Smash Notes
The Evolution of Knowledge through Digital Courses Guru Chris Castiglione
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We've all heard the cliche: Learning is a lifelong pursuit. But that's traditionally only been true for the few with the time, resources, and connections to turn learning into a hobby. For centuries, continued education was a luxury. The digital age has turned that convention on its head, and Chris' work is at the forefront of that shift. Our conversation…
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Notes
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One Month started in 2013. They were teaching at General Assembly when coding schools just blew up and everybody all of a sudden wanted to learn the code. Chris was asked over and over again to teach HTML, and there was always a line outside the door. They wanted to scale this experience and offer it at a more affordable price.
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Ruby on Rails was the first choice because it was a young and hot language at the time. You could get started with it really easily and well-known companies like Twitter and Groupon were using it.
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The first year, One Month was the number-one course on learning to code. They were focused not just on coding, but specifically on learning to do it in just one month. As they broaden their focus and tried to become more of a "business school," they lost the focus and with it lost part of the original appeal.
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Pricing is something you might have to struggle with and do a lot of testing on to figure out what customers in your market are willing to pay. One Month had courses with different pricing and different value proposition for each, and that was really confusing for the customers. A simple annual price seemed easier for One Month customers to subscribe to.
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Chris Castiglione explains on The Media Mindset how One Month chooses what to offer for free. One Month gives away the content that helps its users find the right course. The free material is there to point a person toward the course that fits them.
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In a now competitive field like code schools and lessons, people shop around and have more preconceived expectations, especially around pricing. One Month is often asked how they are different from Udemy, and why One Month courses cost more. Chris and Mattan have to constantly defend their value proposition. Meanwhile, in a more niche field, where there's no competition, schools can offer anything and sell it with ease.