SV Academy

I went from serving in a restaurant (despite having a college degree) earning $25K/year to being offered a $10K/3-month internship, then finally being offered a $75K/year position. However, I also saw that many of my classmates did not experience this lucrative of a route. 

We all worked studiously and networked diligently during our time at SV. Our instructors are accessible, knowledgable, and honestly great teachers because they listen to students and answer questions thoughtfully. Even with all that, maybe only half the cohort were offered internships.
 
And half of those who *did* get internships did not want to continue full-time with the company they interned at and/or the company did not offer full-time roles to these people. If you don't land that full-time position, you have to apply for a certain # of jobs each month for 6 months, as well as actively networking and having informational interviews with people in your interested field. Otherwise, you don't get your money back. That seems kind of stressful, and I'm glad I didn't fall into going that route.

I honestly feel like it was a gamble. When I first applied, it seemed like everything was going to be in the bag. But now that I have my full-time role, I feel like I was just super-duper lucky. I got a great internship, a fun work environment/community that liked me back enough to offer me full-time, a salary I can't complain about -- but keep in mind, this is not the story of every SV alum.  Read less

The SV Academy fellowship program was a great experience, although going into it I didn't quite know what to expect. I have tried so many different things in the past to try and get my career off the ground but nothing really stuck. Either I couldn't find a job or I wasn't supported, I found the SV Academy to be different though, and was sure to do my due diligence before getting started. 

What I loved the most about the program was the instructors and that these leaders were people that actually went through the program and could provide real knowledge and experiences with us. The workshops were upbeat and informative and structured around the community which the academy highly values.

I found the program to be rigorous but all necessary to prepare us for the next step which was interviewing and starting a job. Throughout the interviewing process I really felt prepared and confident based on what we learned and the guidance we were given. 

Going through the program is one experience but the connections and learning don't stop once you graduate, and that goes back to what I was saying earlier about community. I suppose you can say it's what you make of it and what you want to get out of it. If you want to break into tech and get into a field that is in demand, I think the SV Academy is a great place to start. 


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Prior to joining SV Academy, I was on the law school path. I wanted to take one big risk and pivot into tech before committing to law school. Looking back on it, it was the best career move I've ever made. 

The curriculum and instructors are top notch and have a ton of industry experience. The job support after completing the curriculum was like no other. SV Academy made the job search easy and help me get my foot in the door by interviewing with amazing companies.

I started off as an SDR and in ~2 years post program I am now a manager within my organizations customer success department. I would not have been able to do this if it weren't for the opportunity that SV Academy gave me. 

At the end of the day it wasn't a risk at all, instead it was a smooth pivot into what is now my dream career. Read less

For a long time, I wanted to change my career path to the more moneyed sales sphere. After the long research, I decided to enjoy the SV Academy Tech Sales course. I filled in the application form on the website, which actually consisted of only three paragraphs: my name, my mail, and my education. After that, I received an email from the company. They asked me to write some kind of motivation letter - to answer the question "Why do you think SV Academy will help you ramp up your tech sales career?". I almost wrote a poem about my motivation, my skills ad how they will improve through the education in SV Academy. In a couple of weeks, I received a letter, which confirmed that I was chosen to participate in a new cohort. I am already looking forward to starting my education at SV Academy.  Read less

My situation was a bit complicated since I found a sales position within a week or so of graduating from the program but due to unfortunate personal circumstances, I had to leave my job less than a month in and take some time off. While the program itself was a great experience that left me feeling prepared for a position in tech sales, the support for fellows who already started working was not the best. Within my group, I think only 2 (not including myself) out of around 6 or 7 people continued the biweekly meetings. The "pay nothing until you're consistently making at least 45k a year" also became a lot more complicated than it should have been, as they keep hounding me for payments still even after I proved that my income has fallen below that line... Not sure if that is directly because of SV Academy or due to Stride (the payment service they use), but either way it was very stressful since I already had complicated personal matters to deal with. Read less

