Le Wagon

I created in 2016 a car rental agency in Paris where I had to develop a showcase site. Having no skills in this field and lack of time, I had to meet many developers (web agency or freelance) to meet my needs.
In order to develop and modernise my tool, I needed to create an online platform like AirBnb. For this, no longer wishing to be dependent on intermediaries, I inquired to acquire the skills necessary to the design of this product.
Le Wagon appeared obvious, my first research allowed me to confirm my choice whether for the courses provided or the duration and the quality of the training.
I therefore integrated the Batch 85 in Bordeaux in the summer of 2017. This city corresponded perfectly to my expectations and allows to have an ideal framework to be able to follow a training throughout its duration.The environment plays an important role and Bordeaux is perfectly suited to work and relaxation on weekends (beach, surf etc.) 
The premises have many advantages including a space of Coworking, a parking for all the people transported. The classroom is ideal and allows to learn in the best conditions.
I met an excellent team, human above all and always listening and helping all along my project creation. The stakeholders and the quality of the tools available enabled me to acquire real skills necessary for the development of my project.
In addition, this training allowed me to develop a new project: FileOn (which you will find in the link below). I am currently still developing this tool which is one on my main activity today.
Le Wagon allows you to acquire the necessary skills necessary for the development of a tech project, to increase your field of action and to create new ideas, to meet wonderful people and all this in only 2 months!
Thanks Le Wagon!

“Finally back to work after your break?”

Were the typical reactions from my work colleagues and friends when I returned to Manchester after a hectic, inspiring, gruelling, and enlightening summer spent learning to code at LeWagon, London (Batch 93). I suppose not many understood why I would be interested in learning to code, I’m a commercial lawyer by trade, and the prospect sits a million miles from the thinking of many in the legal profession. I suppose the answer and motivation is shared by many LeWagon applicants and alumni, and without wanting to put a blanket over each of our respective ambitions, every member of my London batch (including teachers, office and marketing managers, DJs, CTO and CEO) are passionate and curious about the way the world is changing, and the role they can play in it. My participation did not come as an accident, I was looking for exactly this kind of challenge. Boris, Romain and Seb have developed a really clever and engaging 9 week intensive program, and the minimal marketing (largely centred on endorsements from its alumni community and Meetups with inspiring tech leaders and activists) drew me in. You quickly come to understand that at LeWagon you are being taught not just a skill but an approach to developing that skill. The learning platform and materials are fantastic, but there is always an exercise or two that requires you to go further, to utilise online resources available to anyone, and to try and accommodate what you find in the program you are developing. This is learning by ‘doing’ and not by ‘theory’, and it is probably the best example of the distinction between the dynamic learning environment and traditional academic institutions (the number of mid-week coffees and Asahi’s you consume would be another!).

“How tough is it?”

A question from friends, family and colleagues a little more curious as to what I was doing this summer. The answer to this question now is different to that at various checkpoints during the course. I spent the first four weeks really labouring to grasp all of the key methods and concepts of Ruby, puzzled at how I might come to rely on them further down the road (the feedback at this stage comes via a dark terminal interface, and not in the browser), and worried that perhaps my brain was wired a little differently to the rest of the group. You soon realise that you are not alone, and the environment supports rather than oppresses you. As long as you commit to the syllabus, are willing to make mistakes, and ultimately shout for help or guidance then you make progress! The inevitable challenge of the steep learning curve is well met by the teachers and assistants who are extremely supportive and passionate about the program and the environment. Many have been on the receiving end (having attended previous batches), and they all share a real drive and commitment to ensure the platform and materials evolve and stay current for their audience (which includes alumni as well as students!).

What now?

I’ve got to continue with the coding (it’s an itch) and I’m now well equipped to build and contribute to new projects. I am also actively considering ways in which I can leverage my new skills (in particular new approaches to problem solving) to my current legal career. Empowered by the course, I’m challenging myself to become much more creative, to seek out more like minded people across the ever growing legal tech and engineering scene, and to utilise the LeWagon alumni network!

Before LeWagon:

I was a consultant working at a global management consulting company in Japan. Specialising in business strategy, I have worked with various public companies on their strategy development and implementation.

