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

Co-founder of Maven (a16z, First Round)

Anthropic

Atlassian

DoorDash

Google

Wes Kao

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

Cohort 10 (March)

Cohort 11 (May)

Update: The March cohort is sold out. The May cohort is now open for enrollment. Over 1,500 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.

You'll learn the skills that helped 400+ students improve their influence, have more impact, get hired/promoted and lead happier lives.

Ex-Product Leader at Meta, Yelp, & Yahoo

Yelp

Yahoo

Satish Mummareddy

Ex - Meta Yelp Yahoo. Led consumer, biz, ads & integrity products. Coached x00s.

Cohort 13

Cohort 14

Influence Without Authority is the ability to earn leadership trust, align peers &amp; partners, and lead through adversity to drive business impact.Influence is the skill that differentiates people who thrive in new companies &amp; roles, get high-profile projects and are promoted from those who struggle with change &amp; stagnate. That gap compounds into millions of dollars in career earnings.Rapid changes driven by AI will only make influence more critical. Teams are getting smaller. Roles are overlapping. Expectations are rising. People are on edge. Influence lets you navigate that &amp; drive impact.Most people assume influence is something you're either born with or not. In reality, influence is a skill you can significantly improve with the right principles &amp; deliberate practice.400+ product builders from 50+ top companies have taken this course and leveled up their influence skills.<ul><li>Alumni got promoted, influenced executives, and strengthened relationships</li><li>Students joining new companies &amp; teams wish this were part of onboarding at tech companies</li><li>Most students wish they had taken it much earlier in their careers and saved themselves years</li></ul>Master this skill. Change the trajectory of your career.

Influence turns product builders into trusted leaders & ideas into impact.

Embody a high integrity influence style -> Be the leader others trust

Understand people's incentives & powers -> Craft a plan decision makers champion

Build relationships & reputation early -> Turn skeptics into allies and sponsors

Leverage decision psychology & influence toolkit -> Change minds & align groups

Master peer & exec communication -> Resolve conflicts and win leadership support

Develop high agency & emotional intelligence -> Thrive in any team and situation

Start Strong: Just changed companies, or roles and are eager to earn trust, build a strong reputation and drive product &amp; business impact

Grow Faster: Doing strong product work but want to develop skills to take on more scope, lead high-visibility initiatives &amp; earn sponsorship

Regain Momentum: Facing organizational challenges or had a career setback and looking for the missing pieces to regain confidence &amp; momentum

Confidently engage and influence executives and key stakeholders to show that you've got what it takes to earn their trust and respect.

Former Amazon VP; 70+ patents; 800+ team

Amazon

Ethan Evans

Former Amazon VP; 70+ patents; led global teams of 800+

Cofounder at Level Up; $1B+ P&L; led 40+

Dentsu

IPG Mediabrands

Harvard Business Review

Techstars

Jason P. Yoong

Cofounder & COO at Level Up (former Amazon, VP at Dentsu, $8M seed Startup)

Cohort 2

Cohort 3

***Cohort limited to 50 seats (to maximize student interaction) and will close once filled.WHAT TO EXPECT:11+ total hours of content: 3 hours of prework core lecture video recordings for self-learning followed by 8+ hours of live sessions (executive scenario role-playing practice, peer practice, and a bonus class with a special guest).You will learn how to BUILD and SHOW executive presence through an intentional mix of video recorded lectures (self-learning) followed by live, hands-on practice sessions concluding with a capstone session with Ethan to put everything you learned into a final practice.You will have the unique opportunity to step into executive role-playing scenarios with Ethan, receive (and observe) real-time coaching, and practice alongside ambitious peers in a safe environment. You will learn by both observing and doing.Note: We've updated the cohort to have MORE TIME for live executive role-playing and Q&amp;A so that you have more opportunities to get real-time feedback, coaching, and reframing (both first-hand and observing others).

