How it all started
One of Y Combinator’s main superpowers is forging enduring relationships among founders, that lead to lifelong connections, partnerships, and friendships that fuel success and over time foster a strong community. This was the case for us - and we loved this aspect of YC.
The beauty of YC’s batch system is in its built-in mechanism for forming relationships among people by putting them in well-structured cohorts, where folks who are seemingly working on different problems end up in the same boat - all rushing towards the Demo Day.
This got us thinking 🤔 about how we can reproduce this kind of experience and thus its benefits for the many Rust enthusiasts who have been joining our community and looking for ways to contribute to Shuttle’s codebase. It’s not always easy to build meaningful relationships online and taking the first plunge into open-source contributions can be quite daunting.
We decided to launch an experiment - Shuttle Batch 1 (a.k.a. SB-1).
Blast Off with SB-1! 🚀
The first Shuttle Batch rocketed into action as a six-week online program, bringing together carefully selected Rust developers from across the globe (10 participants hailing from 8 different countries! 🌎).
What happened in Batch 1.0:
- Dynamic Duos: Participants joined forces in pairs, merging the expertise of seasoned developers with the fresh insights of newcomers.
- Project Selection: Teams explored a set of curated projects, and picked the ones they wanted to work on for the next 6 weeks.
- Support Squad: As pairs raced towards D-day, they were supported and mentored by our engineering team, through hands-on sessions, office hours, Q&A sessions and async communication on our discord server.
- Added Fun: Throughout the batch we’ve maintained a light and friendly atmosphere, hosting virtual socials, games nights, and challenges for the batch-mates to mingle with each other and the rest of the Shuttle team.
- The grand finale: Demo Day - complete with prizes, recognition for key contributors, and Shuttle swag for everyone! 👕
Batch 1.0 was a resounding success! Participants honed their Rust skills, some made first OSS contributions and built lasting relationships with fellow developers around the world. In our post-batch survey, 80% of respondents reported increased Rust knowledge, and 100% wanted to continue contributing to Shuttle. Furthermore, one standout participant, Oddbjorn, was immediately hired and joined the team full time after the batch owing to his outstanding dedication and contributions!
Here's his take on the experience:
"As someone without industry experience and minimal open-source exposure, I struggled to find a project I felt qualified to contribute to. The SB-1 batch was a fantastic opportunity to get comfortable in open-source, with Shuttle engineers offering mentorship and guidance on tasks ranging from very easy to very hard.”
We’re over the moon about the outcome of the batch (esp. finding a great addition to our team) and all the glowing feedback from the batch participants - so we're doing it again! Get ready for SB-2 🎉
Get Ready for SB-2!
Strap in for our upgraded and enhanced program (2.0), fine-tuned based on feedback from our fantastic first cohort while staying true to the core Batch DNA. Batch 2.0 is an 8-week online Rust program packed with entertaining experiences, designed to supercharge your learning and development journey. Prepare for:
- Hands-on Rust workshops that'll ignite your skills 🔧
- Face-to-face mentorship with our experienced core team 🤓
- Interactive Q&A sessions and office hours to quench your curiosity 🎤
- Social events and games to bond with fellow Rustaceans 🎲
- Demo Day complete with epic prizes 🏅
- And surprise guest speakers that'll leave you starry-eyed! 🌟
These sessions will take place a couple of days each week on our community Discord server, approximately between 2PM - 4PM (UTC +1).
By joining SB-2, you'll become part of a tribe of passionate learners and builders, all contributing to a cutting-edge backend platform!
Here is what John had to say about his experience with the first batch:
"I came into the first Batch with very little Rust experience, having read most of the Rust book I was looking to get involved in Open Source to better my knowledge.
The relaxed but supportive vibe in Batch was the perfect way for me to get to know the language better, to mix with people at a similar skill level, and to get quality guidance from the more experienced guys at Shuttle."
Don't miss your chance to join the show - the last batch got massively oversubscribed within a day – apply for SB-2 now! 🚀‼️
