Knowledge Center

Knowledge Center

Everything you need to know before you sprint with Colab.

If you’re serious about leaving with proof, this explains how the sprint works, what we expect from you, why there’s tuition, and what fellows actually get out of this.

TL;DR
  • 8-week live sprint to turn your grind into something real.
  • Trade months of guessing for 8 weeks of pressure, real rooms, and proof that gets replies.

You come in with one clear target - internship, shipped feature, first users, investor replies - and we turn that into proof.

  • Week 0-1: pick your goal and define what “proof” looks like.
  • Weeks 2-6: ship every week and get corrected live.
  • Weeks 7-8: tighten everything into receipts you can show on calls, apps, and DMs.

This isn’t a playlist of videos. It’s a sprint where you’re expected to move.

This is not coding school. You will execute, do PM stuff, take ownership of end-to-end product flow.

  • Weekly standup meeting: milestones (ticket, PR, review, demo, hand-off).
  • Weekly rhythm: live sessions, async work, Peer-Swap

By the end, you'll be a much better position professionally to demonstrate "the approach, problem solving" that companies look for.

  • You’re tired of “passionate / fast learner” being your whole story.
  • You’ve touched a bunch of stacks but haven’t hammered any one thing in public.
  • You’d rather ship, get critiqued, and fix it than keep mass-applying and hoping.

If you want a place to hide, this isn’t it. If you want one clean win you can point at when someone asks “So what have you done?” - that’s what this is for.

  • A specific goal for the sprint (not “I just want something”).
  • Evidence you’ve already tried things, even if they didn’t work.
  • Willingness to be honest about where you’re stuck, not performative confidence.

We’re not looking for a perfect resume. We’re looking for someone who will actually use the pressure.

If it’s not a fit this round, we’ll tell you what we need to see change (not just “try again later”) - projects, proof, clarity.

If you come back having actually moved, that tells us more than any essay.

Raghav (Founder Track)

Came in with: “I don’t know if anyone will care.”
Left with: product live, real users asking for it, warm intros lined up.

Deepak (Athlete Connect)

Came in with: idea and sketches.
Left with: real users, outreach that gets replies, something investors can react to.

SWE fellow

Came in with: “projects and LeetCode.”
Left with: merged PRs in a real codebase, production screenshots, a story that shuts “no experience” down in one answer.

You’re not paying for videos. You’re paying for leverage:

  • Time – collapsing 6–12 months of guessing, tutorial hopping, and mass applications into a focused 8-week sprint.
  • Access – senior engineers, founders, and operators who look at your work, not your GPA; plus rooms and intros you can’t cold-DM into.
  • Environment & support – real SDLC, deadlines, reviews, and someone on the hook for unblocking you instead of you figuring everything out alone.
  • Proof that compounds – merged PRs, shipped slices, users, and a clear story you can reuse for internships, jobs, or your own startup for the next 3–5 years.

If money is the only blocker and you’re genuinely all-in, tell us. We’d rather find a way to work with serious people than watch you file this under “someday.”

  • 5–8 focused hours a week devoted to your sprint target.
  • Shipping or showing visible progress every week.
  • Being responsive and honest about where you’re stuck.

We’ll nudge you when it matters, but this only works if you’re responsive and honest about where you’re stuck.

Not at all!

We’re not a placement agency and we don’t sell guarantees. We are the bridge between your skills and the demand in the industry:

  • We help you build proof that hiring managers and founders actually react to.
  • We put you in rooms and conversations where that proof matters.
  • When we refer you, it’s because we’ve seen your work under pressure, not because your resume looks nice.

You’re not buying a promise of a job. You’re buying an environment where it’s much harder to be ignored.

Small, serious groups. You’ll see people share drafts, PRs, outreach, and get feedback in real time - not just polished LinkedIn screenshots. There are people from different cohorts with whom you can build, collaborate, and work on projects together.

  • Demo Days, live reviews, and correction instead of generic “nice job.”
  • You see other people’s wins and stumbles while you’re building your own.

You’re not yelling into the void. When you show work, people answer.

We have people from all around the US from universities like Cornell, Texas A&M, UW Seattle, Santa Clara University, etc. to name a few! You’ll get a good mix of talent, knowledge and people to network with!

How this compares

Colab sprint Bootcamp / generic course Self-study & mass-applying
Ramp time 8 weeks of focused pressure tied to one goal. Months of curriculum before anything feels real. Undefined — depends how long you keep guessing.
What you’re doing weekly Shipping features, users, or outreach. Getting corrected in live sessions. Watching lectures, doing assignments, following a fixed track. Grinding tutorials / LeetCode and mass-applying alone.
Output after 8 weeks PRs in a real codebase, live product + users, or DM/email threads with interviews & intros. Projects and a certificate. Scattered repos and applications — hard to point to one clear win.
Industry network Operators, fellows, reviewers in small rooms. Instructors, TAs, and classmates in big cohorts. Mostly the cold internet.
Community Connect with fellows across sprints, build together, find another 1-5% like you Random people you see just in zoom rooms You're the only one.
Accountability You’re expected to show work every week. If you disappear, it’s noticed. Deadlines and grades, but easy to coast in a large group. Self-imposed. Easy to drop when life gets busy.
Long-term upside A story + receipts you can reuse for years: “Here’s what I actually shipped.” Brand name and certificate if you know how to leverage it. Depends entirely on whether you manage to ship and get proof.

Ramp time

Colab sprint

8 weeks of focused pressure tied to one goal.

Bootcamp / course

Months of curriculum before anything feels real.

Self-study & mass-apply

Undefined — depends how long you keep guessing.

What you’re doing weekly

Colab sprint

Shipping features, users, or outreach. Getting corrected in live sessions.

Bootcamp / course

Watching lectures, doing assignments, following a fixed track.

Self-study & mass-apply

Grinding tutorials / LeetCode and mass-applying alone.

Output after 8 weeks

Colab sprint

PRs in a real codebase, live product + users, or DM/email threads with interviews & intros.

Bootcamp / course

Projects and a certificate.

Self-study & mass-apply

Scattered repos and applications — no clear “this is my win.”

Access to people

Colab sprint

Operators, fellows, reviewers in small rooms.

Bootcamp / course

Instructors, TAs, and classmates in big cohorts.

Self-study & mass-apply

Mostly the cold internet.

Accountability

Colab sprint

You’re expected to show work every week. If you disappear, it’s noticed.

Bootcamp / course

Deadlines and grades, but easy to coast in a large group.

Self-study & mass-apply

Self-imposed. Easy to drop when life gets busy.

Long-term upside

Colab sprint

A story + receipts you can reuse for years: “Here’s what I actually shipped.”

Bootcamp / course

Brand name and certificate if you know how to leverage it.

Self-study & mass-apply

Depends entirely on whether you manage to ship and get proof.

If this all makes sense and you’re actually ready to sprint:

Request a spot →

We’ll ask what you want to prove in 8 weeks.