Co-founder of Maven (a16z, First Round)

Wes Kao

How to get noticed as a high-performing IC

Co-founder at Maven, co-founder of Seth Godin's altMBA

Be prepared to move fast, encourage them to interrupt you, and more.

How to present to your CEO

Most people suck at managing up. We'll cover principles that will serve you now and throughout your career.

Manage up to your manager

How to frame problems, recommendations, and proposals to drive buy-in and action.

The #1 question every business case should address

Sell your ideas, manage up, gain buy-in, and increase your impact. Sharpen your skills via hands-on exercises, deep dives, scripts, and more

Anthropic

Atlassian

DoorDash

Google

Co-founder of Maven. Co-founder of altMBA. Followed by 300k+ operators in tech

Cohort 11 (May)

Cohort 12 (July)

Update: The May cohort is sold out, but the July cohort is now open for enrollment. Over 2,000 tech operators have taken this course. If you've been thinking about joining, I'd love to see you in class.___If you're a high performer, you likely got to where you are because of your raw talent and ability to execute.But now that your scope has grown, your ability to increase impact depends on how well you influence others.No one teaches you how to do this beyond the basics...Until now.In this 2-day intensive course, you will learn practical ways to:<ul><li>Influence stakeholders to get buy-in</li><li>Prevent avoidable back-and-forth, friction, pushback</li><li>Write/speak more clearly and concisely</li><li>Pitch your ideas to increase chances of getting a yes</li><li>Appeal to impatient executives with high expectations</li></ul>During the course, you will drink from the firehose.You won't become a different person overnight. But my goal is to help you dramatically improve your competence and confidence in a condensed period of time.You and your team can move faster. You can prevent avoidable friction.You can accomplish more of what you want--and have more fun in the process.

Strong communication is a force multiplier

Present to your CEO to maximize highly-visible moments

Managing up in day-to-day interactions

Frame your ideas and give the right amount of context in any situation

Identify ways to improve your own writing

Influence up and sideways to get things done

There's a difference between "I know this" vs "I do this."  This course is for operators who are strong and want to get even sharper.

You are open-minded and intellectually honest

This is not for you if you want a slower-paced course over several weeks. This is a 2-day intensive designed for busy operators.

You are looking for a condensed, intensive experience

This is not for you if you expect to become excellent in communication overnight. You will need to practice ongoing to build muscle memory.

You will continue practicing after the course

Senior individual contributors (ICs). Marketing leads, PMs, engineers, program managers, UX designers, etc. Minimum 3+ years of experience.

People managers and leaders (heads of, team leads, directors). You run a team and have to get buy-in upwards and x-functionally.

Teams who want shared language so you can move faster, give feedback faster, have shared expectations, and persuade folks outside your team.

Tactical “how to” insights to stand out, accelerate your growth, and use AI as your career copilot.

Co-Founder, Level Up; $1B+ P&L; led 40+

Amazon

Dentsu

IPG Mediabrands

Harvard Business Review

Techstars

Jason P. Yoong

Co-Founder & COO at Level Up (fmr Amazon, VP at Dentsu, Startup - $8M seed)

Cohort 3

Cohort 4

WHAT TO EXPECT:6 hours of live instruction on Zoom taught by Jason (with a special guest for one class). We focus on the "why" and tactical actionable pieces around the "HOW" that you can apply immediately (with specific AI Action Prompts). Includes dedicated time to small group discussions, sharing, peer networking, and Q&amp;A.You also get 2.5+ hours of bonus video recorded content from senior leaders sharing their "breakthrough fast" career advice.YOUR TRANSFORMATION:BEFORE:- “I don’t know how to stand out.”- “I do not have exec sponsors nor champions.”- “I do great work, but sometimes get overlooked.”- “I know the promo process, but I do not know how to drive it successfully.”- “My career is good, but I want it to be better and faster now.” (I am ambitious)AFTER:- “I know exactly what to do differently tomorrow!”- “I have clear steps to stand out and increase my visibility.”- “I know the blueprint to lead and drive my promotion process.”We drive real alumni promotions (see screenshots below).FYI — see below for my AI courses:<ul><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://maven.com/level-up-leadership-team/claude-cowork-certification">Claude Cowork Certification: Build skills that work</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://maven.com/level-up-with-ai/ai-pm-survival-frameworks-2026-certification">AI PM Certification: From Specs &amp; Evals to Leadership Sign-off</a></li></ul>

Fast track your career flywheel and progression now (early momentum compounds)

How to own your career & promote yourself

How to better manage up and drive real change & impact

How to stand out, be visible, and get executive sponsorship

How to lead your promotion conversation

Be Forward-Thinking

AI Action Prompts & Document Templates

Ambitious individual contributors (ICs) and first/second time managers with &lt;15 years experience who want to get promoted

Applicable to all domains: product managers, mkt leads, program managers, engineers, UX designers, operations, analysts, chief of staff

People who have a go-getter attitude and produced strong outcomes at work but find the promotion process challenging or ambiguous

Build Executive Visibility with self-advocacy, assertiveness, influence, conflict, being strategic & navigating organizational dynamics 

