beginners how to code isn't where I'd want to look for candidates. I would look to reduce server costs instead. $7k/month for 2 million users seems like a lot. Do they execute your code on their servers? I couldn't really tell from their website.

by Oras 2y ago

zurfer 2y ago

even easier, just a job board (like stackoverflow), where companies pay to advertise a job.

rkowalick 2y ago
the job board could even pitch jobs in the language an exercism user is currently learning

authorfly 2y ago

This is a tarpit monetisation method unfortunately. (I learnt the hard way) It's common for student ideas too (as in ideas with students/recent graduates as endusers/customers). The general argument is - we can specifically identify talent and motivated learners/skill-possessing people, who will look for jobs. That's exactly what companies need and companies pay $5k-$10k a head during good markets for this rare STEM skill, like programming! Problem - The people on these platforms are 70% likely to give up within 6 months or go into another field Problem - Experience means 10x more than education to employers, especially fundamental experience Problem - Your information on potential hires as the provider becomes outdated fast and supply-demand changes in hiring market can reduce your commissions by 50-75% in one year (as happened from 2022-2023) I would go as far as saying these users - because they are typically earlier career - are actually worse for connecting with jobs boards/hiring than literally any random iPhone user for advertising purposes. And companies don't pay much to advertise to random iPhone users. I wish it wasn't so, but it is so according to how companies act. If OP wants to monetise this way they should consider an affiliate programme to a CV upload or Jobs board site, it will test any appetite for hiring these people at the moment much quicker.

ihid 2y ago

It's also worth pointing out the Exercism isn't for coding newbies - it's for developers learning new languages. This often gets missed.

sickblastoise 2y ago
I think this is a major selling point. If developers could upload their CVs, exercise could package together the users yoe + industry experience with the users learning veracity + main language. I think that would be a solid product that hiring people would pay money for.
lolinder 2y ago
Shouldn't that make it even easier to monetize? I appreciate the resolve to keep things free for those who can't afford to pay, but a lot of your users are presumably actively employed making 6 figures. You could follow the Sublime Text model and basically have an honor system—if you're actively employed making more than $X, please pay us. If you're not, you're welcome to use it for free! The Tech Resume Inside Out [0] uses this model (though not on the honor system) for similar reasons. [0] https://thetechresume.com/ https://thetechresume.com/
- voidee 2y ago
  Yes. Good idea. Another thing. There are several podcasts who have a free feed and paid one. Sam Harris’ Making Sense comes to mind with their free feed and a paid one for full access to all content. But they understand not everyone can pay. If one is unable to pay, they can simply email to ask for a free annual membership. Pay what you want albums on Bandcamp are another example of a sliding scale. Suggested price $10, but artists can define their minimum.

codezero 2y ago

That's a particularly difficult vertical to enter. Most large companies (and a lot of small ones) would consider them an "agency" and wouldn't consider any of their candidates. I know that Recurse Center, which is fucking amazing, ran into problems like this when trying to place their participants.

IshKebab 2y ago

Maybe, but as a company a place that appears to be designed to teach beginners how to code isn't where I'd want to look for candidates. I would look to reduce server costs instead. $7k/month for 2 million users seems like a lot. Do they execute your code on their servers? I couldn't really tell from their website.