Why I joined:

I was in the process of starting my own company. Whichever directions I looked, there were fancy websites, apps or marketplaces that are becoming part of “the norm” amongst successful startups. Even though my startup idea is not in the tech arena, the risk of treating it as a blackbox was too great to ignore, and I needed a rapid, intensive course to boost my understanding of coding and the current landscape at higher level.

The Le Wagon experience:

The Le Wagon course definitely exceeded my expectations in several ways because:
1. Your code competency level guaranteed to be at another level at the end, thanks to:
    1. Well-structured curriculum and daily exercises with instant feedback
    2. Experienced and talented teachers to provide in-depth, step-by-step coaching
    3. Focus on learning by doing, rather than theory
2. Attract topnotch students (e.g. Oxbridge etc) and talented people in their fields in every batch
    1. Best learning points often come from students’ questions
    2. Stimulate and accelerates the learning curve
    3. Give scope to dive into interesting optional topics
3. Opportunity to develop teamwork, project management and public speaking in the final project
    1. The people skills are not ignored by Le Wagon - after all coding is just a tool
    2. Give you training for potential future investor pitches
    3. Show off your achievement to your friends and family 

After Le Wagon:

I am definitely at a better position with more insights about the way web app are designed and built. Le Wagon not only provided knowledge and skills, it taught me enough so that I can be self-sufficient to continue learning beyond. Not to mention it’s vast network of alumni and the possibility to connect with similar minded entrepreneurs that will be valuable after the course too.

Prior to enrolling in Batch 74 in London, I was responsible for leading my employer's integration team to onboard companies that we had recently acquired.  While knowledge of just about every aspect of the company, and the experience I gained during my time there was invaluable, I knew that there was more out there for me.  One thing I found particularly frustrating was my complete lack of experience in coding and development.  While I worked very closely with our dev team, and was able to storyboard and lay out detailed specifications for enhancements and new modules, I was completely incapable of contributing or really understanding the foundations of the programs themselves.  For years, I had wanted to make the investment in myself and start down the path of learning to code myself.  Last January, I finally made the decision to pull the trigger and take the first steps down that path.  

After extensively researching the programs available, I narrowed my choices down to 3 options based on the skills I desired to obtain the curriculum focus of each respectively.  One of those three "finalists" was Le Wagon.  At first, I was a bit hesitant due to the fact that it was located in Europe and I, myself, was an American.  However, after further examining and comparing the respective focuses of each program, it became abundantly clear that Le Wagon was exactly what I was looking for as it is a full stack course with a very strong focus on entrepreneurship and product development.  Additionally, I felt that taking myself out of my comfort zone would benefit me in terms of eliminating distractions and allowing me to fully focus on the course (being able to clear my mind and explore a new city abroad was an enticing aspect as well). 

Once I was accepted into the program and completed the pre-coursework, I was off to London and it was the best decision I could have possibly made.  Throughout the 9 weeks of the batch, the amount of knowledge I gained and the abilities I gained far surpassed my expectations.  In addition to the coursework, the resources provided to every student that they keep forever are absolutely incredible and valuable.  On top of that, the vast and ever-expanding network of global alumni is an Mzing asset.  The entire alumni community is very unique as everybody has gone through the same trials.  Through the alumni channel created by Le Wagon, a massive forum for collaboration and help exists and is filled with people who are more than willing to assist each other.  The connections that can be made through the alumni network is an unbelievable resource in itself.

Last but certainly not least, the aspect of Le Wagon that truly tops off the program and makes it so amazing is the staff.  It seems impossible that Le Wagon was able to put together an entire team of such incredibly talented people that are also some of the most energetic and personable I've ever met, but they certainly managed to do so.  It couldn't have been more obvious from Day 1 that the staff didn't treat everybody as just a number, but that they truly cared about investing in their relationships with each individual and making sure they succeeded.  The structure of the program creates amazing friendships and bonds with not only your classmates, but with the staff itself, and for that I am truly grateful.  The 9 weeks were very challenging, but they flew by and I never imagined I would genuinely have a much fun as I did throughout the course.   The final weeks were particularly rewarding and enjoyable as the batch broke into groups and launched functioning apps that were started from scratch during the course.  I admittedly was completely blown away by the presentations of every single app during "Demo Day" at Google Campus on the final day.  I couldn't believe that these amazing programs were created in a matter of two weeks by people who had no prior experience a short 9 weeks earlier.  I couldn't be more satisfied or thankful for my decision to enroll in Le Wagon and will forever cherish the friendships and connections I made through it in addition to the skills I gained!

