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Welcome to the November Skillet—grab a seat at our CE table before we head into the holidays.
Today we’re serving up a hearty helping of Academy examples from our recent live session covering inspiring brands like Vanta, Clay, Miro, Apollo.io, Totango, and Shopify. If you didn't have time for the session, this will be your TL;DR—plus a chance to watch the recording if you missed it. And it wouldn't be the Skillet if we left out our favorite side dishes—cheers for peers, open roles, and content updates from the past month.
And given we're a week away from Thanksgiving, I can only imagine your plates are full before you even sit down for Thanksgiving dinner. Once you've logged off, I hope you plan to fully maximize your turkey-to-side-dish ratio like I do.
'Til then, enjoy this tribute to get you through the next week.
Now that we've exposed my CE meme side hustle, let's dig into the meat & potatoes of today's newsletter 👇
What makes a great experience that learners keep coming back to?
Let's turn the spotlight on six standout academies we reviewed in our recent live session.
If you joined us, thank you for bringing the energy (and rating the webinar 4.99/5 stars)—I could have hung out in that lively chat for hours! For those who missed it, don’t worry; we’ve got you covered with a quick recap (plus, the on-demand recording is waiting for you whenever you want to watch it back).
Building an effective academy isn’t a cookie-cutter process. Each company we explored—like Vanta, Clay, Miro, Apollo.io, Totango, and Shopify —brings its own flavor to the table, driven by unique goals and audiences.
Whether the focus is onboarding new users, generating leads, or becoming a go-to resource for advanced users, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. That’s exactly why these examples are so helpful: they show how to make your academy work for you.
As Evan Hall put it perfectly during the session:
"One of the first things I think about when looking at an academy is from the learner's perspective: Why would I visit this page? Why am I here versus somewhere else, another page on their site, or off on YouTube?"
One note—we chose to highlight a mix of Skilljar customers and non-customers—giving you an agnostic look at different approaches. Here’s a look at what we learned:
Vanta Academy: Strength in Simplicity
Vanta Academy is not built on Skilljar.
Who They Are: Vanta is a trust management and compliance platform, helping companies navigate SOC 2 audits and security certifications. Their academy caters to technical B2B learners in a regulated space.
Vanta’s approach is all about inspiring learners to take meaningful steps. Their academy provides clear pathways for complex compliance needs, combining simplicity with actionable next steps.
- Why it works: As Evan Hall noted, “Their clean and minimalistic design makes it easy to focus and removes any friction for learners. It’s straightforward without feeling basic.”
- Example to follow: Incorporate calls to action that guide learners toward solving immediate challenges instead of just explaining features.
Clay University: Intuitive and Learner-first
Clay University is not built on Skilljar.
Who They Are: Clay is a data enrichment platform used to build and automate workflows for lead generation and operations. They’re catering to savvy marketers and sales ops pros who love experimentation.
Clay Academy shines with a design that’s as slick and polished as their core site. The minimalist aesthetic doesn’t just look good—it works. Their use of clean visuals, intuitive navigation, and thoughtfully designed course tiles ensures learners feel immediately at ease while engaging with the platform.
- Why it works: Clay’s academy reflects their brand ethos—modern, cutting-edge, and user-focused. And as Evan Hall noted, "their in-depth alt text for each video is great for accessibility today, but also positions them to train AI chatbot their EDU content down the road."
- Experimentation-friendly: By blending high-quality visuals with accessible multimedia options (videos paired with full text), Clay encourages learners to explore their content without overwhelm. This again caters to different learning styles versus exclusively one format. Plus, they have search functionality that gives a 'nudge' to learnings, anticipating their needs and helping them get to their next action.
- Example to follow: Invest in creating a branded experience that reflects your brand's identity. Pair sophisticated design with accessibility to meet learners where they are.
- Bonus: As a content nerd, I have to love their header copy—'shape your learning' plays deeply into their 'Clay' brand. Kudos!
Miro Academy: Positioned for Progression
We’re proud to have Miro Academy as a Skilljar customer!
Who They Are: Miro is a collaborative whiteboarding platform used by teams for brainstorming, agile workflows, and product design. With a broad user base, they focus on empowering power users to go deeper.
Miro’s advanced filtering options ensure learners can quickly find what’s most relevant to their needs. The clean interface prioritizes discovery and self-navigation.
- Why it works: As Evan Hall highlighted, “When learners have too many choices, a good filtering system can be the difference between engagement and frustration.”
- Example to follow: Invest in catalog filtering by topic, role, or content type to help users navigate complex offerings effortlessly.
Apollo Academy: Engaging and Action-Focused
Apollo’s Academy is not built on Skilljar.
