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      SV Academy

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      SV Academy Reviews

      4.4

      88% would recommend to a friend

      (144 total reviews)
      avatar

      Rahim Fazal

      93% approve of CEO

      78% positive business outlook

      SV Academy has an employee rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars, based on 144 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The SV Academy employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Education industry (3.7 stars).

      Reviews by job title

      144 reviews
      1.0
      16 Aug 2019

      A COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME AND THEY CANNOT GUARANTEE YOU A JOB

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business outlook

      Pros

      Connecting with Fellows and building relationships with people across the US.

      Cons

      This program makes empty promises. When I first began this program, I was excited to break into technology and potentially make an average salary of 78k as stated in their advertisement. Keep in mind that the role that they are preparing you for is COLD CALLING/EMAILING sales!! I was interested in the partnership companies listed on their website but when I began the program, these companies were not on the list for placement. The course work is excessive and redundant, and the internship consists of cold-calling/emailing prospects to sign them up for a webinar. You’ll spend 25-30 hours a week doing zoom calls and completing assignments. They will also want you to revise your resume and LinkedIn to their SV Academy platform. Later in the program, fellows were advised that jobs were not guaranteed and that certain companies may or may not be hiring. In addition to the companies potentially not hiring, the SV academy cannot even guarantee interviews for companies. If granted a chance to be interviewed for a company, keep in mind the salary is not 78k but more like $30000 and the SV Academy does NOT pay for relocation fees and the company that you are placed at will more than likely not pay to relocate for a entry level BDR role. The biggest con to this program is that, many fellows in my cohort quit jobs or moved in order to accommodate for the SV Academy, and the SV Academy kicked fellows out without any warning or valuable explanation. The SV Academy will kick fellows out for minor reasons such a missed assignment, or say fellows ‘lacked commitment’ as an excuse to say that they just can’t place you for a job. I’m extremely disappointed in the SV Academy experience and they need to repolish the Academy as a whole. I began this program having a lot of respect for all the professionals in it but this program was a complete waste of time. DONT WASTE YOUR TIME WITH IT. Also, FYI most technology companies do not have respect for this Academy. Do your research before applying. But to save you time, I would suggest not applying at all. There is a reason that their Facebook, LinkedIn, and website has many important questions about the program unanswered and that’s because the main purpose of the program (to be placed with a job) is not guaranteed.

      avatar
      SV Academy Response
      6y
      Hi there, Thank you for your feedback. Our number one goal is to equip our fellows with the training needed to excel in the role of a BDR at a company that aligns with their needs and desires. It is our priority to have as many students graduate the program as possible. We dedicate hundreds of hours of coaching, mentorships and interview training to each fellow, so it deeply pains us when we have to let a fellow go. In the unfortunate circumstance that we must dismiss a fellow, we only do so after a series of incomplete assignments and/or no-shows, as well as multiple warnings and interventions. It is also our priority not to charge our jobseekers. For this reason, we take on 100% of the risk, and tuition is fully paid for by employers only after they have been hired. We aim to be completely transparent with our jobseekers from day one. During the admissions process, each applicant is given a document that extensively describes the job description of a BDR, so they have the freedom to discontinue the interview process if the job description does not appeal to them. The role of a BDR is one of the best entry-level positions to break into the tech industry with no prior tech experience, and is meant to be a stepping stone for a career in tech (for example, the CEO of Salesforce, Marc Benioff, started in sales and now runs a $130B company). Within the first year, 70% of our graduates are promoted to either a management position, Account Executive, Customer Success Manager, or are promoted laterally to a different department (marketing, sales operations, product, etc). We also make it clear from the beginning of the fellowship that being open to relocation to the Bay Area (or NY) is a requirement, considering most of our employer partners are located in the major tech hubs. That said, the pre-hire training portion of our program is delivered virtually, so can be taken from anywhere. Breaking into tech can be life-changing, but it’s not easy. Employers are looking for a strong commitment to the role before they will hire someone at the entry-level. Cold-calling and emailing are a part of the description of the role of a BDR. These are important skills to develop. They aren’t easy to learn. That said, they are important skills we believe future business leaders need to succeed because they are harder to automate (in fact, I continue to cold call and email 15 years into my career). In addition to speaking to potential customers, many BDRs also spend their time strategizing with their Account Executives, leading trainings, giving demos of the product to prospects, and closing their own small deals. In order to provide a well-rounded training to equip our fellows with the skills needed to excel as a BDR and beyond, we offer a variety of assignments that aim to build their emotional intelligence as well courses on tech tools, sales methodologies, mentorships with professionals in the field, comprehensive interview practice and an internship with a tech company. We also work with expert communications and resume coaches that help each fellow create a LinkedIn profile and resume that will stand out to employers. In regards to our BDR salaries in the market today, the average base is $55,000 (highest base is $87,000), and bonuses typically start at $25,000 on top of that. Because of our extensive training and year long post-training career success coaching, the majority of our fellows are hitting or exceeding their goals. Tech companies also provide health benefits, 401K, stock options etc. Some even include breakfast and lunch at the office everyday, along with cellphone, transportation and wellness stipends! We appreciate your advice in regards to maintaining focus on each cohort as we continue to scale. We have hired more than 20 new employees and coaches over the past few months that are dedicated to providing individualized training and career transition support for each fellow. Thank you again for your feedback, and we hope we have cleared up some of your concerns. If not, we would be happy to discuss further with you offline. Feel free to reach out to at any time via email. The SVAcademy Team
      3.0
      22 Aug 2020

      Hard to say - Good and Bad Program Qualities

      Fellow
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business outlook

      Pros

      I was a fellow at SV but decided it wasn’t for me within the first month of the program. While there are many positives to this program, I also believe there are many negatives and that SV Academy tries to brain wash their fellows. I also believe that they give false promises and some of their expectations are completely outrageous. Pros: intense training, one on ones with a life coach, learn from previous fellows, work on your character and learn how to “sell” the SV way, become part of a larger community with inner connections.

