StartupRealities

Startup No 200 Exec Ed For All is an online education company which produces quarterly digests (summaries) of new developments in a dozen MBA-type subject areas (Marketing, Finance, Leadership, etc.). The digests come in two formats: email newsletter and audio podcast. The novelty-focused series forms a continuous top-up programme in which every week one of 12 quarterly newsletters and podcasts are published on a rolling basis. The company's target market are business executives and practitioners who have graduated from university at least five years earlier. In effect, the company democratises access to high-end executive education, as the cutting-edge business-related programmes that leading business schools sell at USD 2,000 per day of training are now opened up to the mass market for an annual subscription of USD 50-100. INTERVIEW WITH THE CEO: "Most MBA alumni and masters graduates find it frustrating or a waste of time when they sign up for a regular online or on-campus ...

Startup No 199 - #StartupRealities 2020 series ApprenticeEntrepreneurs is an education and training company which runs rotational 5-year apprenticeship placements at startups for entrepreneurially-minded 18-year-olds. After 5 rotations at 5 different startups, the graduates of the programme receive a diploma which the company deems equivalent to a university degree. The programme duration varies in some cases: occasionally 16-year-olds get admitted into a 7-year entrepreneurship apprenticeship. For university graduates with an arts and humanities background the programme is shortened to 4 years; while university graduates in business and engineering complete the programme and receive the diploma in 3 years. The last year of placement is usually combined with a stint at a world-renowned accelerator, e.g. Y Combinator, TechStars, 500 Startups, SeedCamp or Wayra. CEO QUOTE "Learning by doing is our motto. Budding entrepreneurs are best taught by being put in the thick of it, rather t...

StartupRealities No 45 RangeExchange is a professional development company that exposes school-age students to a wide range of professions to help them make better-informed decisions about their future career options. The company's programme is an elective integrated into the school curriculum available in different formats to all K-12 ages. It includes visits to companies and institutions, meetings with professionals, discussions of the content and responsibilities of different jobs, and role play. CEO QUOTE "We help students identify which vocation best suits their interests, passion and talent. In a given year, the student can choose 10 professions they would like to explore and our professional development consultants add another 10 based on the student's profile. The programme's depth and detail progressively increase with the age of the students. The idea is that a student can choose to explore the same 10 professions year after year and will keep learning ...