Feb 7, 2020

Español (Spanish) Contxto – Hustle Fund —a well-known Silicon Valley venture capital (VC) firm—is digging Academlo ’s edtech hustle in Mexico. And, in an interview with Contxto, Georg Berger—the startup’s Co-founder—revealed that it’s raised equity with this VC for an undisclosed amount. Berger explained that they’ll use the funds to hire more teaching staff. And it also has some intriguing plans for the future. Now, what’s extraordinary this time around is that Hustle Fund typically focuses on startups from the United States, Canada, and Southeast Asia. But there was something about edtech Academlo and its target market that the VC just couldn’t resist. Edtech Academlo Berger and Erik Pérez Álvarez launched Academlo as an online programming school, just a few months ago, in July of 2019. At the moment, it has 50 registered students divided among two generations. But it has an ambitious goal for the next 18 months: to have 250 alumni graduate from its programs. It currently offers two courses in Spanish, one in full-stack development and computer science (more on this in a bit), and the other is a three-month-long business to business (B2B) sales course centered on IT. Academlo seeks to turn a profit via income share agreements (ISA) with enrolled students. Meaning, alumni don’t pay for the course until they’ve landed a job with a yearly salary that hits the minimum bracket of MXN$180,000 (over US$9,600). After which, they’re charged 12 percent of their salary for 12 months for the B2B course, and 36 months for the full-stack program. The startup also helps students in their search for a job upon graduating. And likewise, the startup has been approached by companies hunting for programmers. In-depth, full-stack learning There are startups and bootcamps that offer intensive programming courses lasting somewhere between one to three months. Moreover, participants are often required to be physically present in the classroom in order to learn. And they have to pay for classes upfront. It’s in these terms that Academlo ’s model for full-stack programming is different. This startup’s coursework takes place completely online, over a ten-month period. Lectures are live and held every evening from Monday through Thursday for three hours. No skipping class if you want your diploma at the end, kiddies. And you only start paying once you snag the job. Further down the road As for future plans, the startup doesn’t discard the idea of using their model to impart classes on mobile app development, UX content, and they’ve even researched the possibility of an online MBA. “[But] for now we want to double down on what has been working really well,” said Berger, “which is training software engineers.” While the startup considers students from all parts of Latin America, its primary markets are Mexico and Colombia. And consequently, it will further its efforts in these countries where around 70 percent of their students are found. According to the Co-founder, it’s the sheer size of their Spanish-speaking population and the major presence of companies eager for savvy software programmers that made them so darned attractive to both Academlo and the Hustle Fund . Silicon Valley is now closer to Latam. And who knows? Some of these graduates may move onto further feed the regional startup ecosystem.