Case study · online learning startup

Wooskill: a startup’s product, built block by block.

Live classes that hold up, self-sufficient trainers, messages nobody misses, frictionless sign-up: four building blocks of the product, from idea to production, shipped one by one.

Product map · Wooskill4 building blocks
Block 1Video conferencingLive classesIn production
Block 2Course authoringVideos includedIn production
Block 3Real-time messagingBetween membersIn production
Block 4Sign-inSign-up and paymentIn production
A long-term collaborationSimplified diagram
The four building blocks built for Wooskill, all shipped to production.
Client
Wooskill
Sector
Online learning · startup
Need
Evolve the platform: ship fast, without breaking what works
Stages
Propose and prototype · Build and go live · Monitor and improve, for each building block
Relationship
Long-term
Technologies
ReactSymfonyAWS Chime SDKAWS Elemental MediaConvertAmazon S3AWS Step FunctionsAmazon EventBridgeAmazon CloudFrontAmazon CognitoAWS LambdaAWS AmplifyPusherDatadogAmazon CloudWatch
4

Building blocks of the product built and shipped to production

3years

Of collaboration

2

Founders who vouch for it

01Context

An online learning startup.

Wooskill connects trainers, the Skillers, with people who want to learn: live classes, video courses, conversations between members.

A startup means quick decisions and a close-knit team. You have to ship fast, without breaking what works, for users who rely on it every day.

02The stakes

Four problems holding the platform back.

Live classes that got overloaded, trainers who depended on the team, missed messages, a sign-up that held back purchases.

Live classes that hold up

Reliable video conferencing, even when the room fills up.

Self-sufficient trainers

Build a complete course on their own, videos included.

Conversations where nothing gets missed

An important message should never go unnoticed.

Frictionless sign-up

Create an account and pay in a few clicks.

03Approach

From idea to production, for each building block.

Each building block starts from the needs of the users and the team: the most fitting technical solution, built, shipped to production, then improved with feedback.

  1. Understand the need

    With the team, on the product and business side.

  2. Choose the solution

    Solid, ready to grow, at the right cost.

  3. Build

    The interface, the server and the AWS infrastructure.

  4. Go to production

    Then monitor, measure, improve.

A single point of contact

The person who listened to the team was the one who designed, built and shipped to production.

No hand-offs between teams, no needs distorted along the way: the decisions made with the founders end up in the product as they were made.

04What was built

Four needs, four building blocks.

Block 1 · Video conferencing

Live classes that hold up in large sessions.

The old video conferencing tool showed its limits as soon as sessions filled up. It was rebuilt from scratch.

  • Up to 50 active cameras, plus 200 more participants who watch and write in the chat.
  • Raise a hand, live reactions, polls, screen sharing, co-hosting.
  • One click to gather every question asked during the session.
  • A replay recorded automatically, then split into chapters with AI.

TechnologiesAWS Chime SDK · Amazon EventBridge · AWS Elemental MediaConvert

A session: the speaker, a raised hand, the replay split into chapters.

Block 2 · Course authoring

Trainers build their courses on their own, even with large videos.

A clear authoring tool for Skillers, and videos that play well everywhere, whatever the connection.

  • Chapters and sub-chapters, formatted text, PDFs, videos and quizzes.
  • Videos of several gigabytes uploaded straight to storage, without slowing the platform down.
  • The trainer keeps writing while the upload runs.
  • Each video is prepared automatically for every screen and every connection speed.

TechnologiesReact · DraftJS · Amazon S3 · AWS Step Functions · Amazon CloudFront · Symfony

A video’s journey, from upload to playback on every screen.

Block 3 · Real-time messaging

Never miss an important message, without drowning in notifications.

Messaging that combines the speed of chat with the reliability of an inbox.

  • Messages, read receipts and typing indicators in real time.
  • A reminder by email or text, only if the message stays unread.
  • Sharing of large documents and photos.
  • Automatic moderation: personal contact details and attempts to get around the rules are flagged.

TechnologiesPusher (WebSockets) · AWS Step Functions · Amazon S3

A reminder only if the message stays unread.

Block 4 · Sign-in

Sign up and pay in a few clicks.

Having to create an account before paying was holding back purchases. Sign-in was simplified, without forcing anything on existing members.

  • Sign in with Google, Apple or Facebook.
  • Existing accounts migrated smoothly: nobody had to change their password.
  • A single system for every way to sign in.
  • Fewer steps between discovering a course and paying for it.

TechnologiesAmazon Cognito · AWS Lambda · AWS Amplify

Account migration, invisible to members.
05Results

Four building blocks in production, and two founders who say so.

Built
4blocks

Of the product built and shipped to production: video conferencing, courses, messaging, sign-in.

Duration
3years

Of collaboration, from the first building block to the last.

“Damien is deeply invested in his projects, his mind is buzzing with ideas, he is very solutions-oriented […] Simply a gem.”
Sophie KerobCEO and founder of Wooskill
“Very strong technically, passionate, super sociable, quickly becomes the favorite of an entire team.”
Philippe IsaacCOO and co-founder of Wooskill
06For you

Your product has to grow without breaking what works?

Adding a major feature, or AI, to a product already used every day: each building block is scoped, built, tested on a separate environment, then shipped to production with your go-ahead.

You can start with a prototype, to decide on solid ground.

Stage 2Duration depends on scope

Build and go live

The product is built in stages, shown regularly on a test environment, then released to production with your go-ahead.

  • Product live on your AWS account
  • Automated tests and AI quality checks
  • Code, documentation and access handed over
See the path Or start with a prototype
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