Startup Institute - CLOSED

I was in at a cross-roads professionally. I was accomplished in my career but I wasn't happy where my role was going with the "big established company" I was working for. I decided working for "the man" and dealing with the big company politics/practices... Read More wasn't for me. I no longer wanted to work for a company where everyone had to stick to the job description and "stay in their lane".

But making the change from "big company" to the startup/entrepreneurial world is tough and scary! I didn't know where to start!

Startup Institute was exactly what I needed! I learned the culture and skills needed and requested by startups. They also provided me the support/network I needed to make the introductions the have lead to new opportunities.

I can't tell you how many great people I met! I also visited a lot of great companies to help me decided what type of startup and culture was right for me.

They stress the importance of community! The people in my cohort were incredible! We are still very close and keep in touch. We’re constantly reaching out to each other about new opportunities.

I came to Startup Institute looking to change careers and break into tech. I chose Startup Institute because they offered the complete package, not only teaching you the technical skills, but also the cultural know-how to make you an effective startup... Read More employee. The program is only 8 weeks, so if you have no previous experience in your track (which is totally okay) don't expect to be a master of your craft at the end of the program, however it will give you a great base knowledge which you can build upon. What I found the most valuable was the amazing staff at SIC, who will bend over backwards to help you out and will push you to become better. The other important piece that SIC knocks out of the park is networking and at SIC, networking, whether through instructors, guest speakers, or events is an integral part of the program. Even if you're an introvert like me, they'll work with you to get you ready to network and get your name out there. Located in 1871 you'll have the chance to meet and mingle with some of the most exciting startups in the city. SIC alumni are also building a reputation as some of the brightest people entering the tech workforce so I highly recommend taking a shot with this program, you won't regret it.

I came from a corporate background working in financial auditing and decided to make a career change into a high risk, fast-paced environment. At a startup, you either build things or you sell them and I had experience in neither. Startup Institute provided... Read More appropriate sales and account management skills I use today and introductions to a great startup network in Chicago. The staff cares about the success of its students and works hard to help them find the RIGHT job.

Startup Institute changed my life. As a literature major who graduated in 2008, I was supposed to have the traditional advantage that the brand and network of a top-tier national university attached to me -- but despite my efforts to engage the alumni... Read More community and my (now-notorious in the startup community) dedication to my goals, it became clear over time that I had overestimated the power of those advantages. After becoming a community organizer, trained by some of the people who trained the president in the same role, I moved into PR, then into finance, where I ultimately found a trajectory that I knew I could depend on to start building a life.

But I also knew I wasn't fully living the life I imagined for myself, or one that deserved the potential so many of my mentors and supporters sensed in me. My success in finance became a current whose undertow carried me away from the things I wanted to accomplish, and away from the kind of person I knew I could be.

So, uncreatively, I decided to go back to school and began applying to MBA programs. At the same time, my best friend was attending a JD/MBA program also in Boston, and saw Shaun (one of the founders) speak about SI at an event. I applied to SI, and 5 interviews and 3 months later, I was accepted into the Spring '13 class. With a two-week horizon, I quit my job and moved from NYC to Boston. An SI staff member helped me get housing, and I ultimately was in a comfortable situation to begin the program.

I will never forget my first day. I met some of the most caring, supportive, energetic, inspiring, fearless people I had ever known -- in both the staff and the other members selected to participate in my cohort. Everyone quickly became friends, and we progressed through the program and into the community witnessing our own individual potentials emerge through each other, more and more powerfully from day to day. We graduated, and my cohort still works as a team that now encompasses Boston, NYC, London, and Silicon Valley to light the startup world on fire: my classmates and I are building, leading, and starting companies that have been funded in by top investors, partnering with some of the biggest businesses in the world, and, as of the beginning of this month, becoming exited entrepreneurs ourselves.

However -- what happens after Startup Institute is an incredible + unique value that pales next to the experience of what happens inside. It is one of the single most meaningful life experiences I have ever had. We were challenged to take ownership of our lives, relationships, goals -- and then challenged to challenge each other on each of those points, to work together to create and capture opportunities for both ourselves and each other. I now work at Startup Institute and have the privilege and burden of attempting to create a similar experience for my students, and think every day of the people and moments that made the experience so special, poignant, and life-changing for me -- but my first team will always be my cohort and the beautiful, life-long, impossibly meaningful relationships we forged inside those 8 weeks, which allowed me to build the life my 4 years, $250k, and top-tier national university could not help me build.

Startup Institute is not a bootcamp (it's technically an accelerator). I'm not even sure it's complete fair to call it a school, since it gives you so much more than skills. It is an experience that will fundamentally challenge and change anyone creative, driven, and brave enough to accept it.

Startup Institute changed my life. As a literature major who graduated in 2008, I was supposed to have the traditional advantage that the brand and network of a top-tier national university attached to me -- but despite my efforts to engage the alumni... Read More community and my (now-notorious in the startup community) dedication to my goals, it became clear over time that I had overestimated the power of those advantages. After becoming a community organizer, trained by some of the people who trained the president in the same role, I moved into PR, then into finance, where I ultimately found a trajectory that I knew I could depend on to start building a life.

