As we did our diligence and talked to “real developers” about Codecademy nearly everyone of them was dismissive of the idea. “Real developers” would never actually learn to code by typing into a browser. “Real developers” needed classic training on foundational principles not some web based toy. Besides, they said, the lessons are so basic they only scratch the surface of what it takes to write real code. Oh, and a bunch of people have tried the “writing code in a browser” thing before and it’s never worked.

That feedback may have scared off others but it sounded like disruption to us.

BRYCE DOT VC: Our Investment in Codecademy

For me, setting up my development environment was the most formidable barrier to learning to code. Coding in the browser tears down that barrier. I’d encourage everyone to take Codecademy and RubyMonk for a spin. Quick wins build momentum, and momentum is what it takes to reach escape velocity.

For more background on disruptive technologies, check out this classic Clay Christensen talk recently unearthed by Horace Dediu at Asymco.

  1. sparkmaschine reblogged this from brycedotvc
  2. dianakimball reblogged this from brycedotvc and added:
    BRYCE DOT VC: Our Investment in...For me, setting up my development environment was
  3. ub14 reblogged this from brycedotvc and added:
    Two things. First,...am really excited...see if even ub14...
  4. imaurel reblogged this from brycedotvc and added:
    Bagh. Even if that’s true, it wouldn’t render Codeacademy useless. For one, it could serve
  5. brycedotvc posted this