Have Your Eureka Moment with LiveCode

Editors note: Kevin sent a personal letter to the community today, and after reading it I asked permission to reprint it here. He agreed 🙂

As the CEO and custodian of LiveCode I believe passionately in a world where everyone can create apps. We’ve worked hard on finding ways to empower more of you to be able to build the app of your dreams. We’ve enjoyed a great deal of success over the years, doubling the interest and uptake of computer science courses wherever we’ve been adopted, and helping to transform many budding new coders into entrepreneurs running businesses small and large. I’d like to express a heartfelt thank you for your support over the years, not least with our hugely successful crowd funding campaigns and open source initiative. We couldn’t have done it without you.

We know LiveCode is the easiest, most productive way to build an app. But if I’m honest, we’ve always found it challenging to get a new user over the initial learning curve. After all, even the English-based LiveCode language still has vocabulary and concepts that need to be understood. And as easy as it is, like learning anything worthwhile – whether a language, an instrument or a sport, it requires some effort.

As CEO I’ve come to be very familiar with a pattern. A new user starts using our platform. For the first few days they orientate themselves. Ask a lot of questions. Scratch their heads. A few more days in and something clicks. The lightbulb moment occurs. We know, from all sorts of feedback from tens of thousands of users, that once you “get it”, once you get over that initial hump and have your “aha” moment, you never look back. You love LiveCode. You discover new horizons and are able to create things you never thought you could. The problem we’ve encountered has been that far too many people don’t make it through those first few days. Until now.

We’ve been searching for the right path for you, our audience, to get quickly and easily into coding with LiveCode and creating apps. We’ve tried a number of different approaches, with varying success. We’ve created academies, we’ve run summer schools, we’ve got involved with the Hour of Code initiative. Each has been successful to an extent, but we’ve been searching for ways to make it even easier.

That’s why I’m so very excited about our new Create it with LiveCode Course. 

Why is this course so different? Well firstly, it’s results based. You don’t learn theory, you learn to do a specific thing, and then start to gain understanding on how and why it worked like that. Secondly, it’s focused on modern mobile apps. You’ll learn transferable skills (that you can apply to the desktop and server too) but the focus is squarely on mobile. Thirdly, you’re learning to build apps that you already know. We’ll show you how to create perfect replicas of the apps that already ship on your phone. That way you’ll know when you’ve got it right. You’ll know how to do everything you need to do to create a successful app, such as access all the sensors on a device. If you can build these apps – the same ones the pro’s build – you’ll be able to build anything. Fourthly, we reveal one of the best kept secrets of the LiveCode environment – how to use it to seamlessly integrate cloud with your apps in a way no other language can approach. Next, we focus on not just the process of building an app but also everything else you need to know about the apps business, doing market research, promotion and marketing.

But most importantly of all, the thing that really convinced me, that made me go wow, yes, I have to get this course into the hands of potential coders everywhere, is the proven results. I saw the figures. 93% of students who took this course, were able to build their app at the end of it. And these were students with absolutely no past experience whatsoever. Impressive validation. If you go through this course, and put in the work and the hours, you will be able to build your app. We’re so confident of that we guarantee it. If you follow the course and can’t build the app you want at the end we’ll give you your money back. It’s as simple as that.

If you want to read more about the story of how this course came about, check out my blog post here.

Ways to Get Involved

This is far more than just a new course, its a massive opportunity to take the next step in delivering on our vision that everyone can create apps. If you believe in that vision then I’d like to ask for your support. Whether you’re just starting out or you’re an existing power user, there are so many ways to get involved. Here are some of the top ones.

Hour of Code

As you may be aware, the 8th to the 14th of December is CS Education Week. There’s been a lot of talk over the last year or so about the “Hour of Code” initiative. The world has woken up to what we’ve known all along – that coding is the new literacy, that everyone should be able to do it. We’ll be participating in the hour of code by making available the very first week of our Create it Course for free.

You can take part in the live webinar on the 11th of December at 10AM PST. 

Bring your relatives, bring your friends, bring your neighbors, bring your taxi driver, bring anyone else you can!

We’re excited about the Hour of Code but we know that while an hour is a great starting point, it isn’t enough by itself. The Create it Course is a great next step. We bridge the gap between that initial hour and becoming a professional coder. Learn more about the course here. 

Affiliate Program – Spread the Word!

If you’re an existing LiveCoder who would like to help spread the word, we’ve set up an affiliate program so you can support our vision and get rewarded. We invite you to evangelize LiveCode and the Create it Course. You can earn 25% of every sale you make to a  new LiveCoder. Feature the platform you know and love on your website, get posters you can put in shop windows, get a QR code to pass out, and earn credit every time someone signs up as a result. Email us at support@livecode.com to get started!

The Perfect Gift

For the first time ever, we invite you to give the gift of a new skill that will last a lifetime this Christmas. The Create it Course is battle tested on people with only basic computer skills, and no coding at all. This course is suitable for anyone aged 13+. This is a real opportunity to spread the deep digital literacy you’ve grown to know and love with LiveCode to someone else, a son or daughter, a grandparent or friend, anyone you think would appreciate it.

Not only do we cover everything you need to build apps but we’re bringing in business experts to walk you through the process of building a successful business around an app. Plus we have a great contest with prizes that include exposure for your app and a trip to the LiveCode World Conference in 2015. 

As a reward back to you we invite you to take the course yourself for free. This means you have a fantastic opportunity to mentor your nominee, and help them through their LiveCode journey. To give Create it with LiveCode as a gift, check the “this is a gift” box next to the purchase button, here. We’ll send you a gift certificate you can print and instructions for full access to the course.

We hope you’ll get involved. Sign up now to get the first lesson in this course free and participate in Hour of Code next week. Give the course as a gift. Sign up as an affiliate. Or get the course if you haven’t already. Remember places are limited.

Thanks so much for all your support. 

Kind Regards,

Kevin Miller

LiveCode CEO