Codera
Teaching kids how to code in a fun and engaging way
We have some exciting news! We have released our newest version of Codera, Codera 3.0! This marks an important milestone in our journey, as this manifests months and months of hard work and late nights.
When we first launched Codera, we focused on creating the best product possible, a product with the preeminent goal of teaching kids how to code in a fun and engaging way. However, after launching 1.0 and 2.0, we became heavily centered around the financial aspect, focusing more and more on making money and marketing instead of further developing our product and incorporating user feedback. Our focus shifted, and we lost sight of what mattered most - igniting the spark of curiosity and creativity in young learners.
After sales slowed and refunds became more prevalent, we realized our mistake, proceeding to then close our platform and completely re-develop it, with a focus on our original goal over profitability.
And after months of hard work, I'm excited to announce that Codera 3.0 is live! Introducing a completely revamped dashboard, a friend system, a completely redeveloped curriculum, and more, we are excited for this next milestone in our Indie Hacker journey.
You can check our our new release at codera.app!
We have some exciting news to share - we've reached 3 paid users! It may not seem like a lot, but for us, it's a significant milestone. It means that our product is gaining traction, and people are willing to invest in it.
However, we know that we have a long way to go, and growth has been slow. It's not easy to build a business from scratch, and we've had to face many challenges along the way. But, we remain committed to our vision and are determined to keep pushing forward.
We want to take this opportunity to ask for your help. As a small indie hacker team, we don't have the resources or the budget to scale as quickly as we'd like. We're looking for ways to expand our user base, and we'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas.
If you've been using our product and find it valuable, we'd be grateful if you could share it with your friends and colleagues. Word-of-mouth marketing is powerful, and it can help us reach more people who could benefit from our product.
We're also open to collaborations and partnerships. If you know someone who could be a good fit for us, or if you have any ideas for how we can work together, please let us know.
We're committed to building a product that solves real problems for our users, and we're grateful for your support. We know that we still have a long way to go, but with your help, we're confident that we can achieve our goals.
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Have the kids create something and then share that through UGC videos on Tiktok / FB
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Fantastic to discover your app for kids (by youngsters ?)
- Definitely enable gift certificates. Much older siblings, younger aunts uncles are likely to get this platform, before many parents.
- I like that your free tier is free as in always free versus free with hidden constraints.
- Where is the portfolio of apps built by the kids. Just like in schoold they have showcase boards. It could be like the battle of the music, that occured. But battle of the code... inter--school competitions to build xx
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- Have you updated since GPT4 release? Now the 10 year olds around me ask GPT4 'list steps to build app xx in yyy"? They get a set of explicit steps from GPT4. They need a play-zone to apply those steps, and if it is mentored or reviewed in some way, even better.
- Will you add xcode/swift ui for iphone app dev soon?
- Do you have a comparison table for self-learning versus using your course ?
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Thanks so much for the feedback!
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Haven't rlly thought about gift certificates, that's definitely something that we'll look into in the future!
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Free tier is something so the parent and kid can get a feel of our platform that what it offers. We find that many kids like our platform but a lot of parents don't upgrade their kids plan - do you have any feedback on this?
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Portfolio is definitely something that we can include, we have an overview on our home page but we'll start working on a section thats like "look what users have created with Codera"
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Not sure what exactly you mean by updated since GPT4, we definitely use a lot of GPT for perfecting our copy if thats what ur asking lol
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To be honest we haven't rlly thought about new courses as rn its just us teaching them and its a lot of content, but we will definitely introduce new courses in the future (especially after we get more profits)
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We're in the process of designing a comparison table between our major competitors like code.org and Scratch - we never thought of self learning but thats definitely something we'll include!
Again, thank you very much for taking your time to give us all this feedback!
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I see. Thankyou.
if you make the showcase interactive (votable), kids can ask their parents and grandparents to vote. get them involved (and at the same time, they are learning the power of the platform) e.g. this is my preferred showcase style rather than dribble https://old.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/
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1 Since chatgpt, specifically GPT4 release -- I am seeing a fundamental shift in how we can self-learn. As a result, I predict there will be a greater shift to self-learning across age groups. If your offering adopts this shift in how education is provided, parents will get it more readily. All parents understand apprenticeships. All parents understand building stuff.The new way to learn made possible by GPT4
- Kid/parent asks GPT4 what you want to do, like a challenge? "Tell me the steps to make an iphone app that allows mobile data capture of images showing local problems. The capture will be by the local citizens and feed a regional dashboard".
- GPT4 told me 14 explicit steps. That a 7 year old definitely could read like me.
- Then like a 7 year old, I want to go and play IMMEDIATELY. I know I have no idea what each line actually means, but having a supported play-zone, makes it possible that I can learn - Fast. Real stuff. In a safe way.
- Your offering is in snippet videos. Each step chatgpt given me you have a video for. You can build these as you get more students. Video is much more powerful than text. Ideally you have both. I call snippet videos, explainers. They can be simple code or if a programming concept, animated.
- Very quickly a rough prototype is completed.
This is task focused learning. Versus more theory. When we do several task focused learning, sometimes we then wish to grab the entire book and read all about something. But not always. The deep theory style courses come later, and now with GPT4 most can self-learn.
