[aakashns]

Hi HN, we're Aakash and Siddhant of Jovian (https://www.jovian.ai/). We run a 6-month program that helps working professionals with a background in programming, statistics or analytics land their first data science job.

Four years ago, we quit our jobs and spent several months learning data science and deep learning. We completed several online courses, read some books, and participated in some Kaggle competitions. We were finally able to make a career transition to data science, but looking back at the journey, we felt “It shouldn’t be this hard!”

While there are various platforms offering data science education, most learners don't feel confident while approaching real-world projects even after completing multiple courses and earning certifications. They find it hard to clear interviews to land their first job, and often require several months of training on the job.

Jovian is the platform we wished we had access to when we started learning. There are three things we focus on: (1) we teach practical skills that students use to build real-world projects, (2) we offer 24x7 support & detailed feedback on every project, (3) students learn together with a community of like-minded learners in a university-like environment. We’ve taken inspiration from courses like fast.ai and mlcourse.ai.

Our 6-month program consists of 7 courses, 14 coding assignments and 4 portfolio projects. Every week, students watch 5-6 hrs video lectures and work on assignments for 15-20 hrs. Students can ask questions and get help 24x7 from our TAs over Slack and Zoom. Every 5 weeks, they complete a unique guided real-world project and publish a blog post. We offer 1:1 resume review, interview practice, and job search support for 12 months. We make money by charging a flat fee for the course, which students can pay up-front or monthly.

One thing we discovered and found surprising is that most of the math used in data science can be explained through code. Many people find math intimidating not because the concepts themselves are tough, but because they aren't used to mathematical symbols and equations.

We look forward to your comments!

[wHtisgoinon]

> Our 6-month program consists of 7 courses, 14 coding assignments and 4 portfolio projects.

On your website homepage, you claim 160,000+ projects. What's the definition of a project in this context?

[aakashns]

We offer several free courses, and at the end of every free course, students build projects. They vary greatly in scope and size. The 160,000 number refers to the total number of projects created by our users.

Students who are part of our 6-month program build guided portfolio projects that require at least 30-50 hours of work and must meet our evaluation criteria.

I see your point though, perhaps we should use different terminology for the two types of projects.

[calderarrow]

I am always in favor of programs which make education more accessible and straightforward. I've never used your platform, but it seems like it's a move in that direction.

I know that YC has also funded Lambda School, which offers a data science course, but their payment model is based primarily on ISAs. Did you consider ISA payment plans, and if so, why did you go with the flat fee? If not, do you think you would want to move to an ISA payment system as you scale?

Congratulations on the launch and best of luck!

[aakashns]

Thanks for your support! We also offer several free courses, so do check them out if you're curious: https://www.jovian.ai

Our program is designed primarily for working professionals with some background in programming, analytics or statistics. We've found that most of them are comfortable with paying program fees upfront or monthly.

However, we do also offer an ISA option in cases where students are unable to pay upfront.

[amrrs]

Hey Aakash, Fan of Jovian and your content on YT especially published on FreeCodeCamp. I'm just wondering what does this access to YC mean to Jovian and also wondering what would the money be used for?

I always thought of Jovian as a lean business but this surprised me. Also are you planning to build the Notebook-like platform (that it was before) more or the future is only data science bootcamp?

[aakashns]

Thanks for your kind words!

Our goal is to offer practical & affordable data science education to millions of people around the world, and joining Y Combinator is going to help us execute on our vision faster.

We launched the bootcamp because we saw a need for a more hands-on and intensive program to help our users make a career transition to data science. However, we will continue to offer more free courses and improve the notebook-based learning platform.

[tapeless_tunic]

Love it! Almost every professional could benefit from improved data literacy.

Have you thought about selling courses into large organizations? e.g. "SQL + Statistics for marketers", I would love to see something like this.

[aakashns]

Thanks, we agree! Our program is currently targeted towards individuals, but we definitely think similar programs for companies are a great idea too.

[wHtisgoinon]

So now, computer courses are being termed as "startups" and require VC investments and money? And YC is handing out money for this? Anything and everything is a VC funded startup these days.

[aakashns]

I know, right?

In all seriousness though, VC funding is mainly a function of market size and scalability of the business model.

There's currently a huge shortage of data science talent across the world, and a sustainable business funded by venture capital can help fill this gap quickly.