Next Shift Learning

What Next Shift Learning does

Next Shift Learning (NSL) is a workforce design studio that designs and operates custom experiential learning programs for enterprise clients and underrepresented talent. Co-founded in 2018 by Sergio Rosas (CEO) and Tina Hossain (COO), the company is headquartered in Los Angeles with a virtual, distributed operating model comprising 1-10 core employees and a network of 25+ collaborators. NSL delivers three categories of services: (1) talent pipeline programs that connect employers with underrepresented candidates through skills-based curricula, exemplified by its six-year flagship partnership operating four Snap Academies (Design, Software Engineering, Storytelling, Lens) serving ~60 scholars annually; (2) workforce upskilling programs for internal mobility, including the Emerging Leaders Program focused on adaptability, EQ, and trust; and (3) product education curriculum, anchored by Snap AR Learning self-paced content for the Lens Studio platform.

Underlying NSL's offerings is a learning science methodology combining adult learning principles, design thinking, and inclusive design, supported by proprietary curriculum libraries built up across multi-year client engagements. Its delivery model blends virtual instruction with in-person programming, including the annual three-week Snap AR Lens Challenge, which has scaled from a U.S. pilot to a U.K. and international operation.

NSL operates as a professional services business on a custom/quote-based engagement model with no publicly disclosed pricing. Revenue derives primarily from long-running enterprise contracts, with Snap Inc. and Snap Global Philanthropy serving as the anchor relationship since 2018. Additional named clients include Lionsgate (Emerging Leaders Program) and Street Level Strategy. Distribution is consultative and direct, supported by content marketing via the "Our Insights" blog, LinkedIn, webinars, and case studies targeting HR/L&D buyers in tech, media, and entertainment. The company is bootstrapped with no institutional funding identified.

Name

Next Shift Learning

Legal name

Next Shift Learning

Website

https://nextshiftlearning.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Next Shift Learning is a Los Angeles-based workforce design studio that designs and operates custom learning programs connecting underrepresented talent to employers, upskilling workforces, and creating product education, anchored by a multi-year Snap Academies and Snap AR Learning partnership.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Workforce Learning & Development

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Professional and Management Development Training (61143)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAAAOAE

Incumbent Worker Training & Upskilling

Education/Adult & Continuing Education/Workforce Development Initiatives

SECONDARYBPACANAK

Apprenticeships, Internships & Work-Based Learning Programs

Business & Public Services/HR, Staffing & Recruitment Services/Training, Learning & Development Services

SECONDARYEDAAAEAC

Workforce & Career Transition Noncredit Programs

Education/Adult & Continuing Education/Continuing Education (Noncredit) & Lifelong Learning Programs

SECONDARYEDAGAKAC

Corporate Learning & Training Content Development

Education/Educational Publishing & Learning Content/Instructional Design & Content Development Services

Keywords

• Custom learning design
• Workforce upskilling
• Inclusive talent pipeline
• Leadership development programs
• Experiential learning services

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Custom Learning Experience Design & Operations: NSL designs and operates custom experiential learning programming for enterprise clients. This includes curriculum development, program design, facilitator training, and full end-to-end program operations. Engagement models range from specific curriculum design projects to comprehensive program management including recruitment, selection, and daily learning experience operations.
2. Workforce Upskilling Programs: NSL helps organizations upskill their current workforce through interactive learning experiences that promote internal mobility and skill acquisition. Programs focus on both technical and human skills development.
3. Product Education & Customer Training: NSL creates user-centered engaging content to help product users maximize benefits and become super users. They develop interactive product education curriculum to drive product adoption and stickiness.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Next Shift Learning is a workforce design studio that designs and operates custom experiential learning programming for enterprise clients. Core services include end-to-end curriculum design, facilitator training, program management, cohort recruitment and selection, and daily learning experience operations across workforce upskilling, product education, and leadership development programs such as the Snap Academies and the Emerging Leaders Program.