Command high-stakes rooms, win C-suite alignment, be confident, speak like a pro

Real coaching sessions with HEAVY PRACTICE to build your confidence

Finesse your executive communication (e.g. CEO, C-suite, SVPs, VPs)

How to get CEO approval and buy-in to your proposal

Establish your credibility in the company upwards, downwards, and sideways

Be direct and clear (without damaging your reputation)

Expertly handle (and recover from) big F-ups

Individual contributors (ICs) - product managers, mkt leads, engineers, UX designers, ops, analysts, chief of staff

Managers who have to get executive buy-in, gain cross-functional alignment, and inspire their teams.

This course is heavy on practice with Ethan, Jason, and your peers (e.g. role-playing, mock staff meetings, peer pairings).

Master the psychological triggers and strategic alignment frameworks used by VPs and Directors to assess leadership potential.

Ex-Amazon Director/General Manager

Microsoft

Apple

Mike Li

Ex-Amazon Director/General Manager of CO | Entrepreneur | Executive Coach

Cohort 9

Cohort 10

Most professionals spend a decade trying to guess the unspoken rules of the Executives. This course compresses that 10-year learning curve into a single experience. We shift your trajectory from an overlooked contributor to a reputable, confident leader by putting you in the 'hot seat.' You won't just learn the theory and frameworks of influence. Through well-designed simulation sessions, you will build the muscle memory required to lead through friction, manage up with ease, and level up your career trajectory.<ul><li>Live-Fire Simulations (4+ Hours): The Role Play Lab. You’ll step into the "hot seat" to role-play your toughest upcoming meetings. I will push back, challenge your logic, and help you pivot in real-time.</li><li>Strategic Combat Q&amp;A (6+ Hours): Bring your real-world "Managing Up" roadblocks. We’ll deconstruct your specific stakeholder dynamics and script your next move.</li><li>The Foundation (Self-Paced): 29 Modules &amp; 48 Lectures. Master the mechanics of influence on your own time so we can spend our live sessions doing the real work.</li></ul>

Build Executive Presence Into Your Muscle Memory

Manage up your leadership & stakeholders

Strategic Influence & Reframing Conflict

Leading & Facilitating Effective Meetings

Students must have proficiency in Business English. This course will focus on communication strategy, not basic grammar or vocabulary.

English Proficiency:

Students should be currently working in or seeking roles that require regular interaction with international or English-speaking teams.

Professional Experience:

A willingness to shift focus from mere language fluency (grammar, accent) to strategic impact (structure, delivery, and cultural decoding).

Mindset:

This course is designed for high-performing leaders who realize that technical excellence is no longer enough to move the needle.

You should enroll if you feel your contributions are overlooked or underestimated in high-stakes meetings or email chains.

ICs/managers who are ready to start mastering strategic communication to build credibility and influence your career trajectory

You don't have to follow hunches or tap in the dark. You'll learn how to translate your UX wins to successful, measurable business outcomes.

Sr. UX Lead • LinkedIn Top Voice in UX

European Parliament

Lexware

Alliander

Otto Group

Axel Springer SE

Vitaly Friedman

20 years of experience • Senior UX Lead @ EU Parliament • Speaker • SmashingMag

UX Strategy Playbook: How To Build Influence and Drive Impact

Spring 2026

Design decisions shouldn’t be guesswork or just ticked off tasks. To build influence, we must speak the language of business — data, impact and strategy.UX Strategy Playbook is a no-fluff, hands-on course designed to help you grow in a strategic design role. It's a cohort for designers, product leads and senior/staff product designers who want to be strategic in their work and make a tangible business impact with its outcomes.You'll learn how to estimate and prioritize UX work, establish Design KPIs and measure UX — for your specific product. Bring your actual project, and by the end of week 4, you will have a finished set of selected UX metrics, KPI tree and even a better UX strategy for your stakeholders.You'll learn how to:<ul><li>Turn business goals into design decisions</li><li>Estimate and prioritize UX work that matters</li><li>Measure UX impact and shape business strategy</li><li>Show value in restrictive environments (B2B, Enterprise)</li><li>Use key business/product metrics, from churn to CLTV</li><li>Build design KPI trees and UX scorecards for your product</li><li>Overcome legacy, mitigate risks, UX debt, low UX maturity</li></ul>Bonus: full access to the video course "Measuring UX" (8h) You'll also get all recordings of all live sessions.

