Wayne Neale is the Co-Founder of GrowthX Academy, a 12-week, on-site, immersive, full-time educational experience program focusing on careers in Sales, Growth Marketing, and UX Design. The academy was born out of the need for more non-technical roles in the tech space.
Prior to this, Wayne was an operator at several companies. He started his own design consultancy and got several degrees including a Doctorate in UX Design. Originally from Ohio, Wayne currently lives in Phoenix and today, he shares with us his insightful perspectives on the current state of alternative educational programs as well as how you can break into nontechnical roles at startups.
About:
| Years in Tech | 20 |
| Lives Now | Arizona |
| Current Job | Founder |
| Date Recorded | 11/1/2016 |
Show Notes:
[01:10] Leaving Ohio after high school, Wayne went to Pittsburgh for an airline school, worked at LA and attended colleges until moving to Virginia for a PhD at Virginia Tech.
[02:49] Creating a workforce from zero to 300 at Kydak, Wayne realizes he has always been an entrepreneur. Since then, he has been either working at a startup or founding/co-founding 10 startups (GrowthX as his 11th) in total
[03:30] Wayne talks about GrowthX as a seed-stage venture capital fund, who they’re helping, what they’re focusing on, and how GrowthX Academy came to be.
[06:30] GrowthX Academy curriculum and why Wayne considers it as more of a community than a bootcamp
[9:00] Wayne gives a list of qualities that would make you a competitive candidate for GrowthX Academy.
[11:50] Success stories of GrowthX Academy grads, the academy’s learning model, Flip Mastery, and competency-based education
[19:11] An overview of the GrowthX Academy Career Campus Funnel, student demographics, and program cost
[26:00] Wayne differentiates immersive programs from traditional education and what the UX Design, Growth Marketing, and Sales and Business Development tracks entail
[31:35] Why startups need to get to the truth as quickly as possible and ways of getting to that truth through their different selling methods[37:40] Wayne talks about being comfortable with letting go, trusting the process. and his perspective on taking and reducing risks.
[47:57] The power of creating online presence and how one of their students wrote a blog about a helping a homeless guy get a job (an example of the kind of students they attract)
Contact Info:
Wayne Neale
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wayneneale/
Email address: wayne@gxacademy.com
Articles & Mentioned Resources:
Personal Projects/Partnerships:
Articles:
GrowthX Academy student, Adam August’s blog post: What is the most soul-satisfying thing you’ve done in your life?