But I also knew I wasn't fully living the life I imagined for myself, or one that deserved the potential so many of my mentors and supporters sensed in me. My success in finance became a current whose undertow carried me away from the things I wanted to accomplish, and away from the kind of person I knew I could be.

So, uncreatively, I decided to go back to school and began applying to MBA programs. At the same time, my best friend was attending a JD/MBA program also in Boston, and saw Shaun (one of the founders) speak about SI at an event. I applied to SI, and 5 interviews and 3 months later, I was accepted into the Spring '13 class. With a two-week horizon, I quit my job and moved from NYC to Boston. An SI staff member helped me get housing, and I ultimately was in a comfortable situation to begin the program.

I will never forget my first day. I met some of the most caring, supportive, energetic, inspiring, fearless people I had ever known -- in both the staff and the other members selected to participate in my cohort. Everyone quickly became friends, and we progressed through the program and into the community witnessing our own individual potentials emerge through each other, more and more powerfully from day to day. We graduated, and my cohort still works as a team that now encompasses Boston, NYC, London, and Silicon Valley to light the startup world on fire: my classmates and I are building, leading, and starting companies that have been funded in by top investors, partnering with some of the biggest businesses in the world, and, as of the beginning of this month, becoming exited entrepreneurs ourselves.

However -- what happens after Startup Institute is an incredible + unique value that pales next to the experience of what happens inside. It is one of the single most meaningful life experiences I have ever had. We were challenged to take ownership of our lives, relationships, goals -- and then challenged to challenge each other on each of those points, to work together to create and capture opportunities for both ourselves and each other. I now work at Startup Institute and have the privilege and burden of attempting to create a similar experience for my students, and think every day of the people and moments that made the experience so special, poignant, and life-changing for me -- but my first team will always be my cohort and the beautiful, life-long, impossibly meaningful relationships we forged inside those 8 weeks, which allowed me to build the life my 4 years, $250k, and top-tier national university could not help me build.

Startup Institute is not a bootcamp (it's technically an accelerator). I'm not even sure it's complete fair to call it a school, since it gives you so much more than skills. It is an experience that will fundamentally challenge and change anyone creative, driven, and brave enough to accept it.

I was making a career change and had pretty much no idea what options were available to me - just that I was an effective writer and, therefore, presumably could find something in marketing. Within days of our first session, it was clear I'd found a community... Read More of instructors and peers that truly care for one another. The experience of the actual course was almost universally positive - the only exception being that the schedule leaves no room for much else, so if you can't step away from work/life for 8 weeks it can be a struggle - and the continued support has been truly exceptional. It was and remains the best decision I've made in my career.

Startup Institute was a great way for me to switch from a career in consulting to a career as a programmer. The overwhelming program structure succeeds in pushing you beyond your boundaries, teaching you to prioritize, and producing extremely rapid results... Read More career-wise. Also, their data- and feedback-driven management means that the program itself gets a little more refined with each cohort.

I went through the Startup Institute program in technical marketing in the summer of 2014. Best decision I ever made.

I enrolled as a career transition out of non-profit arts and into the tech startup industry. The program is best suited to people who... Read More are transitioning careers, although a portion of students are fresh out of college.

If you know you want to work in tech and you want to kickstart your professional network and your practical skills, it's a great program. I especially like that it's **way** cheaper and less time consuming than, say, a 2-3 year masters program.

If you're looking to become an expert on a topic or skill set, that's not what you'll get. What you WILL get is a crash-course on everything you should know something about in your given field, plus the tools and resources to learn more on your own. Basically it's an orientation to the workforce of the tech industry so you don't feel like an outsider. You'll know the lingo, you'll know the players, and you'll know exactly what you don't know.

More than that, SI is an incredible bonding experience. You're joining a family. And you'll keep in touch with your classmates, instructors, and mentors long after the program ends. You'll help each other out, learn from one another, work together, and have fun.

The other major benefit of the program is the networking. You're pushed to network as much as possible, and you're given incredible access to high-profile people in your city's startup ecosystem. And having the SI brand on your resume is great for building credibility.

Like other reviews have said, there is more of a focus on soft skills (emotional intelligence, self-learning, etc...) than hard skills, which I think is a good thing and what I believe makes SI a better choice than a lot of other bootcamps for a career... Read More change, the reason being: there is no way you'll become an expert in a given field/technology at any bootcamp in only a few months (only working on real projects for years can do that). So SI's focus is more on networking and how you manage your limited time and energy. Which makes sense. They help you do these things by giving you access to a whole lot of resources to help you learn technical, practical and emotional skills. You also get to work on a real-life project with a partner company, as well as some other idea hacks throughout the term. You meet a lot of interesting people and make some lasting relationships. You do have to be self-motivated as there are no grades and graduation requirements, etc. So I think if you are going into software, you have to be diligent about making time to work on your portfolio/github page, which can be important to find a job. But that is all by design, because in the real world you do not have professors and instructors to look after you and hold your hand through problems that you are having.

So overall, for getting a taste of software development and the startup community, being networked with great peers, mentors and potential employers SI is a great choice. For making a career change I think it's probably the best. If you are looking for a linear, hard skills-focused, step-by-step training on some particular software technology, you may want to look elsewhere.