Le Wagon

After almost 3,5 years as a partner in a fast-growing startup, it was time for me to challenge myself again and to start a new entrepreneurial project. 
To make the transition, I wanted to take time to learn new things and code has been an evidence. I choose LeWagon, 9 intense weeks to transform you in a full stack developer, and on my side open my mind to a totally new subject I really took pleasure to learn. 
Online courses are clear and the Parisian staff is just amazing. 
I totally recommend this training for entrepreneurs who want to learn how to understand and talk to their dev team!

I have a strong interest in entrepreneurship and innovation. After 4 years in a business school, I took a gap year and left for NYC, where I interned for a startup, and then for a business angel. But this year couldn't have ended better than with Le Wagon.

The program is really intense; I spent 9 weeks thinking and dreaming of code… and I can say that I am not the only one. Days are well structured, as we start with the lesson of the day, and then we work in pairs (different every day) on exercises related to the lesson.  At the end of the day, we come back to class to do a recap. 
We learnt a few different languages. If you have difficulties to understand something, teachers are here to help. If you are faster than others, this is the same. The program adapts to you, and not the other way around. 

The people I've met have different interests and come from different industries. However, we all share this passion for innovation and desire to build amazing things, which makes Le Wagon's community awesome. 

I would recommend Le Wagon to anybody passionate about entrepreneurship and… willing to work hard and play hard!

I have been part of TheWagon Batch#70. Before that, I was a growth hacker in a parisian accelerator and I wanted to be able to work on side projects on my own. After two months that seemed two days, I am now launching a startup with a friend I met there.

One may judge the quality of this bootcamp as per the complete set of skills the alumni show afterwards. However, there is no words fair enough to qualify the benevolence of the team, the excellence of the platform and the talent of the people you are likely to meet there.

I was a student in batch #48 at Le Wagon in Paris. Before Le Wagon, I had studied finance, international relations and Islamic studies (quite a mix, I know) and worked as a political researcher, and as a news producer in a international news channel.

I joined Le Wagon because I wanted to set up my own news-related website. I attended the bootcamp while studying towards a master's degree on the side, which I don't recommend, because Le Wagon will need your full attention, and missing even one day in an intensive coding bootcamp can set you back quite much (I ended missing a few days, because of family circumstances, because I got sick, and also because I had to study for my exams).

There, in the last three weeks, three of my classmates and I built a service that helps people in need to find soup kitchens and free meals near them using simple text messaging. After the bootcamp, we are still working on the website and have transformed it into an non-profit association.

Le Wagon was an intense experience, one of the best in my life. And it wasn't easy: frustrating at first, but rewarding at the end. And the key is not to give up. Besides learning how to code, I made some really good friends, and I also had the pleasure to meet some great people amongst the teachers, teachers' assistants and staff.

I highly recommend Le Wagon to anyone who wants to learn code.

My name is Mendy and I was part of Le Wagon's batch#67 in Bordeaux which ended in June 2017. For a long time, I have searched what I wanted to do with my life. I did some learning at university in psychology and dramatic arts, but college was not for me. Then one day, I found Le Wagon Bootcamp. 
Being comfortables with computers ever since I was a child and being already proficient in HTML/CSS languages. I tempted my fate after many searches about it.

And I fall in love with coding, Ruby, Rails, Javascript, all ! Now, I know what I want to do with my life, Web Developper. Wagon's pedagogy played a big part in my experience. The staff and my batch were incredible too, humanly rewarding. It was 10h/day during two months and I didn't see it pass. Each lesson was exciting and it's the guy who doesn't like school who write that. That was an amazing oportunity and I'm glad I took it.

Two months later, I've new skills, more than I thought and although I still have a lot to learn, I can create a website, from scratch.

An unforgettable experience.  

