Winners of Kodistart 2023
Talks and Folks — a mentoring HR platform for larger corporations — took home Kodistart 2023. We spent the next five months turning their hand-run mentorship process into a digital MVP ready for real users and stakeholders.
A mentoring platform for corporate HR
Talks and Folks is a mentoring HR platform built for larger corporations that want to streamline how they run learning programs — onboarding, Evergreen tracks, and anything else where employees grow through individual mentorship.
Scaling a hand-run mentorship model
Their existing business model required heavy manual work to organise programs and collaborations — difficult to scale and difficult to price competitively. They needed software to take it from here.
- Automated mentor / mentee pairing.
- Distribution of educational materials and in-app notifications.
- A clear overview of mentorship progress across programs.
- A pricing model competitive enough to attract more clients.
Why did Talks and Folks win?
They came in with a stable, realistic idea that delivered real improvements by digitising work already happening. They had users; growth had stalled on technical limits. Kodistart was the boost — we built the MVP that lifted the ceiling.
An MVP that digitised live processes
Through the Kodistart program the first version of the MVP took shape — digitising the operations Talks and Folks were already running by hand, and laying the foundation for continuous refinement on top of it.
From workshop to working product
Five phases that took Talks and Folks from a three-day workshop with the Kodius team to a fully digital mentorship MVP.
Workshop goals
After Talks and Folks won Kodistart, a three-day on-site workshop immersed us in their business model and product strategy. Out of it came a five-month plan to ship a meaningful tool — ready for end users and stakeholders alike.
UX / UI design
Our design team aimed for clean and subtle — meeting business requirements without overwhelming end users. The app has two sides: an Admin module for distributors and a User module (mostly HR) that runs the educational programs.
The most important relationship here is mentor — mentee. Extra attention went into how the two get paired and how they talk to each other.
AI assistant
Talks and Folks wanted an innovation hook for users on their educational journey: an AI chatbot called “Ask Nikola Tesla.”
Database architecture
The data model was shaped by two priorities — tracking event analytics today, and leaving room for the scale they want to hit tomorrow. We record manipulative data as a first-class citizen of the analytics pipeline.
Dušan talks about the process
“The Kodius team approached the entire process with dedication and commitment. They demonstrated a deep understanding — as if they were themselves immersed in the world of creating and implementing mentorship programs. They often contributed their own ideas and suggestions, and at every step they asked the right questions for better comprehension. They inspired us to be better.”
“We’d like to emphasise the initiative, dedication, and expertise that, in synergy with the Kodius team, enabled us to transition live processes onto a digital platform. Despite the complexity, teamwork and perseverance led us to success.”
Software development
React.js / Next.js on the frontend, Ruby on Rails on the backend, PostgreSQL for the database. Active Admin took care of the admin interface so we could move quickly on prototyping — the trickier part was unifying authorisation across Admin and User. The User side, built from scratch, is nearing completion.
From hand-run to fully digital
The Kodistart program represents not only one of the finest moments for us, but also a refreshing change at the right time, with the right team of collaborators. While the process of mentoring programs may seem complex at first glance, we have managed to make it accessible.
