Shaan Hathiramani - Flockjay - The Best On-ramp Into Tech

Most skill academies today focus on teaching software development skills. However, not every student is interested in learning how to code. That's OK, because as it turns out, there's another on-ramp to great paying jobs in tech: sales.

On Episode 21 of Skill, Micah shares a conversation with Shaan Hathiramani, Founder of Flockjay, an education startup based in Silicon Valley. Last month, Flockjay raised nearly $3M from investors, including Serena Williams and Will Smith, to grow its training program to help students gain entry-level sales jobs with Tech companies in only 12 weeks.

Throughout this conversation, Shaan and Micah cover the following topics:

• Shaan's unique preferred location to go for a swim
• How Shaan first became interested in teaching
• The student debt crisis and the underemployment problem
• The need for alternative ways to get good jobs, aside from coding
• How technology has changed for sales reps and customers from the days of Glengarry Glen Ross
• Why sales is the most accessible on-ramp into tech
• The common traits Flockjay looks for to ascertain success in the program
• Student outcomes to date in the program

Links:

• Flockjay
• "Always Be Closing" scene from Glengarry Glen Ross (NSFW)

You can connect with Shaan on Twitter @shaanh

You can connect with Micah at micah "at" meritmark.co OR on Twitter @MicahMerrick

Thanks for listening!