Le Wagon

I was part of the first Le Wagon London cohort, batch #36 summer 2016.

I don't have a computer science degree or computer background. I don't have any formal tech training. I have worked as a freelance graphic designer and run my own business for many years, learning to build websites by working my way through various online courses. So I could handle html, css and a little php. 

Learning online was ok, it helped me discover my inner geek, which now unleashed, has me addicted to coding. But, and this is a big BUT, these courses always left me feeling frustrated. When you work alone you can be left with 101 questions in your head, "Am I doing this right?", "Is there a better way to write this code?", and 3 days of hair pulling staring at the dreaded white screen of death trying to troubleshoot the missing ';' in your code. Yet there is no-one to ask.

Then I had an idea for an app, and together with my two co-founders, we knew we had to find something more. We'd researched the idea, we'd tested the market and we knew we had something, but feedback from potential investors was that they wanted to see a technical lead on the founding team. I was asked why wasn't I that person if I could build a website? I should be building the app. Fair point. 

So I started looking to see how I could step up to that challenge and hit our next milestone of building an mvp in-house. Online learning alone wouldn't cut it. When I came across Le Wagon, it was a no brainer. I went to a couple of meetup groups first to see how they work and it was impressive. The genuine passion and enthusiasm the teaching staff have for coding and programming is infectious. I signed up for the 9 weeks and it was without doubt the best decision to push our bootstrapped startup forward. In fact it's like adding rocket fuel to your idea.

I won't say it's easy. At the beginning the challenges are tough. It's called a bootcamp for a reason. But as a class you grow. With guidance and mentorship from the teaching staff you help each other, you learn from each other. Being part of such a widely diverse group of international students of all age ranges, cultures and working backgrounds was really inspiring. Standing up on stage to demo our newly built mvp is the best buzz. To be able to achieve that in just 9 weeks is a credit the high calibre of the teaching staff. 

So what have I come away with? I now feel confident to discuss the continuing development of our mvp with other developers and I can work in a team. I have access to a huge bank of video lectures I can refer back to. Gone are the days of scratching my head in silence, I know have a community I can ask for help. In fact, I have some fellow alumni from the batch working with me on our project after the course. When we are ready to hire, Le Wagon will be my first stop. And I can now put 'Technical Lead' with pride on my team slide.

I will continue to work on the mvp in-house to take us to public launch, become investment ready and prepare for our first technical hire. The mvp was presented at a trade show just two weeks after demo day and already has traction. I was also invited to speak on Sky News to share my positive experience of breaking into the London Tech scene as a woman. Best of all, just one month later, we are finalists in the Appsters Award for 2016 in two categories. That, is the true power of Le Wagon.

From entrepreneur..
I have always felt like an entrepreneur. That's why I joined one of the best business school in Europe. At the end of my studies, I tried to launch my first start-up but quickly failed, partly because of a lack of technical skills. In order to be autonomous for my future projects, I knew I needed to learn to code. So, I decided to join Le Wagon.

To fullstack developer and digital nomad
In 2 months, supported by a wonderful team, I acquired enough skills to build all my projects, and, as important for me, I made a lot of creative and talented friends! I still have a lot to learn (you never stop learning as a developer) but I am now confident enough to do it by myself. I enjoyed coding so much that I decided to become a fullstack freelance developer for at least few years while building some of my own side projects. At the same time, as I can work from wherever I want, I will travel a lot. I am flying to Thailand next month 
For me, Le Wagon was the experience of a lifetime and I strongly recommend you to join! Have a look to superfestival.fr to see what you can build after 2 months 

Having just completed 9 weeks at Le Wagon I would like to describe my experience before and after Le Wagon.
 
