the first generation of "ed-tech" (MOOCs, etc) failed to live up to the hype. Learning from their shortcomings, On Deck "re-bundles" community with curriculum. We build the tools and culture that makes peer to peer education rewarding and personal.

On Deck uses its program revenue to hire the best talent and invest in creating exceptional experiences. This in turn helps build reputation and drives new member demand, enabling further investment in R&D, acquisition, and distribution.

each new program contributes a specific "supply" that meets an existing "demand" we identify within our network. For example, our founders, angels, and talent fellowships are tightly interwoven.

Top Fellows exhibit strong “repeat buying” behavior: 25% of our first “Writers” cohort had previously participated in ODF, and several have signed up for their third and fourth programs.

Our NPS consistently polls around 65-70. Even better: customers actually "walk the talk," making over 2,500 referrals in the past twelve months.

Of 2,000 people in the Founder Fellowship ("ODF") Slack Channel, 72% are active 3 months later, even after completing the 10 week program

Nearly a third of our current team were hired from one of the On Deck communities.

On Deck is riding a series of (at least) four "macro" waves / tailwinds

The decline of traditional higher education and rise of "ed-tech 2.0," which anchors around the "re-bundling" of virtual curriculum and community.

A shift to distributed living/working as the new norm — as accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. On Deck is "Silicon Valley in the Cloud."

The decline of organized religion, and an ongoing search for meaning, identity, and community in modern life (see: Peloton).

Uncertainty is a catalyst for opportunity. New norms create new needs.

“In the long run, the ideal is to offer utility to your userbase... it's the most stable, long-term competitive advantage that you can have. However, it's also true that a lot of network-based utility is only realized at some level of scale. And so the question is, how do you get to that scale?”

“The old approach startups took was to sell or license their new technology to incumbents. The new, ‘full stack’ approach is to build a complete, end-to-end product or service that bypasses incumbents and other competitors.” - Chris Dixon, a16z

Learning is defined by who you learn with – the respect and perspective you develop among the camaraderie of the “classroom.”

According to The Rise of Universities, the term “university” simply refers to any group of people who came together for the purpose of learning. Curious individuals, learning together.

Software eats the world, and everybody stops noticing it.

The biggest impact of COVID-19 may be remote work. Pre-pandemic, roughly five percent of full-time employees with office jobs worked primarily from home.

That figure is likely to settle at 20-30 percent in the new normal, with variation across occupations and industries. Tech in particular makes clear that location will become less important in hiring.

The stuff that happened on Sunday morning at church or synagogue is still important to human beings and we believe it's still something humans need. So they're now looking elsewhere, and finding that fulfillment in communities, particularly online.