Martín Claure, Aprende Institute | Strategy, Education and Marketing to Empower 60M+ Latinos in the US [Ep. 98]

The audio and video are in Spanish. These notes are a translation.

In past episodes, we have spoken with the founders of education startups focused on digital skills, such as Platzi, Crehana, and Coderhouse.

Today, by contrast, we speak with a startup dedicated to training in manual trades, such as gastronomy, mechanics, or plumbing.

Martin Claure is founder and CEO of Aprende Institute, an online education platform for non-digital technical skills for Hispanics in the United States. To date, it has raised close to US $30 million from investors such as Valor Capital, Reach Capital, Angel Ventures, and MatterScale.

We talked about the opportunity in the market for non-digital careers and trades, their methodology for teaching them effectively, and what they have learned from partnering with Univisión, one of the largest television channels in the US, to acquire new customers.

Youtube Timestamps*

[1:45] - Origin and “Pivot” of Aprende

How did Martin arrive at the fascinating world of startups?
Martin had started non-traditional businesses before Aprende Institute. How have his mindset and his way of operating changed as he moved from a more traditional business to a startup?
What was the technical careers industry like when Martin analyzed it for the first time? What problems did Martin find in the existing solutions, and how were they reflected in Aprende’s initial idea?
At the start, Aprende focused on the Latin American market, but eventually they made a shift toward the Hispanic market in the United States, where they found a better product market fit. How was the product received in the Latin American market, and what were the business reasons that led them to pivot?
What are the incorrect ways in which the Latino market in the US tends to be seen?

[19:48] - Lessons from Edtech

What is Aprende’s methodology, and what lessons has Martin learned about how to create an effective educational experience?
One of the great challenges for Edtech startups globally is retention and the student’s Lifetime Value. Many companies stop at one or two purchases and, therefore, constantly have to go out and look for new customers. What worked for them to improve retention and expand lifetime value in educational products?
Most education startups let their users buy the products directly on the platform. Why does Aprende assign a sales executive, and how scalable is this strategy?

[44:05] - Offline Marketing and Personal Brand

Recently, Aprende formed an alliance with Univisión, one of the largest media companies in the United States. What is the business logic of this partnership?
How does Martin think about the return on investment of television marketing, and what role does that channel play within his overall marketing strategy?
What role does Martin’s personal brand play in Aprende’s marketing? Why not use a representative, in any case?

[56:33] - Rapid-Fire Questions

If he had to start a company from scratch, what is the main piece of advice Martin would give himself?
Books recommended by Martin.
Changes Martin would like to see in Latin America’s startup ecosystem.