Maven Course Accelerator
Get proven templates, guidance, and feedback to turn your hard-earned knowledge into a premium course.
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Course overview
Make an impact teaching what you love
Not enough operators with real-world experience teach online. Many are too busy being heads-down within their organizations.
But the next generation of leaders wants to learn from you. Join Maven to turn your hard-earned knowledge into a transformative online course.
Over 15,000 students have taken Maven courses, and instructors have earned $14m to date. On average, instructors earn ~$20,000 per cohort.
Who teaches on Maven:
01
Operators & Leaders
with a track record at successful companies with a history of achieving results and coaching others
02
Subject Matter Experts
who have hard-earned knowledge and frameworks to share with the next generation of leaders
03
Consultants/Coaches
who are bored of repetitive client projects and ready to scale their expertise with a highly-leveraged course
Why teach on Maven?
Learn from the best
Maven coined the concept of cohort-based courses and has helped new instructors earn millions in revenue.
Pay it forward
Your hard-earned knowledge can help others a few steps behind you succeed and move up in their companies.
Expand your influence over time
Your course can evolve into a vibrant community that builds your credibility and increases your impact.
Stay on track with accountability
Maven teaches easy-to-follow frameworks, models, and exercises to help you ship your course in just two weeks and iterate as you grow.
Interact with passionate learners
Students on Maven are smart, accomplished, and dedicated to up-skilling themselves. Your experience teaching will help you sharpen your own ideas.
Gain notoriety for your knowledge
Experts from top companies and the fastest-growing startups teach on Maven.
What’s included
Live sessions
Learn directly from Wes Kao (Cofounder of Maven) & Rachel Cai (Marketing lead) in a real-time, interactive format.
Lifetime access
Go back to course content and recordings whenever you need to.
Community of peers
Stay accountable and share insights with like-minded professionals.
Certificate of completion
Share your new skills with your employer or on LinkedIn.
Maven Guarantee
This course is backed by the Maven Guarantee. Students are eligible for a full refund up until the halfway point of the course.
Course syllabus
101 lessons • 6 projects
Week 1
- ✍️
Share your Spiky POV
Submit by Jun 6 - ✍️
Narrow your ideal student and draft your course positioning
Submit by Jun 9 - 📄
✅ Name your course
- 📄
📹 How to find course market-fit [9 min]
- 📄
📹 Spiky point of view [9 min]
- 📄
📔 Why do students sign up for courses? [Article]
- 📄
📔 Templates for defining what you want to teach [Maven guide]
- 📄
📔 Templates for spiky point of view [Maven guide]
- 📄
📔 Templates for naming your course [Maven guide]
#1 Develop course-market fit
Your first milestones are to figure out what you want to teach, narrow your ideal student, and begin drafting your course positioning on your landing page.
✅ Action: Draft your "who is this course for" section, share your SPOV
⌛ Est. time: 20 min
Week 2
Upload your headshot
- ✍️
🎯Launch your course interest survey
Submit by Jun 13 - 📄
📹 How to launch your course interest survey [6 min]
- 📄
📔 How to edit & share your Course Interest Survey [Maven guide]
- 📄
📔 Template for emailing your personal network [Maven guide]
- 📄
📔 Engaging your waitlist [Maven guide]
- 📄
📹 Connecting 1:1 with students on your waitlist [3 min]
- 📄
📔Offer a lead magnet [Maven guide]
- 📄
📹 Lead magnets: what and how to share [12 min]
- ✍️
🎯 Ship your SFD landing page
Submit by Jun 16 - 📄
✅ Check your page against the landing page rubric [Maven guide]
- 📄
📹 How to think about your landing page [4 minutes]
- 📄
📹 Copywriting: The power of "you" [6 minutes]
- 📄
📹 Copywriting: Eyes light up [1 minute]
- 📄
📹 Copywriting: De-risking your landing page [1.5 minutes]
- 📄
📔 6 questions to get outstanding testimonials - Psychotactics [Article]
- 📄
📔 Painkillers vs. Vitamins - Psychotactics [Article]
- 📄
📔 Hero section templates [Maven guide]
- 📄
📔 How to write your bio and show your credibility [Maven guide]
- 📄
📔 How to write key outcomes [Maven guide]
- 📄
📔 Creating a custom course image [Maven guide]
- 📄
📔 How to price your course [Maven guide]
- 📄
📔 Determining course length [Maven guide]
- 📄
📔 How to get listed on Maven.com [Maven guide]
#2 Grow your waitlist
Almost all of our most successful instructors validated their topic and got early leads through a survey. It’s a low-risk, high-reward way to get feedback directly from your potential students and to start building an email waitlist. This waitlist is a valuable asset when you start promoting your course.
