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Nov 11, 2021 · 28m · we-live-to-build

She Bought Toilet Paper in Bali Before She Knew Her Business Was Gone

Kim Desmond · 20m spoken Sean Weisbrot · 6m spoken
0:00 / 0:00
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Coding Nomads co-founder Kim Desmond joins host Sean Weisbrot to discuss the practical realities of nomadic entrepreneurship and explain how her company successfully pivoted from in-person travel bootcamps to a scalable online learning platform during the pandemic.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Sean holds 24.6% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Sean as informed peer 3.0 Guest teaching 1.2 Guest disagreement 0.2 Sean pushing back 0.3
05100:0010:0020:001:48–7:12 · Sean as informed peer 1/10 The Founding Story of Coding Nomads Kim details the founding journey of Coding Nomads and why they focused on Java immersion programs in Bali. The host largely listens and facilitates with open questions.7:12–12:20 · Sean as informed peer 5/10 The Realities and Community of Nomad Entrepreneurs The host shares insights from moderating a digital nomad community and living in 40 countries, distinguishing nomad employees from nomad entrepreneurs. Kim provides nuance regarding the burnout and practical challenges of constant travel.12:21–14:25 · Sean as informed peer 4/10 Visa Runs and Travel Logistics in Southeast Asia Sean and Kim exchange practical travel anecdotes about Southeast Asian visa runs, border crossings, and navigating regional logistics right before COVID lockdowns.14:26–23:07 · Sean as informed peer 2/10 The Transformative Value of International Travel After briefly discussing the cultural benefits of global travel, Kim narrates the detailed experience of evacuating Bali in March 2020 and transitioning students to emergency remote sessions.23:07–26:59 · Sean as informed peer 4/10 Pivoting Coding Nomads into a Digital-First Model The host presses on the business mechanics of the sudden shift, asking how refunds, pricing adjustments, and curriculum delivery were managed. Kim breaks down the transition to subscription-based online courses.26:59–28:25 · Sean as informed peer 2/10 Connecting with Coding Nomads and Final Advice Kim provides contact info and syllabus details, and the host closes the episode with entrepreneurial takeaways.1:48–7:12 · Guest teaching 1/10 The Founding Story of Coding Nomads Kim details the founding journey of Coding Nomads and why they focused on Java immersion programs in Bali. The host largely listens and facilitates with open questions.7:12–12:20 · Guest teaching 2/10 The Realities and Community of Nomad Entrepreneurs The host shares insights from moderating a digital nomad community and living in 40 countries, distinguishing nomad employees from nomad entrepreneurs. Kim provides nuance regarding the burnout and practical challenges of constant travel.12:21–14:25 · Guest teaching 1/10 Visa Runs and Travel Logistics in Southeast Asia Sean and Kim exchange practical travel anecdotes about Southeast Asian visa runs, border crossings, and navigating regional logistics right before COVID lockdowns.14:26–23:07 · Guest teaching 1/10 The Transformative Value of International Travel After briefly discussing the cultural benefits of global travel, Kim narrates the detailed experience of evacuating Bali in March 2020 and transitioning students to emergency remote sessions.23:07–26:59 · Guest teaching 2/10 Pivoting Coding Nomads into a Digital-First Model The host presses on the business mechanics of the sudden shift, asking how refunds, pricing adjustments, and curriculum delivery were managed. Kim breaks down the transition to subscription-based online courses.26:59–28:25 · Guest teaching 0/10 Connecting with Coding Nomads and Final Advice Kim provides contact info and syllabus details, and the host closes the episode with entrepreneurial takeaways.1:48–7:12 · Guest disagreement 0/10 The Founding Story of Coding Nomads Kim details the founding journey of Coding Nomads and why they focused on Java immersion programs in Bali. The host largely listens and facilitates with open questions.7:12–12:20 · Guest disagreement 1/10 The Realities and Community of Nomad Entrepreneurs The host shares insights from moderating a digital nomad community and living in 40 countries, distinguishing nomad employees from nomad entrepreneurs. Kim provides nuance regarding the burnout and practical challenges of constant travel.12:21–14:25 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Visa Runs and Travel Logistics in Southeast Asia Sean and Kim exchange practical travel anecdotes about Southeast Asian visa runs, border crossings, and navigating regional logistics right before COVID lockdowns.14:26–23:07 · Guest disagreement 0/10 The Transformative Value of International Travel After briefly discussing the cultural benefits of global travel, Kim narrates the detailed experience of evacuating Bali in March 2020 and transitioning students to emergency remote sessions.23:07–26:59 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Pivoting Coding Nomads into a Digital-First Model The host presses on the business mechanics of the sudden shift, asking how refunds, pricing adjustments, and curriculum delivery were managed. Kim breaks down the transition to subscription-based online courses.26:59–28:25 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Connecting with Coding Nomads and Final Advice Kim provides contact info and syllabus details, and the host closes the episode with entrepreneurial takeaways.1:48–7:12 · Sean pushing back 0/10 The Founding Story of Coding Nomads Kim details the founding journey of Coding Nomads and why they focused on Java immersion programs in Bali. The host largely listens and facilitates with open questions.7:12–12:20 · Sean pushing back 1/10 The Realities and Community of Nomad Entrepreneurs The host shares insights from moderating a digital nomad community and living in 40 countries, distinguishing nomad employees from nomad entrepreneurs. Kim provides nuance regarding the burnout and practical challenges of constant travel.12:21–14:25 · Sean pushing back 0/10 Visa Runs and Travel Logistics in Southeast Asia Sean and Kim exchange practical travel anecdotes about Southeast Asian visa runs, border crossings, and navigating regional logistics right before COVID lockdowns.14:26–23:07 · Sean pushing back 0/10 The Transformative Value of International Travel After briefly discussing the cultural benefits of global travel, Kim narrates the detailed experience of evacuating Bali in March 2020 and transitioning students to emergency remote sessions.23:07–26:59 · Sean pushing back 1/10 Pivoting Coding Nomads into a Digital-First Model The host presses on the business mechanics of the sudden shift, asking how refunds, pricing adjustments, and curriculum delivery were managed. Kim breaks down the transition to subscription-based online courses.26:59–28:25 · Sean pushing back 0/10 Connecting with Coding Nomads and Final Advice Kim provides contact info and syllabus details, and the host closes the episode with entrepreneurial takeaways.