I started coding at six years old on an Atari 1200 and hobby coded ever since.  Since leaving school I completed my mechanical and electrical degree training with Volvo UK. When I finished that course I moved onto pilot training.  I completed it in 2008 including flight instructor training of which I am one of the very few qualified aerobatic instructors in the UK.  I work various jobs in aviation for 14 years including test flying, airline and air ambulance flights.  Life in flying is amazing but I really wanted to do something more secure without the added uncertainty.  Given I loved coding and had programmed some visual basic programs for aerospace companies, as well as flying, I decided tech was the way forward.  I am a person that tends to plan everything methodically so I started to investigate my options in London. Having been a flight instructor for the last 14 years it was important for me to find somewhere that had a well defined syllabus, study platform and teaching techniques.  For me Le Wagon had all of this in place as well as a proven track record across the world.
 
During the course I have to say my expectations were more than met.  We pair program from the very start, which is considered very important in the tech industry.  The syllabus was relevant, the platform was very user friendly, the teaching techniques reminded me very much of the teaching in aviation, which has taken over 50 years to perfect,  but also the system of being able to ask for help and receiving assistance very quickly.  This in itself is part of the learning process.  The course is tough going but then it is not called a bootcamp for nothing!  In the last two weeks of the course we worked in teams to design and create an MVP.  In a team of 3 we created a system to help with social housing and it was completed and live by the time of demo day, an amazing feat.
 
Since the course I feel a much more able coder and now have the knowledge and ability to complete my own projects of which I have completed one on my own in 14 days which is also in production.  I have also left with a new sense of confidence which allows me to conduct professional developer telephone interviews. Le Wagon really give you a cutting edge and teaches you to work hard and really want to succeed in whatever you do. 

Fresh out of engineering school, I felt the need to dive into web development before I went to do anything else. After discovering the program through articles on Techcrunch during my studies and amazing reviews on Quora, I decided to apply for their first batch in London. 

The program has really surpassed all my expectations. I entered with very basic web design notions and left with strong knowledge of many technologies and languages (HTML, CSS, JS, Ruby, Rails, SQL, jQuery, Git, Heroku, React). You get to apply what you learn though developing in groups two web services: an AirBnb clone as well as your own project towards the end of the course. 

The best part of Le Wagon is you meet a lot of new people from various background, all being very motivated and envious to dive deep into Web development. But even better than that, you will always be part of Le Wagon's family and network. 

I was part of batch 36 in London and can testify to the technical competency of the teachers as well as the hospitality of the supporting staff. I strongly recommend this program to anyone even slightly interested in web development, after a careers change or at the start of your career.

First of all, for the past few years, I have discovered a real passion for web development. I wanted to start a business in the app industry and I had an idea of web application. So I decided to visit a friend who worked at Le Wagon at this time. I pitched him the global idea of the app. He liked it. So he took his computer and started to program. Just like that. I was impressed.

However, things didn't go as planned because we didn't « speak the same language ». He didn't understand my wishes. For instance, I asked him to change a button's color but for him it was not the main focus. He spoke about API, back-end but I didn't get a word.

After few weeks of disputes, we stopped and I started learning HTML and CSS online during almost 6 months. That was cool but not enough at all. No back-end, no business logic. 

So I finally joined Le Wagon this summer which is a 9-week intensive coding bootcamp. I learned ruby, Ruby On rails, Sinatra and all the essential concepts and tools that a developer needs to know: GitHub, git, SQL, HTML5, CSS3, Heroku and advanced concepts of Javascript and jQuery.

It was hard, very hard. It's a choice you make if you plan to join Le Wagon: during 9 weeks, you think hard but that's the only way to learn "no pain, no gain". And after that, if you are really committed, you become powerful. You can start a business on your own. That's the magic.

Since the end of the bootcamp, I code everyday. It's like a drug, I code some apps where I implement all stuff I learnt (that's huge).

Coding alone in his bedroom is fun for a time. Now, I really want to improve even more my developer's skills so I started applying to some jobs in startups. I have an answer every single day. 

That's the second Le Wagon's magic.

Brice Tessier Huort - Batch 30 - Paris

Higher project => http://www.higher.business/

I finished LeWagon's 9-week bootcamp in Sao Paulo two weeks ago and finally had a little bit of time to reflect on the experience. What follows is a brief account of my time there, what I think I got out of it and why I think people interested in programming, web/mobile development and entrepreneurship should do it.

