Przeprogramowani: From a side project to one of Poland’s top AI courses

We’re achieving our best results ever while working less.

Marcin Czarkowski, co-founder of Przeprogramowani, transformed a side project – running a “Master JavaScript” course after hours – into his full-time venture focused on developer education. Today, their courses attract up to 2,000 participants each edition and generate $400,000+ in revenue. Thanks to their partnership with BRAVE, the team can now concentrate solely on delivering valuable content.

The Przeprogramowani story offers a clear lesson: listen to your community, experiment, collaborate, and don’t shy away from scaling.

Driven by a passion for education

Six years ago, Marcin Czarkowski, Przemek Smyrdek, and Adam Gospodarczyk started Przeprogramowani as a weekend gig while juggling their full-time jobs. Their first course, “Master JavaScript,” was launched with a mix of excitement and uncertainty, priced at 500 PLN on Web2Learn.

We had just one course at first. It was our initial attempt to connect with the community and build a customer base.

They built their audience mainly through YouTube and a newsletter filled with free programming content. After four years, they realized they needed to take bigger steps to turn their passion into a full-time business.

Breaking free from the 9-to-5

The decision to quit their jobs and go all-in was driven by a gut feeling and market observation – AI was on the rise. In 2024, Przemek and Marcin decided to commit fully to Przeprogramowani.

We sensed something big was happening in tech that could change everything. It felt like the right time to invest in our brand and dive deeper into AI. If we didn’t act now, we might miss a huge opportunity.

Initially, they thought in-person corporate training would be the best route.

We figured corporate trainings would take off, but companies just weren’t ready.

They soon realized the real interest was from individual learners – enthusiasts and self-starters. So, they pivoted back to online education, this time focused on AI.

The game-changer: Partnering with BRAVE

In their first two years, they ran 2–3 online cohorts per year, averaging 150–200 participants. The breakthrough came when they partnered with BRAVE – an agency that helps creators launch and scale courses and has been involved in some of Poland’s biggest educational projects.

Their first joint course was 10xDevs.

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Working with BRAVE made our sales explode. The first cohort of 10xDevs had 1,250 participants, and now, before the next edition even starts, we already have 1,200 signed up. We expect to surpass 2,000.

With BRAVE handling promotions and customer support, Marcin and Przemek could focus on course content and engage in sales in their free time.

Before, we did everything ourselves, and it was exhausting. Each cohort was a massive workload. Now, we’re getting our best results ever while working less.

The process of creating top AI courses

Their success isn’t just about capitalizing on AI trends; it’s about truly understanding their audience.

We always strive to find out what people actually need. We run surveys through our newsletter (with 2.5K subscribers) to uncover real issues.

The book The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick helped them ask better questions and gather genuine insights rather than surface-level interests.

Marcin and Przemek also closely track the AI space and test new tools on their own projects.

As a result, they often finalize their course agenda and materials right before launch.

We’re super agile. Some material is created just in time to provide the most up-to-date insights. AI evolves so quickly.

They also continue to share free content – on YouTube, through newsletters, and via a podcast that consistently ranks among Poland’s top tech podcasts.

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We love sharing knowledge. It builds trust, keeps us sharp, and honestly, it’s just fun.

Interestingly, their podcast has become their best source of B2B leads for occasional in-person trainings.

When clients call about corporate trainings, many say they found us through the podcast. That’s why we focus on quality and staying authentic – so people feel a real connection with us.

When other solutions fell short

They initially sold their first course through Web2Learn, but the platform didn’t meet their expectations.

Web2Learn had many issues. The user experience was clunky – for both users and us as admins. It just didn’t work.

Around that time, an early version of Easycart launched. They gave it a try and decided to stick with us.

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We were happy with Easycart. It worked better than Web2Learn, so we stayed. We didn’t even look at other options – we decided to support a tool that works, is built by someone we know, and always offers the support we need.

Today, they host their courses on Circle and manage all sales through Easycart. Some key features they rely on include:

• Easy report generation: Quick reports for accounting and sales analysis
• Marketing integrations: Google Ads and Facebook Pixel support
• Discount codes: Simple creation and management
• Checkout design: Attractive cart with product screenshots and previews
• Waitlists: Track interest and plan future editions

Waitlists are incredibly helpful. They show us how many people are interested, helping us know when to launch the next cohort.

$400,000+ and 1,250 participants in one edition

After six years, Marcin and Przemek are now running one of Poland’s most popular AI courses for developers. The first edition of 10xDevs attracted 1,250 participants and received top ratings.

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The first edition generated over $400k in revenue, with Easycart handling the volume seamlessly and achieving an average conversion rate of 27%.

What’s next

Currently, their primary focus is on 10xDevs. They still offer both cohort-based and on-demand courses, but the latter aren’t performing as well.

At the end of 2024, we launched a non-cohort course available off-the-shelf. It’s genuinely great, but it’s our worst seller. People are really seeking connection, community, and live interactions.

As for long-term plans, they remain flexible.

AI and coding are rapidly evolving, and we’re very interested in that. That’s our focus for now. But the world is changing, and we can’t predict what we’ll be doing in 5 or 10 years. We’re staying alert to market needs.

Key takeaways for online course creators

1. Don’t underprice  ‍

Marcin and Przemek initially sold their high-quality courses too cheap. At the time, platforms like Udemy dominated with 30 PLN price tags, and they lacked the confidence to go higher.

We poured so much work into our courses and then sold them for 500 PLN. Meanwhile, bootcamps were charging 10-15K PLN – and their grads often came to us and only landed jobs after taking our 500 PLN course. Today, we’d price those early ones way higher.

2. Good marketing is an investment  ‍

Their results with BRAVE prove that investing in marketing and trusting pros pays off. Not only do their courses sell better – they’re also higher quality, because Marcin and Przemek can focus on what they're best at.

3. Great content isn’t enough 

At first, we’d spend dozens of hours crafting free content… and promote it with just one post. That’s just not enough. You can’t expect good content to sell itself. Even developers care about how it’s presented.

Summary 

The Przeprogramowani journey illustrates that success stems from smart decisions, listening to your audience, and utilizing the right tools. With BRAVE and Easycart on their side – and a flexible, curious mindset – Marcin and Przemek are well-positioned for continued growth and to educate the next generation of developers.

It feels like this is just the beginning. Observing people’s skills and awareness, there’s still a long way to go. Tech is evolving at lightning speed, meaning AI will remain relevant for a long time.

Learn more about what Marcin and Przemek are building at Przeprogramowani.

Join 10xDevs or sign up for the next edition.