Teaching a child to self-learn is one of the most powerful things anyone can do. Even teaching an adult this, who missed in their schooling life. And teaching this in the context of programming is simply marvellous. Progamming wont be a specialists degree like it is now. It will be like reading, typing. We all learn a basic level. Then like journalism, writers specialist field there will be programming specialist fields.
Being able to provide a play-zone environment is actually key. I cannot even find one for me at the moment. It is way too complicated. I help about 100 small businesses self-learn, so I may just have to build it. This play-zone is like a seedbox for torrenting. Except it is for app dev. On a seedbox you rent a slot. A play-slot.
2 OK pause, adding new course. What is missing fm was the scope of courses. Programming, computer science is huge. What are you covering ? I could not see iphone app dev, so make it simple for the purchaser (who may not be as tech savvy)
3 Did you do competitor research ?
- Is on dropbox that I can read and digest for you. Your competitors a significant players and scratch is backed by one of the best possible backer teams (MIT + Lego).
- Comparison tables are helpful in some cases, but to be honest, most parents will skim over. A youngster may not. Suit more the tech savvy. For parents it is the story you craft. I. need some competitor info before I can add any value on this point.
- Curious to have context. Why did you both create this platform when scratch or code.org etc.. already existed.
- There is a real niche for this. It is fiercly competitive thou as it can be lucrative. Even private colleges are offering 'computer science' degrees from 7-15 age. Started already in some countries. Countries that are starting to integrate "basic programming concepts" as part of the curriculum, are a different user group.
Once I get a deeper gist of your learning experience, I will be able to work out why not buying. I have to experience myself. Not everyone learns the same way. But for now, if you can let me know re competitor info, I will focus their first.
I am on road trip from next week so will share your app with all the educators (age 7-15) I meet and get a better insight from their persepective for my country.
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Your product is excellent, I support spreading knowledge. You could probably reach out to some schools and try to make presentations for parents, you may need the support from some teachers.
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Thank you so much!
We're planning on marketing towards schools in the future, we want to build the appropriate infrastructure for that first though such as teacher management and more.
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Congratulations on reaching 3 paid users! That's a fantastic achievement and a testament to your hard work and dedication. Scaling up can be challenging, but it's essential to remain focused on your vision and be open to new opportunities.
Have you considered exploring advanced lead generation tools like LeadGraph? With its extensive database and powerful filters, you can find and prioritize leads similar to your closed won deals. This could help you expand your user base more effectively and efficiently.
In addition, engaging with your existing users and encouraging them to share their experiences with others can work wonders for word-of-mouth marketing. Keep the momentum going, stay connected with your community, and continue to innovate. You've got this! 🚀
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I haven't tried any lead generation tools yet, I'm new to the world of indie hacking and not sure how they work, will definitely try them out though. Right now the only barrier to them is cost, as we don't have access to a lot of upfront capital.
Definitely working on word of mouth marketing and outreaching with current paid users
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We are thrilled to announce that we have recently acquired our first paid user! It has been a long journey, and we are excited to finally see our hard work pay off.
Over the last 10 months, my co-founder and I have been pouring our hearts and souls into building a product that we believe will revolutionize the industry. We knew that building a business from scratch was going to be tough but we were determined to persevere and make our vision a reality. We faced countless challenges and setbacks along the way, but we never lost sight of our goal. We kept pushing forward, fueled by our passion and the belief that our product could truly make a difference.
And now, after all these months of hard work and dedication, we have finally secured our first paid user. It is a moment of pride and joy for us, and it validates all the efforts we have put in so far.
We know that this is just the beginning, and we still have a long way to go. But this first paid user is a milestone that we will always cherish. It is a reminder that our product has real value, and that there are people out there who are willing to pay for it.
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Congratulations!!! that must be a great feeling. I'm still researching into ideas at the moment. Have a list that keeps growing. I hope one day to be writing the same post you guys did :).
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Thanks so much! It's a long, hard journey but if you work hard you'll definitely be able to accomplish it one day.
Would it be possible for you to go through our website and provide feedback and constructive criticism? What factors would make you pay, what factors wouldn't?
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great to hear. I've just taken a look at your site. I do think it is put together well. Just a couple things to mention. In the 'minimal parent involvement' you have learned twice. Not sure if you meant to do this. Also, if it is aim at parents, I would use more brighter colors for the website. It feels a bit dark. I would look into more warming colors. Imagine a parent looking to get their child to view it as well. Hope it helps :).
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Nice! So is nate4 the founder and you are the co-founder?
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We are both co-founders of codera.app!
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Oh okay! I checked out the website and it seems cool! If my kids were old enough I would definitely pay!
I was just wondering because the wording was different, I don't know if its something with indiehackers or something you intentionally did
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Glad to hear it! If you have any constructive criticism please share.
Also, what do you mean that the wording is different?
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The website is a bit slow on mobile, maybe you can optimize the resources better, if no I understand, as hosting costs alot: just a thought!
Also what I meant for the wording is that nate4 is listed as a Founder, while you are listed as a Co-Founder, but if your both co-founders you should both be listed as founders. Not sure if thats something on your end or indie's end - just a thought!
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Yep, he just found out about Indie Hackers.
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