Product overview

Next Shift Learning is a workforce design studio offering a portfolio of learning products and services. The core offerings include Snap AR Learning (custom AR curriculum for Snap's Lens Studio platform), the Snap Academies program comprising four specialized academies (Design Academy, Software Engineering Academy, Storytelling Academy, and Lens Academy), the Snap AR Lens Challenge annual competition, and the Emerging Leaders Program for organizational leadership development. The company provides experiential learning programming, professional development curriculum, and product education content designed to upskill underrepresented talent and drive workforce growth.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Snap AR Learning Custom online AR curriculum and training material developed for Snap Inc. that upskills creators and developers from beginner to advanced levels on the Lens Studio platform, featuring self-paced courses and interactive learning experiences for Snap's global AR developer and creator network.
• Snap Design Academy A Snap Academies program launched in 2018 that inspires future visual and user experience designers through projects involving building visually stunning graphics, developing expressive designs, and designing with Snap features like Geofilters for underrepresented tech talent.
• Snap Software Engineering Academy Snap Academies program launched in 2020 that helps aspiring engineers transition from coders to confident technologists through technical projects including painting with JavaScript, building a chat app with React Native, and engineering a Final Showcase prototype via a mobile app for underrepresented tech talent.
• Snap Storytelling Academy Snap Academies program launched in 2021 designed to humanize the people who interact with products daily, enhancing marketing, communications, and brand experiences through stories, customer experience journeys, data-driven insights, and voice amplification via pitches.
• Snap Lens Academy A nine-week bootcamp launched in 2021 that takes beginner developers to the intermediate level in AR creation and development, operated virtually with 15 scholars per cohort across the U.S., highlighting the intersection of art, technology, and AR possibilities for underrepresented talent.
• Snap AR Lens Challenge An annual three-week global challenge designed and operated by Next Shift Learning for beginners to understand possibilities of building in augmented reality, with self-paced content coupled with live learning sessions; launched in the U.S. in 2020 and expanded to the U.K. in 2021 and internationally by 2023.
• Emerging Leaders Program A leadership development program designed to unlock potential, boost engagement and retention, and help organizations create a culture of continuous learning where people can thrive, built around evergreen capabilities like adaptability, emotional intelligence, and trust for enterprise clients.
• Beyond the Code: Leadership Skills in an AI-Driven World A course designed for early-career tech talent focusing on leadership skills development in an AI-driven world.

Quantifiable outcome

• Graduated over 250 Snap Scholars and impacted career outcomes of 200+ Snap Academy alumni through job-specific and professional development content
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Snap AR LearningcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019NSL partnered with Snap AR Learning to develop custom AR curriculum for the Lens Studio platform. This includes self-paced courses from beginner to advanced levels, the annual Snap AR Lens Challenge (global three-week challenge), and the nine-week Snap Lens Academy. NSL operates these programs and helps accelerate adoption of Snap's AR platform globally.
• Snap Inc. (Global Philanthropy)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018NSL has partnered with Snap Inc.'s Global Philanthropy team since 2018 to design and operate educational training programs. Together they developed four Snap Academies (Design, Engineering, Storytelling, and Lens) providing domain education, work-based learning, and professional development for underrepresented talent in tech. NSL operates both in-person and online academies end-to-end, managing recruitment, selection, curriculum design, and daily operations.
• X97 LabsminorOthersX97 Labs built the Next Shift Learning website as noted in the footer attribution '© 2023 Next Shift Learning. Built by X97 Labs.'

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• General Assembly: Provider of bootcamps, short-form training, and enterprise upskilling in tech, design, and data — comparable on offering custom cohort-based learning to enterprise clients and on bridging non-traditional candidates into tech roles.
• Opportunity@Work: Nonprofit workforce intermediary focused on Skilled Through Alternative Routes (STARs) talent and employer-based skills-first hiring — directly comparable on the skills-based, employer-partnered model and the under-represented-talent thesis.
• Per Scholas: National nonprofit delivering tuition-free tech training and career development to underrepresented individuals and connecting them to employer partners — comparable in mission (equity-focused talent pathways into tech) and in operating model (cohort-based training plus employer connections).
• Year Up: National workforce development nonprofit providing skills-based training and corporate internships for young adults from under-resourced communities — directly comparable to NSL's Snap Academies model of combining curriculum, work-based learning, and professional development for underrepresented talent into tech careers.
• Multiverse: Apprenticeship-based learning platform that combines professional apprenticeships with upskilling for working professionals at large enterprises — directly comparable on the apprenticeship/work-based-learning model and the B2B enterprise GTM.
• Apprenti: Apprenticeship program that recruits, trains, and places underrepresented workers into technology roles with employer partners — highly comparable on the diversity-in-tech apprenticeship thesis and the cohort-to-hire model.

Broad incumbents

• Degreed: Enterprise learning and upskilling platform used by large organizations to centralize L&D content and skill-building — comparable as a scaled incumbent in the workforce upskilling category that competes for the same enterprise L&D budget.
• Salesforce Trailhead: Free, product-specific learning platform that combines custom curricula, badges, and a global community — comparable as a large incumbent that competes for the same 'product education' budget pool that NSL serves with the Snap AR Learning curriculum.
• Coursera for Business: Enterprise arm of Coursera offering curated courses, certificates, and skill-building content to large organizations — comparable as a scaled incumbent competing for the enterprise upskilling and product-education budget that NSL also targets.

Others

• Kapor Capital: Impact investment firm focused on equity in tech education and the future of work — not a direct competitor but a thematically aligned peer given that NSL's Head of Strategic Initiatives previously co-led equity initiatives at the Kapor Center.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nextshiftlearning
• Instagraminstagram.com/nextshiftlearning
• Xx.com/nextshiftlearn

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Next Shift Learning