You'll also use a lead magnet to continue to build your waitlist and demonstrate your credibility to students.
✅ Actions to complete milestone:
⌛ Est. time: 15 min
#3 Draft your landing page
In this milestone, you’ll ship an SFD (“shitty first draft”) of your landing page. At Maven, we believe in progress over perfection and iterating quickly.
✅ Action: Start drafting your landing page
⏳ Est. time: 30 min
Week 3
- Reminder: Get leads through a course survey
- Start your cohort launch campaign
- Announce your course
- Create a discount code
- Host a free workshop
- Write a warm "Congrats—you're in!" email and automate in Maven
- ✍️
Share your lead magnet or free workshop registration
Submit by Jun 20 - 📄
📹 Your course marketing events [3 min]
- 📄
✅ Announce your course and kick off marketing/sales
- 📄
📔 Leveraging the cohort launch campaign [Maven guide]
- 📄
✅ Create a discount code
- 📄
📔 The #1 way to convert students [Maven guide]
- 📄
📔 How to run a successful free workshop [Maven guide]
- 📄
📔 Leveraging social media [Maven guide]
- 📄
✅ Customize your Enrolled email [click for template]
#4 Market your course & get your first enrollment
4-5 weeks before your cohort start date: announce your course and kick off your promotion. Below are several effective tactics to help you get your first enrollment.
✅ Actions:
⏳ Est. time: 30 min
Week 4
- Add a project your syllabus
- Design an engaging lesson using the State Change Method
- ✍️
Share one of your course project ideas
Submit by Jun 27 - 📄
📔 How to create projects [Maven guide]
- 📄
📹 Super Specific How - Wes Kao [5 min]
- 📄
📹 How to structure your content - Wes Kao [10 min]
- 📄
📹 Developing your content - Rachel Cai [9 min]
- 📄
📹 Building blocks of an effective lesson - Wes Kao [7 min]
- 📄
📹 How to create a framework - Wes Kao [5 min]
- 📄
📔 Wes Kao — The State Change Method [Maven Guide]
- 📄
📔 Frameworks library [Maven guide]
- 📄
📹 How to build your syllabus and add events in Maven [4 min]
- 📄
✅ Create your course modules
- Connect Zoom
- Create events & enable automatic recording uploads
- Add modules
- Create a project
- Set your portal open date - this is the first day students can access the syllabus and community
- Turn on your community
- Customize your intro template
- 📄
✅ Connect Zoom
- 📄
✅ Create events
- 📄
✅ Set the portal open date (when students can access your syllabus & community)
- 📄
✅ Turn on your community
- 📄
📔 Your live cohort sessions [Maven guide]
- 📄
📔 Preparing to host in Zoom [Maven guide]
- 📄
📔 How to engage students in live session [Maven guide]
- 📄
📹 Zoom presentation tips [7 min]
- 📄
📔 Welcoming your students [Maven guide]
- 📄
☑️ Optional: Customize your introduction template
- 📄
📔 Leveraging the post course survey for feedback [Maven guide]
- 📄
📹 How Maven automatically sends end-of-course surveys & certificates [2 min]
#5 Develop your course content
In this module, you'll learn how to structure your course, design an interactive lesson with active learning, and design an authentic project.
✅ Action:
⏳ Est. time: 40 min
#6 Prepare for your cohort
The student portal in Maven is a one-stop-shop for your students to access their events, course materials, and community. Before the first day of your cohort, prepare to welcome your students and get ready to kick off with a strong start.