I discovered the Wagon early 2016. They were hosting a hackathon at their headquarters and I remember the first impression I had. It can be difficult to find the balance between professionalism and fun in an office but the Wagon managed to do find it and to have this friendly vibe going on.
I come from a background in journalism and the media, with a focus on writing, reporting and digital screenwriting. To go further in that specialisation, I decided to learn how to code, to be able to create myself prototypes of the interactive experiences I offered. It was like the missing piece for my professional profile to be complete.
I had been used, with public bachelors and private education, to a very specific and old school kind of learning and teaching. Furthermore, like most students in the world I had been used to being assessed with grades, which is in my personal opinion a very outdated pedagogical system.
The Wagon is the total opposite. It allows you to develop your autonomy, your critical thinking and to learn in ways never seen before. In many ways, the Wagon is the Montessori of the web.
A typical day at the Wagon goes as follows: 1h30/2h of classes, a few minutes to share your thoughts, some exercises specific to the topic tackled that day until 5.30pm and to conclude, 1h30 of "live coding" to teach you how to solve a problem and to demonstrate your strategy. These days were supervised by the Wagon's staff and made easier thanks to the interactive platform we all worked on. You can see your improvements, watch videos of former and future classes and to practice what you learned thanks to "flash cards", a game that help you memorise new learned theories.
One of the major assets of the Wagon is its collaborative aspect. I was especially impressed by the patience, kindness and empathy of the people I shared these two months with. Indeed, I was quite worried before starting the course: I am not a very logic person, I'm really bad with maths and I hadn't understood the few lines of code during the prep-work, so I feared to be lost. But that's where the name Wagon makes suddenly a lot of sense: we're all in the same boat, the same coach (or wagon!). Despite the different levels of the students, we all moved forward together, feeling supported. Whenever you feel lost in front of the code, it never lasts long, someone will always give you a hand and make sure you really understood before moving to the next step.
Two other major positive points of the Wagon are the T.A. (teacher assistants) and the buddies.
For my batch#67 (my training session), all the teacher assistants were former students, often from only a few months ago. They're available all day to answer your questions and help you with whatever you need. It is very motivating and helps you stay into it and never feel lost or overwhelmed by these long lines of code.
The buddies, another great initiative, is a system of partnership with other alumnis. An algorithm on the online interface matches you with an alumni to team up with for the day. Changing teammates every day is a very enriching experience because it makes you deal with different levels, skills, personalities and perspectives. It makes you improve faster.
Sure, you could learn by yourself online. I thought of doing it to. But the money you'll save will never replace what you'll learn at the Wagon. As a proof, Sylvain the referring professor in Bordeaux has learned in many years what we learn in 2 months, and with a better support, a better understanding and better tools.
I can't recommend the Wagon more. You don't need to be familiar with coding, to be super logical or have a 160 IQ. You only need to be friendly and open-minded!
Attending the Wagon's course was one of the best experiences of my life and without a doubt the best learning one. I didn't only learn new skills but also a new way of thinking, autonomy and I have gained more confidence and patience. The staff is outstanding and the experience life-changing. I strongly recommend it to anyone interested in digital jobs.

 

We all know about the fever of entrepreneurship that’s taking the world by storm.

As a multidisciplinary designer and strategic thinker, I have become an opportunist. I saw in every problem that surround me, an idea for a service, a *platform*, an app or whatever can be made and turned into a money making machine.

In today’s world everything is becoming digital driven. Learning to code is a must for everyone. Even kids are learning to code with legos!

Lacking coding skills, and finding that online courses weren’t sufficent I decided to join le Wagon Paris.

And it was the best decision of my life!

Everyday I learned a tons of things, everyday I got more and more comfortable with code. Everyday I was learning to communicate, build and collaborate with other developers. To sum it up, I acquired avant-garde skills that are on high demand in every sectors.

I can testify that in a two-month period at le Wagon, I learned much more than I did during my two-year master. The program is so well designed from its morning lectures, its all day coding practices with a buddy, its livecoding sessions and finally to its end-of-program projects, that in the end, all the pieces fall together making you are capable of coding your own website right away!

The teachers were amazing, very patient and super friendly! They have an amazing system to help you when you’re stuck with the code that will allow you to learn and reflect on your mistakes and Surprise! A lot of good cold beer to chill out your brain at the end of the day!

In the end, not only it was an amazing experience, but the adventure continues. You will become part of an alumni network where you can find ressources, ask questions or even find work.

If you want to become a developer, a piece of advice, join le Wagon, work hard play hard, build a family with your classmates and enjoy the experience!

Having spent the last 17 years as a qualified management accountant I wanted to do something more creative and interesting towards the end of 2016. I had heard about how software development was experiencing a boom and there weren't enough applicants to fill vacancies. 

I tried Codecademy and loved it and decided to go to a bootcamp to immerse myself in the field. But there are lots of them out there: which one to choose? After doing a bit of research online Le Wagon was the one as it was regularly rated as one of the best, not just in the country but the world. After being accepted on the course I did the prep work and the course started in April. 

I didn't know what to expect and was a bit apprehensive but the staff members soon put me at ease. They really are a great support. Very knowledgeable and approachable I found they will go out of their way to help you. They make a huge difference to what I achieved. There were some great people in the class with me. A lot of them were in the same boat as me, never having coded before and we got along really well and I've made some friends for life. 

The course itself is very challenging and it needs complete dedication. But it is so rewarding. At first I wondered if I was going to be able to keep up but you get used to the pace. It soon started making sense. The best bit was doing a personal project in the last 2 weeks in a team. I was in a team of 3 people and thoroughly enjoyed creating an MVP from scratch. This was real world experience that was so valuable. 

It culminated with me giving a presentation at the Google campus (I've never given a presentation in-front of so people in my life) on our product and that was so much fun. The decision to switch to software development was quite easily one of the best in my life and I couldn't have chosen a better partner than Le Wagon to help me get started. Accounting is definitely in the rear view mirror!

Having been working in a French start-up for 4 years in Canada, wearing different hats (Project/Product Manager), I wanted to fill technical gaps by learning more about coding. 
Comparing different schools in North America and Europe, I was convinced Le Wagon would offer me the best option. The learning curve seemed amazing, and they focused a lot in creating an efficient and international tech community which I wanted to be part of.
Based on the reviews, I had high expectations about the FullStack program and all of them were exceeded. 

During my time at Le Wagon, we were completely immersed in the tech environment. Since day one, you understand that this is a boosting environment and that you need to make the best of it. The tech world changes fast, and they teach you how to adapt to it. I can now fully understand how coding affects performance and where to get the information I need to keep learning.

