#StartupsEverywhere profile: Maca Baigorria, Founder, Avocademy
This profile is part of #StartupsEverywhere, an ongoing series highlighting startup leaders in ecosystems across the country. This interview has been edited for length, content, and clarity.
Mentoring and Empowering the Next Generation of UX/UI Designers
Avocademy is a Miami-based education and mentoring program that prepares students to start a career in user experience and user interface (UX/UI) design. We spoke with founder, Maca Baigorria, to learn more about the organization’s work, the importance of workforce diversity, and what role accessibility plays in designing technology.
Could you tell us about your background and how it led you to Avocademy?
I’ve had a passion for teaching from a young age, but I decided to study engineering in school. After graduation, I worked for Boeing as an engineer. I realized that I didn’t enjoy my job, and it wasn’t very fulfilling. The aviation industry is very slow and there wasn't much room for creativity. I quit my job, moved back across the country from Seattle to Miami, and moved back in with my parents—before it was cool to live with your parents. I enrolled in a master’s program for engineering, discovered UX/UI design, and started deviating from the engineering curriculum. I took more business entrepreneurship classes just to finish the program. After that, I spent a year teaching myself UX/UI design, and spent a couple of months finding design jobs on Craigslist to build my portfolio. I started getting opportunities that led me to a pretty successful design career. Eventually, I worked my way to a management role, and I got to work with a lot of junior designers. But, I realized my passion was still education and teaching; even though UX/UI design is amazing, I found the most fulfillment in helping and mentoring junior designers.
These experiences drew me to founding Avocademy because there wasn’t an affordable and accessible way for people to start working in UX/UI design. I like to think I have a lot of grit and determination. I was able to learn UX/UI design on my own, but not everyone can self-teach. Breaking into a new field would have been much easier with mentorship and some guidance along the way, so I put together Avocademy to solve that problem. I spoke to a lot of people on Reddit who were dissatisfied with the cost of other programs which typically run anywhere from $10,000 to $15,000, and sometimes even $24,000 with a pretty long commitment ranging from six months to one year.
Tell us about Avocademy. What is the work you are doing?
We have a short and affordable course that helps people transition into the UX/UI field. We take people from various backgrounds—like teachers, students, stay-at-home moms, restaurant workers—and teach them UX/UI design to prepare them for an entry-level design role. These jobs pay at least around $55,000 or more, and we have some students landing jobs with $95,000 starting salaries. Overall, we provide them support in the learning and job search process.
How has the pandemic affected your business?
Initially, I thought many people would lose their jobs and do this program out of necessity. But we’re seeing many people decide to do this because they want to change their life. They sat in silence during the pandemic and realized they wanted fulfillment in their careers. This may have been driven by certain industries declining or going out of business, but most people see this as their time to learn something new and be fulfilled. That's why I started this company. I began working on the curriculum over two years ago, and I ran a beta before the pandemic even started. I had plenty of time to work during the pandemic, so I couldn’t make any more excuses in terms of getting this company off the ground. I think other people felt the same way, and I can empathize with them.
What are the biggest barriers facing people making the transition to a career in UX/UI design? And what challenges did you have to navigate as a new tech startup?
We've created an affordable, short-term program, and we’re seeing huge numbers of diverse participants compared to the other large programs. About 80 percent of our students are women, 75 percent are racial minorities, and 35 percent are part of the LGBTQ+ community, so the audience we have is very different from the ordinarily 80 percent white, 24 to 34 year old audience that some of the larger programs have. Since we're affordable, we kept getting asked if we accept workforce programs or verify participation for unemployment benefits. My team and I spent two months emailing a ton of different people in a Florida workforce program. We finally found out that if you get verified in your state, all these other states will also verify you. But the process itself was very lengthy and challenging to complete as a small startup. I wish we could have followed through, but it was going to be a one or two-year process.
There were so many hoops to jump through, and we couldn’t spend all of this time trying to get program verifications, so we focused our attention on partnering with financing companies to provide payment plans that would enable participants to pay in the range of $100 a month, rather than getting state approval to do it for free. I struggled with that because I wanted to make the program financially accessible. But as a business owner, I couldn’t put my business in jeopardy by diverting limited time and resources trying to obtain state approval. Trying to finance these programs ourselves became a lot to handle, which is why we went with partners. We have great completion rates, and our students are getting amazing jobs in less than one year from when they start, so I don’t see why it’s so difficult to get state-approved and help more people.
Additionally, early on in the pandemic, I was looking for help through the Paycheck Protection Program and other government support avenues, but none were available since it was our first year in business. We searched for funding to grow faster and help more people, but we kept hitting a wall. So we're completely bootstrapped, self-funded, and at this point, profitable. We’re thinking about applying for National Science Foundation grants, but the process seems so complicated that I would probably have to put aside at least a week just to apply. The government-related user experience in working with any of these programs is always so complicated.
Online platform and product accessibility is an important topic in UX/UI design. What are your thoughts on how policymakers should be thinking about this issue?
I've worked in this area in my professional career as a designer before starting Avocademy. Accessibility is usually thought of in terms of visual contrast and other technical features for colorblind or disabled people. But we should think about accessibility in terms of inclusion. Ten years ago, a tech company encountered a problem. Their webcam would not recognize Black people using the motion sensor, and they said it was a contrast issue because of the skin and how it’s calculated. This was a problem that could have been avoided with the eyes of designers, developers, and testers of diverse backgrounds.
We see and teach concepts so that designers can bring up these points when decisions are made. Our course has guest speakers talk about inclusive design, voice accessibility, and how to design voice products to make more inclusive experiences. I anchor myself around the idea that more diverse teams create more inclusive products, which essentially is the definition of accessibility. How can we encourage the development of diverse teams where people from all backgrounds have equal opportunities to work in these design roles? I think that question is a good starting place for policymakers to tackle these issues.
Are there any tech startup issues and concerns that you believe should receive more attention from local, state, and federal policymakers?
I talk a lot with other founders about the challenges and opportunities diverse entrepreneurs have in getting funded. It's not something that affects me because we are not currently looking for funding, but I know other founders, whether they’re in the LGBTQ+ community or another minority, always feel disadvantaged because many folks in the venture capital space are straight, cisgender white men. There was a McKinsey report showing how diverse companies or teams do better. So, if anything, we should find ways to fund diversity because it’s profitable. I also think representation matters. Pitching an idea to VC firms that you can identify with makes it so much easier to authentically represent yourself and express the problem your business is solving.
What is on your list of goals for Avocademy?
We're trying to create a more diverse workforce and give individuals who may not be able to take out a $15,000 loan or spend a couple of years learning, the opportunity to break into the UX/UI field. This year, we're on target to beat our goal of enrolling 500 students in the program. Overall, it's fulfilling to do the work we do, even though being a founder is stressful. Last week, I had a student who was making $30,000 a year and just got an offer for a job with a $93,000 salary. She told me, “you’re helping me break generational curses in my family.” There’s nothing more rewarding than that, and I get chills just thinking about it. Looking ahead, I just want to keep doing what I’m doing and hopefully reach more people as we grow the company.
All of the information in this profile was accurate at the date and time of publication.
Engine works to ensure that policymakers look for insight from the startup ecosystem when they are considering programs and legislation that affect entrepreneurs. Together, our voice is louder and more effective. Many of our lawmakers do not have first-hand experience with the country's thriving startup ecosystem, so it’s our job to amplify that perspective. To nominate a person, company, or organization to be featured in our #StartupsEverywhere series, email ian@engine.is.