My name is Anderson, I’m Brazilian but have been living in Japan for quite a long time now…

I’ve always wanted to be an entrepreneur, ideas would come to my mind and I would imagine how to set them up, analyzing viability, and obviously how to make money out of them.

I’ve had 3 businesses in Brazil before I decided to come live in Japan. I currently own an Ad Agency which has been creating audiovisual content in Yokohama for the last 10 years.

Recently, I came up again with an idea my mind wouldn’t get rid of. But for it, I needed some technical knowledge that I knew was not my strong suit.

I first tried to look for a software house or freelancers both in Japan or abroad but this approach had three major issues for me:

1/ I had no clue on how to select which language I needed for the project and even less on how to assess the professionals willing to take it on.

2/ Lack of commitment from potential partners, I came to talk with a bunch of agencies, but clearly I felt I was just another client, not a partner to build something new.

3/ This approach came with pretty high costs which I could not tell if it was due to the ambition of the project or because I was a first timer getting fooled…

That’s when I decided I needed to study to understand better the tech startup ecosystem and turn myself able to put my idea in practice.

I searched for different training options, but nothing really exciting until I found out about Le Wagon in a very important IT media in Japan. I found the Bootcamp format and proposal to be just what I needed, and after reviewing some students’ opinions (on this site!), I contacted Le Wagon Tokyo. It was too late for Tokyo as the next bootcamp would start next week. I couldn’t wait for the next one in 3 months… But to my great surprise, I discovered that one was scheduled in my hometown of São Paulo in one month. Planets finally had aligned.

I crossed the Ocean and went…

To sum it up, that’s the been the best decision I made so far, I was afraid I would be completely lost, and I was a little at first, but with the help of teachers, teaching assistants, other students, but especially thanks to a great methodology and learning platform, I can say that today I can decide on technical facts I understand and I can even jump into the code whenever I feel I can correct or add something up myself.

The idea I had is now live because I could convince a group in the bootcamp to follow me and we turned it into our last weeks’ project. It’s called Tripdeo, stay tuned cause you’re going to hear about it soon!

Since I was young, I have spent a lot of time, doing various online courses to try to learn how to code by myself without a lot of success. I made an Engineering school hoping I'll learn the basics of code. Unfortunately it didn't happen. Moreover I didn't really appreciate the industrial world.
I knew I would want to work in the startup environment and in the tech world. So I decided to enroll at Le Wagon a few weeks after my diploma. Le Wagon exactly met my needs and I felt confident to work right after the bootcamp.
The teaching method is pretty incredible and before enrolling, I didn't expect I would learn this much in only two months. I'm currently working as a junior web developer in a web agency and Le Wagon gave me the basic and necessary knowledge to build websites in RoR. Le Wagon was one of the most powerful experience in my life !

I am Math student in Queen Mary University. I was always intrested in coding but never have time to properly do it. During my first year of university, I was doing some codecademy courses which gave me some basic knowledge. Then I realised that I love to code and want to extend my coding knowledge. That is why I join lewagon.

Lewagon gave me a great opportunity to meet new friends. A learned a lot during a bootcamp. After I bootcamp I feel confident enough to do mine own project and learning hard concepts on my owm because I go that base knowledge from Lewagon. 

Lewagon gave the passion to code and motivation to learn more!

Hi, my name is Luana, I'm a civil engineer by training and I was at a moment of my life when I wanted to change something in my career. I chose Le Wagon on the recommendation of a friend and to be honest I was a little afraid at first to “jump" as i did not know anything about programming. But let me tell you that I completely loved the course, the studying environment was awesome, the friends I made there were the best, and the teachers are great. 
After I completed Le Wagon bootcamp, I now feel confident to talk about programming with anyone and have been able to finally kickstart the personal projects I had in mind for so long. 
Today 100% of the work I do is linked to the knowledge I got from the course, either on the freelance gigs I took or my own projects.

"I was working in finance in the biggest fintech in France but after 3 years, I needed to change and I wanted to have more technical skills. I choose Le Wagon because of all the good reviews and because of it's own methodology. You have to be proficient, it's intensive and you practice a lot, coding with great partners each time. I didn't regret it at all. Now I'm back in Paris and continue to code on my spare time. My goal is to start a freelance career as a developer in 2018.