Looking back at the 9-week-program now, I realise how much we have learned and accomplished. We were able to get a taste and use a lot of different technologies and languages, we've also got to play with APIs and build projects with other students.
People at Le Wagon share a genuine interest in entrepreneurship, and it drives you to learn more every day. You will be mentored by teachers who are always happy to help or offer advice, and get the chance to attend diverse conferences about entrepreneurship.

Before I started at Le Wagon I had been running a travel blog for several years. During that time, I became frustrated with my inability to add new features to the blog without relying on a developer. I also have plenty of ideas for new projects within the travel industry, but again, without the technical knowhow or serious investment, they were very difficult to get off the ground. 

I stumbled onto Le Wagon coding school earlier this year and decided if I was ever going to take my ideas further I was going to need to learn to code. It happened to be one of the best training decisions I ever made. The course is intense, there is a lot of information to take in within a short space of time, but they took me from no knowledge of coding to being able to build a website in 9 weeks. 

Each morning starts with a new lecture, after which you spend the rest of the day practicing those skills in well-designed exercises. The teachers and assistants were all first class. Knowledgeable, patient, and eager to help every student understand every element of the course.  The course is well structured and by the time you reach the final project in the last two weeks, each student has the ability to work on both the front and back end. Our team of four created a web application that simulated a recipe app. 

This included a tinder-style swiper which learnt the ingredients you did and didn't like and offered recipes based on your tastes. Since finishing the course, I'm now working on my new project, a travel company which creates short food tours led by chefs. I'm currently writing this from Bangkok where we've created the first tour and I'm working on building the website. I really couldn't recommend this course highly enough to anyone who wants a change of career or anyone who wants to model their own ideas.

Well, passed those 9 weeks and a couple of months after my experience on LeWagon's bootcamp, I can definitely endorse their slogan "Change your life: learn to code". At least for me, it really changed my life.   As a background, I'm a business graduated, who spent many years working on the industry as a marketing executive. From traditional marketing I moved to digital marketing and that's pretty much when I decided to quit the industry and start a career as an entrepreneur on the tech market.   By that time, I honestly wasn't aware how much the lack of technical skills would cost me. Time showed me that a idea, a vision, business knowledge, money and contacts might not be enough to build a great tech company. Yes, you can find technical partners, you can hire people, but how can you lead a business if you don't know what is under the hood?   As a stubborn entrepreneur, a couple of bad experiences wouldn't put me down... I just didn't find the right partner yet, I thought.    What about learning to code?  Are you nuts???? Have you seen those codes, that black crazy screen, this is not for me! This is for engineers, mathematicians, scientists... I'm just a creative business guy.   But well, after struggling a bit more I heard about this bootcamp stuff and started to consider it as an option.   Not that I blindly joined it. Before signing in for this two months journey, I watched a few demodays, I cold mailed some random people that took the course and asked for feedbacks. I even went to one of their events before I made up my mind.... ok, let's go for it!   Now, the only regret I have is to have waited so long for it.   LeWagon's course, material, structure, teachers, colleagues etc, they all overcame my expectations. They really take the right path to introduce some non-technical guy like myself to programing from the basics to be able to build an actual product for the market. I do believe that Ruby on Rails is a great choice as a programing language/framework for this program, as now we can rely on a big and active community of programmers to support our progress moving on.   Today although working with programmers much more experienced than me in my team, I'm being able to lead the development of our product, understanding what are our alternatives, the best choices, while actually helping coding our next features.   As a final advice, if you are thinking about taking the LeWagon bootcamp, think no further, just go for it, I promise, you won't regret!

The "change your life, learn to code" headline might sound like an overstatement, but it's not. Le Wagon is allowing me to change my life and to get closer to my goals.

Programming was never a strange thing to me. I attended Engineering School, where I learned some C and Assembly. Working on financial markets for the last 11 years got me some VBA skills.

But web programming was way ahead of my understanding.

Before Le Wagon I tried to read some books, to follow some tutorials, to watch some videos. The information was so diffused that it took months to get me from zero to almost nothing. Alone and not having too much time on my hands, it was very hard to know what to read and where to focus.

When I learned about Le Wagon, I felt that it was for me.

It doesn't matter if you know some programming or if you have never seen a single line of code at all. If you feel that you would be closer to your goals if you had the ability to code a web app, you have the fit to attend Le Wagon.

The last 2 weeks of the course, when you join a team to build a real application (my team built the mvp of a headhunter marketplace), have the power to show you what you can do in real life.

The curriculum is results driven and will get you from 0 to 1 in an unbelievable short time. The teaching platform is amazing. After the 9 weeks, you'll have all the essentials to follow ahead by your own feet.

Now, after Le Wagon, I'm co-founding a energy trading company. Despite this being a more 'traditional' company (by not being part of the startup world), Le Wagon is allowing us to leverage the potential of our new company: I'm building a back office web platform - something that's not common for this kind of business.

Don't get intimidated if you don't have familiarity with coding. If you love tech and have the urge to build stuff, Le Wagon can help you.