 Global VP(ex-IBM); $2B P&L; 2000+ team

Palantir

Microsoft

Monica Aggarwal

Executive Leadership I Global VP (ex-IBM) I Engineering, Product & Partnerships

Cohort 12

Cohort 13

You’re already good at your job. That’s not the problem. The problem is this. AI is reshaping how teams work. Roles are shrinking. Layers are flattening. The bar for leadership is rising. The people who advance aren't just the most competent. They're the ones who act like leaders before they get the title. In high-stakes meetings, under pressure, in front of senior leaders, someone is getting that opportunity — because they know how to frame, influence, and command trust in 30 seconds flat. Those skills aren’t taught anywhere. This cohort changes that.Zero passive videos Zero generic advice 9+ hours of Live Practice Lab Every Session includes:• Live role-play using real scenarios • Direct coaching and reframing on the spot • Immediate feedback on language, structure, and delivery • Bite-sized frameworks you can use rightaway • Peer observation (learn 5x faster watching others get coached) What you’ll walk away able to do✔ Frame updates so execs get your impact in 30 seconds ✔ Answer tough questions without rambling ✔ Influence decisions in cross-functional teams ✔ Handle conflict without losing composure ✔ Navigate org dynamics without playing dirty ✔ Make your work impossible to ignore

Own the room. Move the C-suite. Shape the outcome.

How to Advocate for Yourself - Own your story

How to Be Assertive - Lead with conviction, not compliance

How to Influence Without Authority - Get things done when power is distributed

How to Manage Conflict: Handle heat w/o losing your cool

How to Be a Strategic Leader: For clarity & foresight

Navigate Organizational Dynamics - Understand the game & elevate your impact 

You are a Leader of People - Founder, Entrepreneur, CXO, VP, Senior Director, Director, Senior Manager, etc.

Senior Individual Contributors (ICs) - Product Manager, Engineer, Marketing/ Finance/Technical lead, Program/ Project Manager &amp; UX/CX Lead

New In Your Role and looking to develop Executive Visibility right at the outset (Congrats!)

Your career ladder just got a new rung. Do you know how to best climb it? 

CPTO, Executive Coach, Writer

Stripe

Instagram

Yue Zhao

Chief Product & Technology Officer, First PM @ Thumbtack, Ex-Instagram & Meta.

Cohort 1

The old playbook said: manage people to get ahead. But with AI, managers are being pushed into IC roles. Super ICs are taking over the work of multiple people. How do you navigate these shifts and come out ahead? People around you are giving you a lot of hot takes ("management is dead!" "SaaS is dead!" "We're all builders!"). But it's daunting to figure out what's right for you based on your strengths, your situation, your career goals. This workshop gives you the tools to reflect, map, and iterate on your career path (because no one else is going to do this for you). Whether you're debating whether to go Super IC, trying hard to stay in management, or figuring out what to do now that you've been pushed into a Super IC role without asking for it, this is the workshop that will help you map a path forward.

Understand whether the Super IC path is right for you, and how to build influence, impact, and career momentum in either scenario.

Diagnose your career path with clarity

Understand where Super IC shines 

How to transition upwards to Super IC

How to navigate a forced Super IC transition 

The Manager Who Misses Building: You've been a manger and are good at it. You got into management because it was the only way to move up.

The Manager Who Got Pushed To IC: Your company just eliminated a layer, or stopped backfilling, and you're asked to take on IC work.

Early Career Figuring Out the Path You're trying to understand how AI is changing the career ladders. You want more than a "hot take".

Agentic AI

Coding with AI

AI Workflows

Claude Code

OpenClaw

Vibe Coding

AI Evals

AI Transformation

RAG & Search

AI for PMs

AI for Engineers

AI for Designers

AI for Marketers

AI for Founders

Product Sense

Product Discovery

User Research

Prototyping

Growth

Analytics

Tech Foundations

Strategy

Influence

Leadership

Career Growth

Machine Learning

LLM Ops

Context Eng

Security

System Design

Figma

Design Systems

Visual Design

Design Strategy

Automation

Content Marketing

Demand Gen

Go-to-Market

Product Marketing

Positioning

Social Media

Brand

B2B Marketing

SEO & AEO

AI for Leaders

AI Governance

Communication

Management

People Operations

Exec Presence

Storytelling

Goal-setting

Personal Brand

Fundraising

Everyone

Operators

Data Scientists

Business Analysts

User Researchers

Customer Success

Project Managers

HR Professionals

Sales People

Lawyers

Finance

Investors

Real Estate

Educators

Creators

Product managers who drive strategy, development, and launch of products.

Executives and senior leaders who set strategy, lead teams, and drive organizational outcomes.

Engineers and engineering leaders who build, deploy, and scale software systems.

Getting promoted, navigating job transitions, and advancing to the next level in your career.

Developing leadership skills — inspiring teams, building culture, navigating organizational complexity, and driving results through others.

Persuading stakeholders, presenting ideas, and getting buy-in across an organization without formal authority.

How to get noticed as a high-performing IC

What you'll learn

Why this topic matters

You'll learn from

Wes Kao