How Le Wagon Helped Me Launch My Startup

Posted 2021-05-02 LeWagon

Diego van Dyk is a Le Wagon alumni from Batch #34 in São Paulo. Before he had experience working closely on product development and product roadmaps at both small and big companies but always with a business perspective and never with a product development perspective. 

After 2 months' dedicated study, he built his first ever product with three team members at the camp and even founded Numooh right at Le Wagon. To discover how studying at Le Wagon helped him with his startup journey, read on :) 

Diego是Le Wagon在圣保罗34期的学员。在参加Le Wagon之前，他已通过业务视角在小型和大型企业的产品开发和产品路线图的设计方面积累了丰富的经验，但从未以产品开发视角参与该过程。对于学习如何开发产品，培养产品思维，以及开创自己的企业的强烈渴望促使他参加Le Wagon的编程集训营。 经过2个月的刻苦学习，他和三名队员一起， 如愿以偿地完成了创建了自己的第一个产品，甚至在Le Wagon学习期间就创立了自己的第一个公司Numooh。 想知道Le Wagon是如何帮助Diego实现他的创业梦想的呢？接着往下读吧：）

How Le Wagon helped me and my cofounders launch our startup.

What brought you to study at Le Wagon?

你为何选择在Le Wagon学习编程

Having worked in commerce for most of my professional career, in large companies such as Casino Groups and other smaller startup initiatives as project leader, I was always in contact with development teams, working closely on product development and product roadmaps, but always with a business perspective and never with a product development perspective.

在我的大部分职业生涯中，我都在诸如Casino Groups等大型公司和其他较小的创业公司中担任项目负责人。 我一直与开发团队接触，密切关注产品开发和产品发展路线图，但始终是以一种商业视角而非产品开发视角来思考和定位产品。

That lack of insight into the inner workings of the product made me go out and look for ways to learn more about product development and programming skills, not only for corporate product management, but also for my own startup aspirations.

缺乏对产品内部运作的洞察使我下定决心寻找方法来了解更多有关产品开发和编程技能的知识，不仅仅是为了企业产品管理，也是为了我自己的创业愿望。

I looked online, and did a few online courses, but knowing myself, I knew that I’d have to get my hands dirty with an in-person classroom course, and it would have to be intense and full-time for me to get the full benefit.

我在网上查找了相关资料， 并上了几个网上课程，但是出于对自己的了解，我知道我必须通过线下的课程的训练进一步激发我学习的动力，而且我需要高强度和全日制的课程安排才能得到这个课程的全部精华。

Did you have any concerns before joining the bootcamp? How were you reassured?

在你参加编训营之前， 你最大的担忧是什么？是什么使你放下心来呢？

My biggest worry was spending that much on a two month course. So I did some quick math, breaking the cost down per hour, and comparing it with post-grad studies of the same time frame. It seems short, but it’s 360 hours, the equivalent of an MBA or other post-grad courses here in Brazil that are usually drawn out over two years. All that squeezed into and intense 9-week period.

我最大的担心是两个月的课程花费是否值得。 所以我做了一些快速的计算，把所有的话费缩小到每小时的成本，并将其与同一时期的研究课程的花费进行了比较。 2个月的学习似乎很短，但是加起来一共是360小时，这相当于巴西的两年期MBA或其他研究生课程总的上课时间。 在编训营，只是这所有的一切都挤入了高强度激烈的9周时间。

So the cost seemed reasonable, as it was still cheaper than said post-grad courses, but was it good? I did the logical thing and looked for all the reviews I could find, and spoke to alumni and the founders in Brazil.

所以成本似乎是合理的，因为它比研究生课程还便宜，但是课程的质量和效果好吗？ 我做了合乎逻辑的事情： 我寻找所有可以找到的评论，并与巴西的校友和创始人交谈。

I looked for the negative reviews, and looked, and looked, but to this day couldn’t find any substantial. I was reassured that I was making the right decision, so I decided to take the plunge.

我寻找负面的评论，但是到目前为止还是找不到任何实质的负面评论。  我确信我的决定是

正确的。 所以我最终决定报名。

What was the best part of your bootcamp experience?

哪一部分是你最喜欢的编训营体验？

Besides going from zero experience in development to building a fully (well, almost fully - always a bug here and there) functional MVP of a product, what you take away from the bootcamp is being part of an international community of enthusiasts that took the same journey as you and followed it down all different kinds of paths. You’re part of an alumni of thousands all over the world that are online and accessible to help you with your problems, and you can help them with theirs.

