How this works

How the Free Course Runs

and Why It Can Stay Free

Transparency, Structure, and Collaboration

A clear view of how the course is designed, what’s expected from you, and how the network thrives.

Learning together at scale

How the Free Course is Structured

Small pods, diverse skills, and collaboration make this work at scale.

The free course runs live with a large cohort of students, around 200, grouped into small, intentional learning pods of 5 to 6 students.

Questions are handled through asynchronous Q&A, which means you get thoughtful, detailed answers without slowing down class or needing me to stop for hundreds of people at once.

Success here depends on your engagement: the course is free, but it only works if you show up, contribute, and help your peers learn too.

Let's break it down

The Cohort

The course is designed to run with a large cohort. That might feel unusual, but there’s a reason for it. A large class means there are more perspectives, more expertise, and more opportunities for students to learn from one another.

Pods are the backbone of the course

Each pod is intentionally mixed: engineers, designers, product managers, retail workers, welders, yoga teachers...whoever you are, everyone brings different skills and experiences to the table.

This diversity makes your pod a microcosm of real product teams and strengthens learning for everyone. In your pod, you will:

Learn from your peers,
Give feedback and fresh perspectives, and
Solve challenges together

Learning Modalities

Questions aren’t answered during class for the whole cohort. Instead, we use three modalities to make sure you're able to discuss the material in a meaningful way:

Asynchronous Q&A: You submit questions ahead of time, and I provide detailed answers during a dedicated session each week. This keeps live sessions focused, lets the whole cohort move together, and ensures each question gets a thoughtful response.

Small Group Discussion: During live classes, you’ll be placed into rotating groups to work on exercises and have focused discussions. This gives you a chance to apply concepts immediately, ask questions while the topic is fresh, and learn from different perspectives in the cohort. After class, you can continue exploring ideas with your permanent pod for deeper support.

Open Office Hours: During weeks with a lot of homework, I will hold open office hours where you can drop in and get help so that you don't fall behind waiting for that week's Q&A.

Your engagement matters:

The more you participate, the stronger your learning, and the stronger your pod becomes.

I can’t give 1-1 support to dozens of students at the same time. That’s why your engagement on Slack, in your pod, and during exercises is critical. You are part of the learning equation: you’ll be helping each other, sharing feedback, and solving problems together.

Plus, this is the way great teams work: Constantly providing each other with feedback at all stages of the journey. Why not learn how to do that from the start and set future you, and your future teams, up for success?

This is why attendance matters. People who register but don't attend and participate will not gain access to the Up Coast Leaders network. The course doesn’t cost money, but it isn’t a free pass. You “pay” with your time and effort, just like everyone else in your cohort. This ensures the network is full of people who actually want to learn and help each other, and that's my number one goal.

Keeping the business alive

How I am Making

Free Sustainable

A model built to support hundreds while keeping the program accessible.

Your participation is the key

This program is completely free because it’s designed to scale efficiently. Large cohorts mean more people with different strengths to learn together. And that means more people to help each other. In a large group of mixed knowledge and experiences, students help each other while I focus on guiding groups, not individual questions.

For me, running a cohort isn’t just 6 weeks of live classes. It’s closer to three months of near full-time effort: preparing materials, recruiting students, answering questions, updating exercises, marketing, and managing follow-up once the course ends.

I intend to earn the majority of Up Coast Leaders income via group coaching and selling advanced courses. Large cohorts allow me to reach more people which means only a small percentage of students need to engage in paid offerings, to cover the costs of running the program. And THAT means I don't have to hustle and do sales calls and try to manipulate or otherwise pressure any of our very valuable members into spending money on things they don't need.

This approach lets me maintain the free foundational course and network, while also making it sustainable as a business. I’m not trying to scale to millions or sell aggressively. My goal is to run a program that keeps me healthy and gives students the support they need.

Go find out more about the From Passion to Product program series,

or if you're not ready to take the course

-or you just want to stay up to date with what's going on-