  To put this in context, I will tell you a little bit about myself. I have a economics and finance background but early on decided that I was more interested in entrepreneurship than banking or consulting. My first real professional experience was in Latam, developing a project for nearly 3 years but eventually I got to a point where I no longer had much to learn and decided to take some time off to travel.    While travelling I realised that what I enjoyed the most was the product side of business. Whether developing new features client side or thinking about infrastructure and data analysis, I wanted to be a more technical person. I tried learning online and at first I thought I made good progress but as soon as I got passed the easy tutorials and actually wanted to build things I started getting stuck and found it more and more difficult to move forward.   After quite a bit of investigating I decided on doing LeWagon's program. I really think I could not have made a better choice. The program has the right balance between theory and practice but what really made the difference were the great teachers and TA's at your disposal so you never got stuck for long and could keep learning at a fast pace.   The group of students also really contributed to the experience. Bright people from diverse backgrounds and the format of the course allowed us to really create a bond and learn from each other. The bootcamp at LeWagon allowed me to really dive into the world of code and gave me the tools to keep on learning. Now, I am working as a Product Manager for an Android app and the foundations that I learnt at LeWagon are what made it possible.   So whether you want to be a web or mobile developer, a product manager or a tech entrepreneur, whether you are interested in data, backend or design, LeWagon is for you. You will jump start into all these fields, put them all together to see how they fit and will learn how to teach yourself whatever you want to learn.

What I have gone through during my 2 months @ Le Wagon is priceless. There's no place for bullshit, it's just code ! I have learnt (and you will too) the best practices of the industry to build whatever you wish the best/fastest way possible, with the best technologies available (mostly for free) to you.

Le Wagon is the most demanding training I have ever done but also the most rewarding and fulfilling in terms of stuff learnt and people met. You learn something new everyday, if not every hour of the training, and the start-up mindset of the batch is greatly motivating. The lead teacher has 10+ years experience in coding and he knows everything about nearly everything.

Get in touch with them for more info, they are very responsive, helpful and friendly. If you're ready to change your life of course !

I read a cool article a while back, about how coding schools are the new MBAs. Just to be clear, I've never liked the idea of an MBA, especially in Brazil where I thing they're really shallow in their coverage of key topics, instead aiming to attend all types of backgrounds, and in so doing attending none of them fully.

So, I thought long and hard on that, and wanted to really learn something, make my brain work in a way that it wasn't used to. So I stalked the author of that article, Mat Le Roux, who had quite a CV on him, and seemed like he knew what he was talking about, and seemed to be saying the same thing that I was thinking.

Looking at his profile, I saw that Le Wagon was launching in Brazil and that coding really would be something new for my brain, unlike seeing discounted cash flows for the nth time.

After a quick talk with Mat at Le Wagon, São Paulo, I decided to take the plunge, and try go from zero to coder in nine months  weeks. The catch line was brave on their part, I didn't believe it really, I even thought they'd paid people to write these reviews, it's impossible that everybody only says good great things about Le Wagon. So I paid to see. And am glad that I did.

Classes start at 09:00 everyday, and involve two hours of learning the key concepts of web development. From ruby (and programming in general) basics like loops, to APIs and ReactJS. These classes are followed by brain breaking tasks during the rest of the day with your buddy based on those principles, luckily the teachers, and teaching assistants are there when you need a hand.

I'm not going to write everything down here, you can check out the program here if you want a deeper view.

All-in-all, I'm extremely satisfied with the outcome, the last four weeks, me and my buddies put up two great projects, Doacare and NuMooh, the latter of which we're building out as our own little startup.

So, I highly recommend Le Wagon, or any course where you can find a team as dedicated as theirs to getting you to this level with confidence.

 

 

 

 

 

A little heads up on my background, I am a trained engineer and spent 5 years in one of the biggest construction company with a very comfortable position, the kind of position that gets you sleepy up until you retire. No stimulation, no meaning, no adventure.

So I decided to stop the brainwashing routine of Subway / Job / Sleep and leave for another life where retirement is not the Holy Grail, the kind of life Gary Vaynerchuck describes in “Crush it”. YOU ARE the only captain on board, no one should decide how to run your life but you!