      Cons

      Cons: Business Development is wide in scope and calling this a BD fellowship is somewhat misleading as SV Academy is more rightful and elite/glorified boot camp for an entry level sales position. They require relocation but the job you get will 99% most likely not cover relocation costs and it’s very likely that where you have to relocate has a much higher cost of living than where you currently reside unless you already live in the Bay. The work required becomes increasingly burdensome because you’re forced to do group work every single week and are assigned to a new person each week. I had a few instances where the person I was grouped with ghosted me or someone else was ghosted and was scrambling on slack to find a person to do the assignment with. You also have to try really hard to work around each other’s schedules which becomes quit hard when people in the academy are from all over and you have to take into account different time periods. This does happen in real life business but it’s not the same. Trust me. They do a good job at selling you on the “SV coolaid” but I don’t think everyone fully reads the contract when they join. Totally you’re own fault if you don’t read, but in an essence- SV Academy is an elite temp agency. While enrolled, you are not allowed to apply to any jobs or communicate with any recruiters unless you put them in direct contact with SV Academy. AND if you get a job through the academy you are required to stay at the company for a minimum of 1 year as a SDR unless promoted from within. You’re basically signing your life away. The reviews on Glassdoor are totally bias. One of the extra credit assignments in the academy is to post a positive review. Just saying. They are pretty hard core on wanting to look 5 star at all times. They tell you your not allowed to advertise on your resume or on your LinkedIn that you joined or where part of the academy unless your graduate and get a job. All in all, I think this academy can do great things for you if you fall in the following categories: 1. Can’t get a job and have nothing to lose 2. Have a family that’s willing to support you and help you with relocation cost 3. Are SUPER passionate about sales and cold calling 4. Have 20-30 hours to dedicate weekly to the program

      1.0
      15 Aug 2019

      Sales Bootcamp

      Fellow
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business outlook

      Pros

      Good interview practice Good way to meet other like minded folks (fellows only)

      Cons

      Tech training is mediocre. You’ll require training after you finish the fellowship. The internship experience was weak, with minimal direction and leadership provided. The majority of homework assignments are redundant. You’ll spend 80% of the time talking emotional intelligence & empathy. Which are skills some employees of SVA don’t have. You can have high grades, and be amazing & still get kicked out of the program with no genuine explanation. A lot of people get kicked out when the employees realize they can’t get them a job or for minor things like late assignments. It’s not the quality of your work that matters. It’s free. Meaning they don’t pay you for the 25-35+ hours you’re investing a week. But they’re competitors do pay you. You can replace this program with a book and learn their concepts in less than 3 months. No guarantee of job placement. They don’t tell you that the companies you might be interested in aren’t hiring until you finish the internship. Some people get placed 6+ months after they are done. The 78k they promote is a base pay of 30-50k with bonus/commission. That’s the regular entry level salary anyways, so why do SVA. Especially since their networking pool isn’t that powerful. Do your research before paying attention to all these reviews that gas-light the program. It’s very mediocre work and you’ll require training when you enter sales anyways, so save your time. Especially since this is a FREE fellowship.

      avatar
      SV Academy Response
      6y
      Hi there, Thank you for your feedback. Providing our students with completely free, personalized training and a job placement in a fast-growing tech company are our top priorities so we apologize that you did not feel we executed. We believe that in order to excel in sales and beyond, emotional intelligence is just as important as intellectual intelligence, so our teachings reflect that. We offer a variety of assignments that aim to build your empathetic listening skills, and goals for the future, as well courses on tech tools, sales methodologies, mentorships with professionals in the field, extensive interview preparation and an internship with a tech company. This diverse course load provides our students with well-rounded training that not only prepares them for a role in sales, but also equips them with the skills and mindset to succeed as they get promoted to new roles or move departments. Our goal is to have as many students graduate the program and get hired at one of our employer partners as possible. In the unfortunate circumstance that we must dismiss a fellow, we only do so after a series of incomplete assignments and/or no-shows, as well as multiple warnings and interventions. Right now, the average number of days to offer post completion is around 5 weeks. Sometimes it takes a bit longer to find the right match. Over the course of three years, we have attracted a network of more than 150 employer partners across Silicon Valley and New York and have transitioned over 300 jobseekers into high quality companies. We are proud to provide our fellows with 12 weeks of one-on-one training, mentorship and real, supervised work experience at no cost. The reason the fellowship is 100% free for our fellows is because we are employer-funded, so we only recoup training costs once they are hired one of our employer partners. For this reason, we are 100% aligned with our fellows’ success. Once our fellows are hired, the average base is $55,000 (highest base is $87,000), and bonuses typically start at $25,000 on top of that. Because of our extensive training and year long post-training career success coaching, the majority of our fellows are hitting or exceeding their goals. We sincerely apologize that we were unable to support you all the way to the finish line. Feel free to reach out to at any time via email. We wish you the best in your future endeavors. The SVAcademy Team
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      Glassdoor has 292 SV Academy reviews submitted anonymously by SV Academy employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if SV Academy is right for you.