Startup School
An annual mentoring program by Anoob Backer
I’m Anoob Backer, Principal Product Manager at Microsoft (and a fellow Malayali).
I’m starting my annual mentoring programme that teaches you how to turn a coding idea into a working web product.
I’m starting my annual mentoring programme that teaches you how to turn a coding idea into a working web product.
What you’ll learn
- Spot a real-world problem worth solving
- Build a simple web prototype, step by step using AI
- Test with users & improve your solution
- Communicate clearly & confidently
- Polish your résumé to stand out in interviews
These skills can speed up your path to a great job—or even your own start-up.
- Spot a real-world problem worth solving
- Build a simple web prototype, step by step using AI
- Test with users & improve your solution
- Communicate clearly & confidently
- Polish your résumé to stand out in interviews
These skills can speed up your path to a great job—or even your own start-up.
How it works
- Who can join? Polytechnic computer students in pre-final year, final year, or just graduated from Kerala
- Format: Online weekend live sessions in Cohort
- Duration: 15 May 2025 - 15 Jun 2025 • Apply by: 2 May 2025
- Seats: Very small group for close guidance
- Course fee: ₹0 — my way of giving back to Kerala
- Who can join? Polytechnic computer students in pre-final year, final year, or just graduated from Kerala
- Format: Online weekend live sessions in Cohort
- Duration: 15 May 2025 - 15 Jun 2025 • Apply by: 2 May 2025
- Seats: Very small group for close guidance
- Course fee: ₹0 — my way of giving back to Kerala
To apply, simply give your name and contact details via the get in touch link below.
In 30 days, I’ll guide participants from idea to launch-ready startup, meeting twice a week for mentor-led lectures, research, presentations, and hands-on sprints. Teams build and maintain real web/mobile apps using HTML/CSS/JS, SvelteKit, & Supabase. Success hinges on sustained self-driven research and coding to hit every milestone.
Students must have a computer, broadband, and active YouTube, Google, GitHub, ChatGPT/Claude, and Discord accounts.
- Use Discord—in English—to flag any blockers.
- Anoob hosts a weekly 60-90 min session: short lecture, student demos, and Q&A.
- Arrive ready to state (1) progress since last meeting, (2) next goal, (3) whether you’re on track for the upcoming milestone.
- Use Discord—in English—to flag any blockers.
- Anoob hosts a weekly 60-90 min session: short lecture, student demos, and Q&A.
- Arrive ready to state (1) progress since last meeting, (2) next goal, (3) whether you’re on track for the upcoming milestone.
Here’s what past attendees have said about the program:
"Open to world of ChatGPT; Personal Development like how to communicate & improve the way of thinking; Coding is not that much difficult" — Arya
"Exposure to new technologies; Understand it helped to learn more things deep rather than looking only the important parts" — Deepak
"I think you were more than a mentor. You have been a coach. Ensuring that I keep moving fast & not getting stuck in my own mental blocks and assumptions" — Thomas
"It helped me gain my confidence; I got an idea like to be working with team, task assigning process or meet up calls all these are new to me; Gave me an idea like how all this works; Major one is using of ChatGPT" — Nasreen
"You taught us how a company hierarchy works, which I had no idea about before. I also didn’t know how to start a project but working in a team allowed us to share knowledge and learn new things together" — Fayas
"Our program was fun and helpful. We integrated it more into Supabase and made it more suitable for starting a startup, as a prototype and for all aspects. Overall, this was a great program" — Nihal
"It was the first time I collaborated with other developers on a project, learned about version control / PR, learned to use Supabase along with Svelte, it was a learning experience which was enjoyable as well"— Jagan
"It really helped me in many ways especially in building confidence, understanding real-world applications of what we learned, and improving my communication and problem-solving skills. The guidance and feedback I received during the program gave me a strong foundation and made the transition into my professional career much smoother. I’m really grateful for that experience." — Adila
"I just wanted to say that your program has been a huge help for me. The way you taught us to build projects based on client needs. Learning Supabase has been useful for me, I'm actually using it at work now! That project where I recreated the Google homepage with Tailwind CSS and recorded my presentation really boosted my confidence, especially since you liked what I did. Your support has meant a lot to me. As someone who's an introvert, I sometimes struggle to put myself out there, but thanks to you all, I feel like I've grown not just in my tech skills but also in my overall confidence. I really appreciate everything you've done" — Aswin
"Exposure to new technologies; Understand it helped to learn more things deep rather than looking only the important parts" — Deepak
"I think you were more than a mentor. You have been a coach. Ensuring that I keep moving fast & not getting stuck in my own mental blocks and assumptions" — Thomas
"It helped me gain my confidence; I got an idea like to be working with team, task assigning process or meet up calls all these are new to me; Gave me an idea like how all this works; Major one is using of ChatGPT" — Nasreen
"You taught us how a company hierarchy works, which I had no idea about before. I also didn’t know how to start a project but working in a team allowed us to share knowledge and learn new things together" — Fayas
"Our program was fun and helpful. We integrated it more into Supabase and made it more suitable for starting a startup, as a prototype and for all aspects. Overall, this was a great program" — Nihal
"It was the first time I collaborated with other developers on a project, learned about version control / PR, learned to use Supabase along with Svelte, it was a learning experience which was enjoyable as well"— Jagan
"It really helped me in many ways especially in building confidence, understanding real-world applications of what we learned, and improving my communication and problem-solving skills. The guidance and feedback I received during the program gave me a strong foundation and made the transition into my professional career much smoother. I’m really grateful for that experience." — Adila
"I just wanted to say that your program has been a huge help for me. The way you taught us to build projects based on client needs. Learning Supabase has been useful for me, I'm actually using it at work now! That project where I recreated the Google homepage with Tailwind CSS and recorded my presentation really boosted my confidence, especially since you liked what I did. Your support has meant a lot to me. As someone who's an introvert, I sometimes struggle to put myself out there, but thanks to you all, I feel like I've grown not just in my tech skills but also in my overall confidence. I really appreciate everything you've done" — Aswin