Build influence. Measure success. Drive impact.

UX Strategy and Design Impact

Business KPIs and Product Metrics

UX Scorecards and Design KPIs

Estimate and Prioritize UX Work 

Driving Your Impact

Building Your Influence

Strategic Heads of Design You work hard, but keep hitting a ceiling? You'll learn how to prioritize impactful work and show your UX impact.

Business-Minded Product Leads Your ideas are too vague to prioritize on the roadmap? You'll learn to speak business language and show ROI.

Senior/Staff Product Designers You want to move into a strategic role? You'll learn how to lead the conversation, not just follow the brief.

Stop over-explaining and start guiding decisions. You'll become the professional who walks into senior rooms and walks out with a yes.

24-Year Banker -> Presentation Expert

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Commerzbank

Royal Bank

MaryBeth Hazeldine

24 years at JPMorgan, PwC, RBS. Now training executives to win decisions.

You've done the work. You know the material. You've prepared the slides.And yet the decision stalls.Polite nods. Reasonable questions. Then: "Let's take this offline." "We'll circle back." "Good discussion."Translation: No decision today.If this keeps happening, it's not because you lack expertise or presentation skills. It's because the way you're structuring your message doesn't match how senior people decide.Here's what nobody tells you: executives make their decision in the first few minutes, then spend the rest of the time looking for reasons to trust that instinct—or doubt it. When you lead with context, build to your recommendation, and back it up with extensive data, you're triggering doubt, not confidence.The unspoken question in their mind: "If they need this much explanation, is the recommendation actually solid?"This course gives you a different approach—a system built on how decisions actually happen in senior rooms. You'll learn to structure your message so that "yes" feels like the obvious, low-risk choice.Not through tips you'll forget under pressure. Through a repeatable system that works even when you're tired, rushed, or facing pushback.

Executives decide before your presentation ends. Structure accordingly

Structure presentations that win decisions

Remove the anxiety before you even start

Build credibility without over-explaining

Choose proof that reassures, not proof that defends

Handle pushback without becoming defensive

Use AI tools without sounding generic or losing authority

<code>You present to executives, boards, or steering committees—and need decisions, not "good discussions." Your credibility is on the line.</code>

You pitch to clients and present recommendations for a living. Stalled decisions cost you deals, revenue, and repeat business.

You're in relationship management, business development, or sales—presenting to win deals, budgets, or strategic alignment.

In 90 minutes, I will teach you tools to become a more effective, memorable storyteller at work — and all other parts of your life.

Creator, the Six-Word Memoir phenomenon

Dell Technologies

Levi Strauss & Co.

Nuveen

Dropbox

OhioHealth

Larry Smith

Creator of the global phenom Six-Word Memoirs and "storytelling whisperer"

Cohort 4

In this 90-minute workshop, from 12PM-1:30PM PT, you’ll learn practical storytelling frameworks that turn complex ideas into clear, memorable narratives that win attention, build credibility, and move decisions.We’ll apply these tools to high-stakes moments — executive updates, all-hands meetings, product launches, sales or campaign pitches, job interviews — as well as everyday conversations. I'll share my proven techniques to align messages, structure stories for engagement, and tailor delivery for different audiences. We’ll cover using AI thoughtfully to draft, iterate, and stress-test content without outsourcing your voice.You will gain enhanced skills to:• Turn presentations and pitches into compelling narratives that capture attention and build trust • Simplify your messages for clarity and team alignment • Use storytelling to reinforce culture, mission, and values • Make every story more clear, concise, and memorableBonus: The same tools work outside of work — for toasts, social gatherings, even eulogies.You'll leave with new storytelling powers for leadership and tools to tell stories that make people lean in, trust you, and respond with three magic words: tell me more.

Strong, Clear, Storytelling Is a Tool for Clarity, Influence, and Impact

Nailing Your Value Proposition

Crafting Pitches That Stick

Presence as a Leadership Superpower

Understand AI as a Partner Not a Replacment

Because many leaders trick themselves into believing everything they say is clear and landing well with others.