speaking balance: gold is Sean, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Sean 69.6% · guest 30.4%0:00 · Sean 69.6% · guest 30.4%3:00 · Sean 0% · guest 100%3:00 · Sean 0% · guest 100%6:00 · Sean 28.5% · guest 71.5%6:00 · Sean 28.5% · guest 71.5%9:00 · Sean 32.5% · guest 67.5%9:00 · Sean 32.5% · guest 67.5%12:00 · Sean 57.4% · guest 42.6%12:00 · Sean 57.4% · guest 42.6%15:00 · Sean 9.5% · guest 90.5%15:00 · Sean 9.5% · guest 90.5%18:00 · Sean 0% · guest 100%18:00 · Sean 0% · guest 100%21:00 · Sean 10.6% · guest 89.4%21:00 · Sean 10.6% · guest 89.4%24:00 · Sean 0.2% · guest 99.8%24:00 · Sean 0.2% · guest 99.8%27:00 · Sean 53.1% · guest 46.9%27:00 · Sean 53.1% · guest 46.9%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 8:04 Tempering the nomad lifestyle ideal

Kim gently counters the glamorous depiction of nomad life by noting how exhausting it is to constantly search for Airbnbs, good Wi-Fi, and stability.

 Hardest push from Sean ▶ 23:07 Inquiring about COVID business concessions

The host directly probes the operational realities of the pandemic shift, asking whether they had to refund tuition or slash prices to keep students.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 3:45 Explaining the enterprise demand for Java

Kim explains why Coding Nomads chose Java over typical bootcamp languages like Ruby or JavaScript, highlighting the deep enterprise demand and market gap.

 Sean holds their own ▶ 9:19 Strategic one-month networking tactic

Sean demonstrates his deep experience as an overseas founder by advising travelers to stay at least a month per city to build sustainable entrepreneurial networks.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicSean as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementSean pushing backWhy
The Founding Story of Coding Nomads 1100 Kim details the founding journey of Coding Nomads and why they focused on Java immersion programs in Bali. The host largely listens and facilitates with open questions.
The Realities and Community of Nomad Entrepreneurs 5211 The host shares insights from moderating a digital nomad community and living in 40 countries, distinguishing nomad employees from nomad entrepreneurs. Kim provides nuance regarding the burnout and practical challenges of constant travel.
Visa Runs and Travel Logistics in Southeast Asia 4100 Sean and Kim exchange practical travel anecdotes about Southeast Asian visa runs, border crossings, and navigating regional logistics right before COVID lockdowns.
The Transformative Value of International Travel 2100 After briefly discussing the cultural benefits of global travel, Kim narrates the detailed experience of evacuating Bali in March 2020 and transitioning students to emergency remote sessions.
Pivoting Coding Nomads into a Digital-First Model 4201 The host presses on the business mechanics of the sudden shift, asking how refunds, pricing adjustments, and curriculum delivery were managed. Kim breaks down the transition to subscription-based online courses.
Connecting with Coding Nomads and Final Advice 2000 Kim provides contact info and syllabus details, and the host closes the episode with entrepreneurial takeaways.

Statements from this episode (4)

Assertion Supported
Kim Desmond: Coding bootcamps overlooked high-demand Java training for JavaScript and Rails
“We saw that there actually was a huge gap in the market for Java training. Most of the other boot camps were teaching front-end technologies like JavaScript. A lot of boot camps teaching Ruby on Rails, which are great technologies and in super high demand as w…”
Kim Desmond Nov 11, 2021 ▶ 4:52
Opinion
Weisbrot: Governments Should Fund a Year Abroad for Every College Student
“I've said for a long time, I think that every government in the world should pay for every university student to spend one year in the country of their choice.”
Sean Weisbrot Nov 11, 2021 ▶ 14:30
Assertion Contradicted
Kim Desmond: Bali's economy is 80% to 90% reliant on tourism
“Bali's industry is like 80 to 90% based on tourism, so they didn't want to hurt that”
Kim Desmond Nov 11, 2021 ▶ 20:26
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Desmond: Coding Nomads earned only 5-10% of revenue online pre-pandemic
“Our online revenue was maybe five to 10% of our annual revenue, and that was only since 2019 because that's when we launched our online courses.”
Kim Desmond Nov 11, 2021 ▶ 25:12
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