✅ Actions:
⏳ Est. time: 30 min
Week 5
Bonus
- Discover the Course Mechanics Canvas and how to use it to design your course
- Determine the price and length of your course
- 📄
📹 Intro to the Course Mechanics Canvas
Complete by Jun 13 - 📄
📔 Recommendations for the 12 levers of course mechanics [Maven guide]
- 📄
📹 Why create a short course - Wes Kao [4 min]
- 📄
📔 Determining course length [Maven guide]
- 📄
📔 Pricing your course [Maven guide]
- 📄
📔 Course Mechanics Canvas - Wes Kao [Long article]
- 📄
📹 5 Lightbulbs Framework for messaging - Billy Broas [21 min]
- 📄
📹 How to sell your CBC - David Perell [40 min]
- 📄
📹 AMA with Tiago Forte on scaling your CBC [60 min]
- 📄
📹 AMA with Shivani Berry on building a CBC with no audience [45 min]
- 📄
📹 Building course communities - Jay Clouse [60 min]
- 📄
📹 How to run free workshops - Cam Houser [16 min]
- 📄
📹 AMA with Wes Kao for experience course creators [60 min]
- 📄
📹 Master Your Delivery - Gagan Biyani [80 min]
- 📄
📹 Scaling your CBC - Heather Payne [2 hr]
- 📄
📔 Playbook for above-the-fold - Demand Curve [Article]
- 📄
📔 Landing page guide - Marketing Examples [Article]
- 📄
How to turn your expertise into a $200,000/year course business
- 📄
📹 Creating a discount code in Stripe [2 min]
- 📄
📹 Landing page builder demo [4 min]
- 📄
📹 How Maven automatically sends end-of-course surveys & certificates [2 min]
- 📄
📹 How to build your syllabus and add events in Maven [4 min]
- 📄
📹 5 Lightbulbs Framework for messaging - Billy Broas [21 min]
- 📄
📹 How to sell your CBC - David Perell [40 min]
- 📄
📹 AMA with Tiago Forte on scaling your CBC [60 min]
- 📄
📹 AMA with Shivani Berry on building a CBC with no audience [45 min]
- 📄
📹 Building course communities - Jay Clouse [60 min]
- 📄
📹 How to run free workshops - Cam Houser [16 min]
- 📄
📹 AMA with Wes Kao for experienced course creators [60 min]
- 📄
📹 Master Your Delivery - Gagan Biyani [80 min]
- 📄
📹 Scaling your CBC - Heather Payne [120 min]
- 📄
📹 How to turn your expertise into a $200,000/year course business [38 min]
- 📄
📔 Playbook for above-the-fold - Demand Curve [Article]
- 📄
📔 Landing page guide - Marketing Examples [Article]
- 📄
📹 Creating a discount code in Stripe [2 min]
- 📄
📹 Landing page builder demo [4 min]
- 📄
📹 How Maven automatically sends end-of-course surveys & certificates [2 min]
- 📄
📹 How to build your syllabus and add events in Maven [4 min]
- Discover the Course Mechanics Canvas and how to use it to design your course
- Determine the price and length of your course
Course mechanics, price, and length
Bonus content & guest lectures
Bonus videos and resources about building, running, and marketing your CBC.
Product demos
Maven platform demos
Bonus content & guest lectures
Bonus videos and resources about building, running, and marketing your CBC.
Product demos
Maven platform demos
Course mechanics, price, and length
What students are saying
Get started for free on Maven's all-in-one platform
Integrated marketing tools to convert students
Build a beautiful landing page, optimized for cohort-based courses and integrated with Stripe. You can send automated drip campaigns and personalized emails for every stage of the funnel.
Simplify course operations
No more disparate forms, spreadsheets, and email. With Maven, you can easily admit students, automatically send calendar invites, and host your course content.
Engage your community
Get access to Maven's community so students have a one-stop-shop to find all their course content and connect with their cohort.
Instructor-friendly pricing & terms
When you start earning on Maven, you keep 90% of your course revenue minus Stripe transaction fees. We only make money when you do. Plus, you own your content and intellectual property.
Hear what other experts have to say
Lenny Rachitsky
Sara Sodine Parr
Amanda Natividad
Dror Poleg
Justin Mikolay
Li Jin
Meet your instructors
Wes Kao (Cofounder of Maven)
Wes Kao (Cofounder of Maven)
Co-founder of Maven and the altMBA
Wes is co-founder of Maven. Previously, she was the co-founder of the altMBA with Seth Godin, growing the altMBA to thousands of alumni in 550 cities in 45 countries and creating the cohort-based course category. She has built courses for Professor Galloway (Section4), David Perell, Tiago Forte, Outlier.org (by the co-founder of Masterclass), Morning Brew, and more.
Rachel Cai (Marketing lead)
Marketing lead at Maven, ex-Google for Education
Rachel is a marketing lead at Maven and co-created the Maven Course Accelerator with Wes Kao. Her mission is to help highly credible operators turn their expertise into impactful, interactive courses. Previously, she led programs and partnerships at Google for Education for 5 years, launching a global coaching certification to thousands of teachers and a partnership program to 300+ edtechs.
Build alongside a motivated group of operators & experts
Active, hands-on learning
Every workshop is designed to help you put your learning into practice and ship your course pilot.
Learn with a cohort of peers
You’ll build and learn alongside a cohort of top operators and experts. Our alumni include:
- Arielle Jackson (Marketer in Residence at First Round)
- Andy Gupta (ex-Goldman Sachs)
- Marily Nika (AI Product Lead at Meta)
- Amanda Natividad (VP Marketing at Sparktoro)
- Dave Kline (former Head of Recruiting at Bridgewater)
Accountability through community
Access to peer feedback and expert staff to keep you accountable and help you get unstuck.