Monteil Alexandre - Batch 63 - Montreal"

Hi everyone,

I attended Le Wagon in Paris in summer 2017.

I was already working in IT as a Production Integrator and I was constantly interacting with developers.

Soon I realized that my job was boring - I wanted their job !

So I quit my job and signed up to Le Wagon. The journey is incredible, extremely intense (9 weeks) but worth it. I’ve learned more in 9 weeks that I would’ve done in years learning by myself or with online tools.

2 months later, I moved to London, and am now working as a freelance web developper full time, from building websites for small clients and assistant teaching. I couldn’t be more pleased with the result.

If you ever enroll, you’ll discover a new way of thinking, you’ll meet incredible people from various backgrounds and create an extremely well connected network.

I did it and it changed my life for the better, I can only recommend you to do the same !

Take care.

Le Wagon changed my life. Not only because I have a new skill now, but learning how to code also helped me to think different. Coding is not a sprint, is a more like a marathon. You have to go step by step, and you bring that mindset to your life too.

When you want to learn something new, your surroundings play an important role – positive or negative. So moving to Barcelona to learn how to code and change my life seemed an interesting combination. If Gaudi was able to design colorful and different projects living in Barcelona, why wouldn’t I get the same inspiration when coding?  Bingo!

I spent thirteen years as a journalist and public relations. Technology always fascinated me, so I had the opportunity during my career to either write some (less than expected) stories related to technology or to create, as public relations, communications plans about technology in companies where I worked. A couple of years ago I started to get more familiar with coding. I can’t believe that I, as a communicator, knew little (or nothing) about what’s behind a web platform. Asking this question – how does a web platform really work? - brought me to a complete new world.

I started to take some online courses, attended some developers conference and tried to learn more about it. I found out that for a guy like me, without a real technology background, learning on my own without any previous knowledge was hard. After months of research, I learned about coding bootcamps, and made the decision to take a break on my career and do one in Europe.

Le Wagon stood up during my researches. I read many positive reviews about it (all true, by the way). I asked some friends who knew about coding to analyze the content of the course, and all of them gave me the green light. Since Le Wagon is in many different cities, I chose Barcelona -  I wanted to be inspired by Gaudi. Le Wagon is located at the lovely and lively Gracia neighborhood – the new place is very comfortable, with a clean design - and I was lucky enough to pass by in front some of Gaudi’s buildings everyday on my way back home.   

Now let’s talk about the course itself. The 9 weeks seemed like a rollercoaster to me. Full of ups and downs – but with a great feeling in the end -, learning how to code takes you back to your childhood moments. You play, you try, you fail, you get frustrated, you search for help, you learn, you try again and you succeed. The teachers are there to help, and you also learn a lot with your peers. Sometimes you need help, sometimes you’re the one who helps.

The classes are well structured. They give us a lot of content that may make you think you won’t be able to follow. But everything falls together during the project weeks. I was amazed that my group was able to build a solid project from scratch - http://www.peerviews.eu - platform for peer reviews. I enjoyed a lot working on it, as this project allowed us to build a strong backend - students would evaluate (randomly and anonymously) their peers’ reports, check their papers’ reviews and next assignments. Teachers would be able to get all the data from students’ evaluations displayed in different graphs. And to think that all started with a black screen two weeks before the demo day.

An important thing is to come to this coding bootcamp with your mind open. Enjoy everyday. Work hard. That’s what I did. I now have a good knowledge to keep learning on my own. At Le Wagon I found a new passion and a new career. I made friends. Maybe startup partners, since we want to keep working on our project. I just know that now I can’t stop coding and I will never look at web applications as before.  

I was a product owner (more or less a project manager) in a Startup working with a team of 5 developers. I started to look at Le Wagon to fill some technical needs that would help me to do my job in a better way.

Before joining Le Wagon you need to do some homework, it allows you to see if it’s really what you want to do but it also allows you to have a basic level in programing. At this point I realized, I would really love this experience.

“Learning everyday” could be the baseline of Le Wagon because that’s what you will do. It is challenging but Le Wagon’s team is here to help you make the most of these 9 weeks.

Finally, thanks to Le Wagon I met incredible people with different backgrounds but the same objective, learning to code. This group dynamic is amazing and rewarding.

I have not decided yet what the next steps will be but I know I will continue learning to code.