When we launched our first course, we didn’t ask people to sign up. No logins, no email capture, no “create an account to continue.” Just the course—open and ready.

It wasn’t an accident. It was the whole point.

If someone’s curious about a topic, they should be able to explore it right away. Waiting for a confirmation code or setting a password gets in the way. It interrupts the spark. And when you’re just starting out, that spark is everything.

We’ve seen students jump into our web development course at lunch, between classes, on a school Chromebook, on a phone. Many didn’t plan to start a project. They just clicked a link and followed their curiosity. That moment is fragile. The more hoops we put in the way, the fewer people get through.

And for learners who are new to coding or design—or even to the idea that they can learn on their own—it helps to make the first step feel easy. No pressure. No commitment. Just: “Here’s something useful. See if it clicks.”

We still track what works. We still improve the lessons. But we don’t believe you need to trade your data for knowledge. You should be able to try a course, get value from it, and decide later if you want more.

That’s how trust starts. And for us, trust is more important than metrics.

— Arnav Bonigala