Online course business simulator
See what your online course business would turn over, how many students you'd win and who you'd lose them to — month by month for two years — before you spend real money.
One course, a launch, and the students who tell their friends. This one opens as Skillforge Academy: A creator selling online courses and a paid community to people learning one skill. Rename it, reprice it, or describe your own online course business and let Nova rewrite it to fit.
What a steady course business ends up with
Played steadily for all two years — quality first, then growth, a fair share of the bank spent each year — a steady course business here ends its last year on $110k of revenue and $43k of profit, with 471 students and 3.8% of the market (#5 of 5).
It starts from nothing: $20k in the bank and you, 45 hours a week, with no students yet.
People who play it well do better, and a bad plan runs out of money.
Revenue in the last year: $110k
Profit in the last year: $43k
Students at the end: 471
Share of the market: From nothing to 3.8%
Where it finishes: #5 of 5
Years and decisions: 2 years, monthly
What you'll decide each month
Each month you set what a course costs, how many students each member of staff can take, what you spend on being found, and which markets you teach in.
Each decision shows on a forecast before you file it, and every period resolves against the rivals and the economy.
Who your students are
Students buy results. A course that works sells the next one by word of mouth, and the free version online sets the ceiling on what anybody will pay.
60,000 students in all, across United States, United Kingdom, Europe and Rest of the world.
Students on a budget: They need the result and will find the cheapest way to it. About 27,000 of them, worth $180 a year each.
Career changers: Paying their own way to a new job, so they read every review. About 15,000 of them, worth $450 a year each.
Employers paying for staff: A budget, a report to fill in, and a renewal if it worked. About 6,000 of them, worth $1.1k a year each.
Parents: Buying for their children, cautious and loyal once convinced. About 12,000 of them, worth $330 a year each.
Who you're up against
Three rivals are already in it, and they play to win: they cut prices, spend on marketing and answer what you do. Most of the market is theirs on day one.
The big course marketplace: The biggest, and slow to change — it has stopped listening to its smaller customers. Holds about 30% of the market.
Free videos online: Wins on price and little else; its customers leave the moment somebody is better. Holds about 20% of the market.
The famous expert's course: Clever and quick, but stretched thin and hard to get hold of. Holds about 10% of the market.
How it works
Free until you start: building and previewing cost nothing, and starting is $10, once.
Build it — free: Press build and you get your own copy of this market: four kinds of student, three rivals and four markets.
Make it yours: Change any number, describe your online course business in a sentence or two and let Nova fill it in, or upload a profit and loss or a month-by-month sales history to fit it to your real figures.
Preview — free: See what a steady course business ends up with, and every warning worth reading, before you pay anything.
Start — $10: Pay once to start, your seat included. Then run it month by month for two years.
Also for
online course · course · teachable · udemy · coaching · cohort · info product
How much does the online course business simulator cost?
Building and previewing are free: make your own copy of this online course business market, change anything in it and see what a steady course business ends up with without paying. Starting the simulation is $10, once, and your own seat is included.
Can I make it match my own online course business?
Yes. Every number can be changed — the students and what they pay, the rivals, the markets, the costs and the starting cash. Or describe your online course business in a sentence or two and Nova, SparkTower's AI, fills every section in for one Nova action. If you already trade, upload a profit and loss or a month-by-month sales history and the simulation is fitted to your real numbers, starting from where your business stands today.
Are the numbers realistic for an online course business?
The template is checked against what real ones do: played steadily, a believable one finishes year two turning over between $20k and $250k, with between 80 and 1,200 students. This one's preview comes to about $110k and 471. Your own prices, costs and figures change that, which is the point of trying it here first.
Can I use it to test an online course business plan?
That is what it is for. Put your plan's prices, costs and starting cash in, play it forward month by month, and see whether the money lasts, how many students you would need and what a rival's price cut does to you — before you put real money in.
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