除了从零开发经验到可以完整开发一个可以运行的明星产品（当然了, 不可避免地, 可能经常要修复bug),  另外一点就是你称为这个国际产品爱好者社区的一员。在这里， 大家都拥有着共同的旅程目的地，并都在通过不同的路径到达。 在Le Wagon, 作为世界各地数以千计的校友的成员，你可以在这个网络中寻求帮助以及为其他的成员提供帮助。

Also, on a more personal note, you look at problems with a new perspective, always thinking on a technological way to solve it, shorten processes, thinking about database structures that could automate boring tasks whether it be in the office or at home.
另外，在个人方面，你学会了从新的角度来看待问题，尝试以技术方式来解决各种问题，缩短流程；你会考虑采用数据库结构来使无聊的任务自动化，无论是在办公室还是家里。

What was the transition out of Le Wagon like? What are you up to?

从Le Wagon毕业后你是如何实现转型的？你打算从事什么？

Coming out of Le Wagon I was leading the digitalization initiatives of a major printing operation, providing print-on-demand solutions for major retailers like Amazon and helping startups like Clube de Autores sell through the major online marketplaces. And in my spare time, building out the bugs in Numooh the product we developed in the last two weeks at Le Wagon.

完成Le Wagon的集训营之后，我主导了主要印刷公司的数字化举措，为像亚马逊这样的主要零售商提供按需打印解决方案，并帮助像Clube de Autores这样的创业公司通过主要的在线渠道销售。 在业余时间，我用来调试过去两周里我们在Le Wagon开发的产品Numooh。

http://www.numooh.com.br

After a few months we enrolled our startup, that connects out-of-home media sellers with buyers and agencies, in Startup Farm, one of the leading accelerators in Latin America and were selected as one of twelve out of a group of hundreds of startups applications.

几个月后，我们注册了我们的创业公司，将家庭外媒体卖家与买家和代理机构联系起来，我们的公司，被Startup Farm，拉丁美洲领先的加速器之一，在为数数百家初创公司中脱颖而出，被评选为十二家最好的应用之一。

What was the most valuable takeaway from Le Wagon for you?

你在Le Wagon学到最重要的东西是什么？

For me the idea that you can solve almost any problem with technology is the biggest point that has stayed with me. The ability to look at complex business, or life in general, problems and abstract on how a technological solution could solve it is definitely something that has stayed with me, and will always stay with me.

对我来说，用技术解决各种问题的理念是我在Le Wagon学到最重要的东西。我收获了运用解决技术问题的思维能力去面对以及解决复杂的商业问题，或者生命中遇到的其他问题的能力。这种能力已经转换为我自身的思维并会一直影响我的人生决策。

How did attending at Le Wagon help you start your own business?

参加Le Wagon如何帮助你开始创业旅程的？

Well, I built the first version of the product in two weeks (with very little sleep and lot’s of coffee) at Le Wagon, together with three other students. You can watch our product demo here: https://www.lewagon.com/demoday/34

Then continued working on the product with two of those three, and one of the partners is an Alumni. So, we’re 100% founded in Le Wagon, and keep tapping the community with our doubts and use the experience to make a better product and a better company. Besides that, Le Wagon is a very product-centered bootcamp. So we are naturally a product-centered startup.

嗯，在参加Le Wagon期间， 我同其他的3个Le Wagon同学一起用了2个礼拜就完成了产品的第一版本（当然了，这伴随着熬夜和很多的咖啡☕️☕️） 。 你可以在下面看到我们的产品展示。接着我们同其中的两个同学以及一个Le Waogn的校友继续在原有产品的基础上进行改进。 所以可以说，我们的公司是在Le Wagon创立的。带着疑虑，我们不断地深入我们的社区，借鉴经验，打造更好的产品和更好的公司。 除此之外，Le Wagon是一家专注于产品思维的集训营。 所以我们很自然地成为以产品为中心的创业公司。

Who would you recommend a coding bootcamp to? Why?

你会向谁推荐Le Wagon呢？为什么呢？

I think I would recommend Le Wagon to anyone that has dreamed of building their own startup, building their own software or anyone that wants to be in the builder’s team in the future. If you’ve ever had to put a bid on a freelancer site, or had to read through a development specification sheet with a mysterious price tag at the end with all those endless milestones, and wish you’d had the knowledge to say that that made no sense whatsoever, then I’d highly recommend it.

我会向每个梦想着成为企业家，或者希望开发自己的软件，或者想要成为产品开发团队一员的人推荐 Le Wagon。如果你曾经投标于一个自由职业者网站，或者曾经读过在每一个重要环节包含神秘的价格标签的产品开发说明，你希望你能够有这方面的知识可以辨识那些都是没有必要的， 我极力推荐你选择Le Wagon的编训营。

But you really have to want it, it’s not easy, you’ll dream about lines of code, and solutions will come to you in the middle of your shower, but it was without a doubt one of the most gratifying experiences I’ve ever had.

但是你真的需要很强的渴望去掌握它， 这并不简单。 你做梦会梦到一行行的编程代码， 或者解决问题的办法在淋浴的时候光临，这些无可置疑的是我最开心最满足的经历。

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