A curiosity to elevate your storytelling 

Leaders who want to nail their value proposition for internal team alignment and external messaging

Founders, comms officers, HR directors, and other leaders navigating transitions such as funding rounds, growth, M&amp;A, hybrid workplaces

Professionals looking to grow in their current role or seek a new role now asking this vital question: How can I be a better storyteller?

Master executive presence, AI communication systems, and high-stakes influence. Command rooms, represent your company, scale your voice.

CPTO, Executive Coach, Speaker

Okta

Block

FullStory

Elena Luneva

CPO, Executive Coach, Speaker, 4000+ leaders taught.

Magic

Articulate

Today's executives are operators and the public face of their company. When a CEO's social media presence outperforms traditional marketing (Sam Altman's 4M+ followers generate more reach than most campaigns), personal visibility is required.Recent VP+ job descriptions demand it: "Act as a thought leader and external representative". Executives who shape those conversations internally, at conferences, with investors, across media define categories and lead companies.What You'll BuildExternal influence: Command industry events, investor meetings, and media opportunities.Internal momentum: Get initiatives funded. Shape decisions. Move the organization.Thought leadership: Scale your voice and your team with AI-powered systems.The Bottom LineVisibility and influence are requirements for leaders founders, and solopreneurs. This lab gives you frameworks and AI tools to overcome what's stopping you and represent consistently.Why ElenaElena Luneva has won the rooms that matter. She trains executives at Amazon, Apple, Meta, pharmaceutical companies, and government organizations on presence, speaking, and AI communication, combining experience with frameworks you'll deploy immediately

Represent your company externally and influence business decisions internally.

Command Any Room with Executive Presence

Leverage AI to Build Communication Systems

Represent Your Company Externally

Influence Under Pressure

Build a Repeatable AI Powered System for Your Team

For CEOs, C-Suite, Chiefs of Staff, VPs, or senior leaders shaping strategy and representing their company internally and externally.

Executive or Senior Role

Bring a real board meeting, investor update, conference, or customer presentation to apply tools and practice in context.

Upcoming High-Stakes Engagement

Come ready to record short talks, roleplay scenarios, and use AI tools to sharpen your presence through hands-on exercises.

Willingness to Practice Live

For CEOs and C-Suite leaders who must represent their company to boards, investors, media, and markets with confidence and clarity.

For Chiefs of Staff and Communication Strategists who shape executive messaging and align leaders across high-stakes decisions

CROs, CMOs, and sales leaders who represent the company with customers, partners, press, and on stage as credible thought leaders

Learn how to use influence strategies and negotiation skills to achieve what you want at work, and create value for others in the process. 

Lifelong learner & teacher. Ex-HBS Prof

Francesca Gino

Ex-HBS Professor, with 20+ yrs of experience teaching & practicing negotiation. 

Cohort 1

Managerial and executive success requires the ability to negotiate. Whether you are influencing a team project, forging an agreement with suppliers, trying to ink a deal with potential customers, raising money from investors, managing a conflict inside the firm, or tackling a dispute that is headed towards litigation, your ability to negotiate will affect your performance.The course will allow you to test your analytic ability and your tactical skills, and to experiment with new ideas. This approach allows us to:1) Introduce a negotiation framework that will help you analyze, prepare for, and execute negotiations more systematically—and hence, more effectively—in a wide variety of contexts.2) Build a negotiation toolkit that consists of strategies and tactics for creating and capturing value in negotiation, and which can be put to use as soon as the session is over.3) Create an environment which helps diagnose your individual needs and allows you to identify techniques for mitigating your weaknesses and leveraging your strengths.

AI Fundamentals

Apply AI in your role

Career Development

AI Fundamentals

Career development

Craft

AI Fundamentals

Career development

Craft

AI Fundamentals

Career development

Craft

AI Fundamentals

Craft

AI Fundamentals

Leadership fundamentals

AI Fundamentals

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