They are sending false advertisement on the internet that Tech sales companies are desperate to hire.vI got rejected 3 times to these so called tech sales schools(Fuel sales Academy as well). Yet, I went to one of the best NY Colleges, work as a salesman for Spectrum and successfully sold products, and recently just got hired to a great sales company. They (my new hire company) even gave me 20,000 starting, yet this school rejected me, and wanted $10,00. This is so ironic in so many ways, that I am throwing the gender-bias discrimination card on them for being on their high horse. I got something better than this school can possibly offer me. It's ridiculous what this school (Or better yet, Tech sales school) did. It's not even a fortune 500 company. They're crazy! Read less

The folks running SV Academy really care about their graduates' success, and it shows in how willing they are to help during and after your time in the program. However, the CS program isn't well-refined yet and there were a lot of issues with accessing information on important sites such as Gainsight. Many of our classes in the final two weeks were unexpectedly cancelled, and very few of us were given the opportunity to apply for internships let alone interview at those companies. This was a big surprise to me and my fellow students!

I learned a great deal at SVA and I believe it's headed in the right direction. The CS program is still in its beginning stages and it shows in how the classes are taught. I hope that SVA will find more companies to partner with that have an interest in hiring its Customer Success Program alumni! Read less

SV Academy was an amazing experience and helped me land my dream job within a month of graduating from the program. They really give you a full rundown of what it takes to be a successful SDR. The instructors all have sales experience and are really effective communicators on teaching the program and relaying core values of empathy, grit, and leadership. You are also provided with an internship where you get to be a real live SDR and get some hands-on experience through the program. The program is very fast-paced, but the curriculum is second to none!  Read less

Great Instructors, Mentors, Coaches, and just an amazing network with lots of opportunities to grow and find the right roles for you. Everyone at SVA really does care about your success and will help you along the way. You will be prepared for your SDR work and interviews by the time you finish the course. Truly amazing! Lots of hard work, but well worth it!  Read less

Overall it was a great program. I learned a lot and was well-prepared for interviews. I didn't receive enough support for applying to partner companies, which offer much better compensation and perks than non-partner companies. Change constantly happens so the issues present in my job interview period as a Fellow at the time are likely not there anymore or at least are a lot less of an issue now than when I was interviewing for jobs. No program is perfect, and I am really happy with the results! Read less

Take the jump. DO it. I was extremely skeptical of the program in the beginning, yet after reading all the reviews and reaching out to past fellows I knew this was an amazing opportunity that I couldn't pass up. I had no tech background (or nearly any sales) and it's almost impossible to get into the competitive tech sales world with no experience. SVA gives you the tools and connections to succeed in your career and life. Not only will you get a job out of this experience, your leaving with an entire network, ongoing support, new friends, etc. The number of recruiters that are going to be reaching out to you is almost even overwhelming, Even if you don't think sales is 100% for you, many of the graduates start out as SDRs and then transfer over to customer success, sales engineering, and other roles. I cannot imagine where I would be if I hadn't done this course and honestly it seems too good to be true, but it's not. All the coaches, instructors, staff want you to succeed and they are going to be there for you every step of the way. 


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Pros:
1. The instructors are amazing human beings who are extremely supportive!
2. The cohort members become a family to you.
3. The internship provides some really good hands-on experience. 

Cons:
1. The internship is not long enough and not focused enough on results.
2. The part-time program needs more attention from staff; we felt a bit neglected at times. 
3. There's too much theoretical material covered during the program.  Read less

SV Academy is legitimate. They provide 16 hours a week of online instruction, and you are expected to put in the rest of the effort to get assignments in on time, complete your personal branding materials, and practice interviews. With anything like this, what you put into the course is what you get out. 40 hours a week was not nearly enough for me, as I had no background in sales or tech. I worked about 12 hours a day and 4-8 hours each weekend to keep up. That being said, I have had a very positive interviewing experience and within 3 weeks of graduating, I landed a job that tripled my annual salary. The internship and interview practicing courses were incredibly beneficial. Overall, it's worth it.  Read less