It was not an easy decision, you always know what you lose, and never what you’ll get for sure. But if, like myself, you’ve always been passionate about innovation, discovery, creating stuff, travelling, with a geeky side and a knack for new challenges, look no further, Le Wagon Brasil is just for you! Of course you’ll need a little money on the side, the program is not free, but far from expensive if compared with the value you’ll get, trust me.

 

Le Wagon is an awesome bootcamp as other reviews will tell you, but why make it in Brazil? First, you need to know how amazing Brazil is as a country and a culture. Awesome weather, beaches accessible every weekend from São Paulo, and an extremely welcoming culture of people willing to make you fall in love with a lifestyle full of music, churrasco and optimism. Yes the country can be dangerous, but no, you are not going to be attacked on every street corner.

I could not tell you why you should join Le Wagon in Europe, but I can tell you why do it in Brazil. The team is really awesome, the teachers are passionate, with true pedagogical skills and the overall atmosphere is the right combination of motivation and fun. That’s how the magic works. I had no previous coding experience and in the last 2 weeks, I could create this (http://www.calendr.io). Even if I didn’t speak Portuguese, I had online videos accessible during the morning masterclasses and as everyone speaks English in the team, I could ask anything anytime I needed it. And since 80% of your time is devoted to building stuff, I ended up asking a lot of questions about what I could do…

What’s next? I’ll be sticking around in Brazil to improve my Portuguese for sure. But thanks to Le Wagon’s network I heard about an opportunity to work as a developer in Jusbrasil, a startup of Salvador in the promising legal space. The company just received a massive investment from Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund and as I flew there on a weekend for an interview, they gave me a chance to join their team based on my bootcamp curriculum. I still have a lot to learn for sure but one thing I know for sure is that I won’t have many conversations about retirement there :)

 

Coming from a business background, I founded a crowdfunding startup during my final year in business school.  At that time, I was spending lots of time writing specs and user stories for the developer company we were working with. Our relationships with their developers were great but each product iteration was way too long. For this reason, I decided to get more involved in product development by joining Le Wagon. The skills I acquired enabled me to challenge developers and introduce a lot of good practices into our workflow and development process.

The program has two key strengths:
- A very demanding curriculum that teaches in-depth programming basics and software architecture
- A very hands-on approach focusing on product development's methodology and workflow (heroku, git, etc.)

I feel like the coding bootcamp industry in Europe is getting crowded. Le Wagon main strength lies in its solid program that teaches both essential technical skills and a strong product mindset.

I completed my studies in one of the tops french business school in Paris (ESCP). After five years of business school I decided to start my own company but I figured out quickly that I was massively lacking technical skills. I didn’t know how to work with a developer and had literally no idea on where to get started to build my product. So I just bought a few books and put myself at work. 

While I was starting my coding journey I attended a few workshops from Le Wagon which helped me a lot to grasp basic but essential concepts. I found the team very talented at explaining technical things and the program really appealing so I decided to apply too the nine weeks bootcamp.

The curriculum had very high standards and everyone (students and teachers alike) were really involved into it. I met a lot of great people during the class and 2 years after graduating from the bootcamp I’m still in touch with most of them. 

After nine weeks of learning there was no way for me to go back into a business school oriented job, I wanted to code, and nothing else. Thanks to le Wagon CTO I found a I started a job the week after the end of the bootcamp. That’s how my professional coding journey got started. Since then I’ve worked for two other companies.

Le Wagon gave me the skills I needed to get legit as a junior developper, create values for the companies I’ve worked for and keep on improving my skills at breakneck speed. In addition to pure technical skills, le Wagon also provides strong guidelines and best practice that helped (and still helps) me getting integrated in development teams. The emphasis on code quality and team workflow is really strong, and it turned out to be really really helpful in real life coding experiences (jobs, hackatons, side projects…)

Thanks le Wagon and its team I’m currently a happy developer, alway keen on learning new stuff, and who will probably keep on coding for a few decades at least!