“I want Juno to be around for 100 years, and in order to do that, we need to make some changes.”
Almost 10 years ago, I started Juno College (then known as HackerYou) with a clear goal: to redefine inclusive tech education in Toronto.
I set out to build a school where people could learn in-demand skills from industry experts in a supportive environment and leave with a new career they loved. And today, I can honestly and proudly say that we’ve done that.
We’ve always made waves by focusing on students: from launching in 2012 as the first coding bootcamp in Canada, to introducing Income Share Agreements to Canadians, to recently honing in on our purpose to be the school of choice for those underrepresented in tech.
But it hasn’t been without its challenges: being the first to do anything means there’s no guidebook. We’ve made some decisions I’m really proud of, and lots of mistakes, too. Notably, over the past few years, I’ve let other people’s - and society’s - definitions of success guide too many of my decisions. I started trying to grow Juno faster, and with that, Juno has changed.
Though we’ve never wavered from our focus on delivering a great student experience (our customer satisfaction score for courses ending in Q3 was 93%!), strategically it feels a bit like we’ve lost our way.
Juno’s new vision comes from facing the facts about running a student-centred education business and some deep thinking and work I’ve been doing personally over the last year about what really matters.
Here’s where we’re coming from, and our plan to get back to our roots:
Putting people first
I’d summarize my strategic mistakes over the past few years as trying to make Juno into something we’re simply not. I used to think that our impact would come from creating a very large educational institution that is different and better - our previous company-wide long-term goal was to get to $100 million in revenues by 2030.
But now I see clearly that there are many ways to have an impact, and I’m much more excited about some of these new ways.
For example, we can choose to focus not on growing the fastest, but on being the best and enduring. We can decide that we want to ensure we’re creating a school that will still be around in 100 years. Wouldn’t that be amazing?
It’s probably the only way to create a school that can compete with our existing issue-ridden higher education system, and would be the ultimate way to accomplish our purpose of creating the school of choice for people underrepresented in the tech industry. (Hopefully, by then, there aren’t any people underrepresented in tech!)
Plus, due to the pandemic, work is changing in a big way and we don’t yet know how things are going to shake out. One thing that is obvious is that we all need more flexibility. At Juno, we can have an impact by creating an example of what a truly people-first organization looks like, one that values the needs of people — both students and employees — and prioritizes those needs along with the needs of the business.
Putting people first means deprioritizing other things, and for us, that is growth for growth’s sake. For the last few years, we’ve been trying to grow faster, spending all of our profits and then some to do so.
It has been stressful for me and our team and risks distracting us from our priority: the student experience. So going forward, we’ll be targeting a healthy but paced growth rate that will ensure we have the time and space to focus on people.
Our goal is still the same: to redefine inclusive tech education. But how we plan to execute that goal is changing.
Here are some exciting updates coming to Juno starting in 2022:
Four-day workweek. Every week.
For the benefit of staff and students, and in response to the demands of modern life, we will begin a transition to a four-day work week in 2022 with no change in pay. I believe that with greater focus and reasonable revenue targets, we can achieve our goals and allow our staff to take Fridays off to spend more time doing... whatever they want.
There will be no Instructor-led classes on Fridays for any Juno programs. Instead, our Bootcamp students will be able to prioritize their needs that week, whether it’s reviewing course content or simply resting up for the week ahead.
12-week Bootcamps
We initially chose to run nine-week Bootcamps at Juno because we believed the priority was helping students graduate in the shortest amount of time possible, so they could start their new careers faster.
But by taking our current program and spreading it over 12 weeks starting in 2022, we’ll create more space for students to absorb course content, create meaningful relationships, and care for their physical and mental health.
Accessibility of our programs will also improve, both through requiring less time outside of typical working hours for projects and homework, creating more time for caregiving or part-time jobs, and by making our program OSAP-eligible (approval still required).
Summer shutdown
In addition to our existing week-long December shutdown, Juno is adding a Summer shutdown to our calendars so that students and employees can take a real break.
100% employee-owned
Over the coming years, it is our goal to transition the company to 100% employee ownership. Moving to an employee-owned company means it is up to Juno Leadership and team members to decide on company priorities, and that means we can ultimately focus on what serves our students and community the best.
So, what’s next?
At the beginning of 2021, we shared with our team that our theme for the year was “planting the seeds.” It seems fitting that at the end of the year, we’ll be transitioning to an “Evergreen” company, as defined by The Tugboat Institute:
Evergreen businesses are led by purpose-driven leaders with the grit and resourcefulness to build and scale private, profitable, enduring, and market-leading businesses that make a dent in the universe.
"The intention of Evergreen businesses is to adapt and grow profitably for 100 years, and more. The purpose of an Evergreen business is to make a long-term difference in the world. Success is not based upon financings, or high-valued exits, but on how well they achieve their Purpose.”
In other words, we will focus even more on what’s important:
- Creating a company people love to work for
- Making choices to ensure that Juno will be around for a long time
- Achieving our purpose to be the school of choice for those underrepresented in tech looking to launch and grow their careers
- Having happy and proud students and alumni
- Being good people and ancestors
Rather than what’s not (for us):
- Raising money
- Growing the fastest
- Being the biggest
I want Juno to be around for 100 years, and in order to do that, we’re making some changes. Nearly 10 years in, I couldn’t be more excited to keep growing alongside our community, and I hope you’ll join us on this journey!
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