Who They Are: Apollo is a sales engagement platform for outbound prospecting and pipeline management. Their academy blends lead generation with customer education for a sales-savvy audience.
Apollo combines slick visuals with a lead-gen mindset. By embedding product CTAs and automation (like email follow-ups), they blur the line between learning and acquisition.
- Why it works: Their focus on industry masterclasses elevates the learning experience, providing more than just product tutorials. As Sonia Moaiery noted, “Their Academy helps the learner as a professional and not just as a user of the Apollo product, building a deeper, authentic relationship with the learner."
- Action-oriented organization: You'll notice that they've organized their content into 'use cases,' with very human, action-oriented language. When learners show up, they know what 'action' they're trying to get better at—this is the kind of customer-focused detail that makes a difference and anyone can apply, no matter the LMS or Academy tech.
- Example to follow: If you’re targeting new users, consider weaving CTAs directly into your academy content to drive conversions.
Totango Campus: Role-Based and Relatable
We’re proud to have Totango Campus as a Skilljar customer!
Who They Are: Totango is a customer success platform, and their academy is designed to support CSMs and other customer-facing roles with a clear path to success.
Totango’s campus takes a role-based approach to learning, asking users to identify themselves by role and needs before diving in. Its robust filtering and navigation simplify the experience.
- Why it works: As Sonia Moaiery noted, “Filters like ‘what I do,’ ‘who I am,’ and ‘how long this takes’ allow learners to quickly find what they need.” This user-first approach ensures relevance and ease of use.
- Example to follow: Use filters and role-specific navigation to streamline the learning process and make content feel personalized.
Shopify Academy: A Model of Messaging
We’re proud to have Shopify Academy as a Skilljar customer!
Who They Are: Shopify powers millions of e-commerce stores worldwide, serving entrepreneurs, developers, and partners. Their academy reflects their massive scale and diverse user base.
Shopify’s academy prioritizes clarity by segmenting its content into three main categories: platform, partners, and developers. It’s a prime example of using learner roles to guide navigation and help users find their place quickly.
- Why it works: Their seamless login process personalizes the experience, ensuring learners are met with tailored content. Plus, their badging system reinforces skill-building milestones.
- Example to follow: If your academy serves diverse audiences, consider grouping content by roles or goals to reduce confusion and encourage exploration.
- Bonus: They focus on timely content, not just product content—like their peak season campaign.
TL;DR: What Makes an Academy Work?
Building a great academy isn’t about copying someone else—it’s about creating an experience that works for your learners. Here’s what stood out across the board:
- UI and Navigation: Intuitive design and navigation make learning feel easy and welcoming. Let learners focus on content, not clicks.
- CTAs: Well-placed, learner-aligned calls to action guide without overwhelming. Whether it’s completing a course or signing up for a demo, make the next step clear.
- Log-In Experience: Keep access simple and secure to reduce friction—whether through SSO, a quick email, or an open format.
- Integration: Your academy should feel like a natural extension of your brand and ecosystem, not an isolated destination.
- Experimentation: Great academies empower learners to try something new. Give them the tools and confidence to experiment with your product.
Given this was such a hit, we’re bringing you a fresh set of experts and a new set of Academies in our Academy Spotlight 2.0 on December 12th.
Cheers for Peers
First, a big shoutout to Roberto Aiello for his taking over the Skilljar blog with a recent post: How Personio is Using AI to Elevate Their Academy.
Roberto dives into his take on integrating AI into their content creation strategy—all while balancing that human touch.
“AI allows us to meet learners where they are while also giving us the tools to continuously refine and scale our programs,”
If you’ve been wondering how to use AI effectively without overcomplicating your processes, this blog is a must-read.
And of course, I'd be remiss to not get Blair Mishleau's 2% series in front of you—especially when it covers one of the most popular tricks he shared in a recent webinar. We know you'll want to steal it!
Open Roles in Customer Education
Looking for your next opportunity in customer education? Check out these exciting roles:
- Customer Education Program Manager — Klaviyo
- Senior Manager, Curriculum — Braze
- Program Manager Customer Learning — Dynatrace
Know someone perfect for these roles? Share away!
Something Exciting is Coming—We Want Your Input!
And finally, we're drumming something exciting up just for you over the next few months—a CE trends and benchmark report, giving you the data you need to see where CE is headed.
Plus, you can get the report early if you take the survey—and even sign up to contribute your thoughts and possibly be featured!
Final Food for Thought
Just when you thought the Thanksgiving puns were over!
When it comes down to it, there’s no perfect formula for building an Academy, and that’s the point. Your learners’ needs, your business goals, and your brand voice are unique—and your Academy should reflect that.
What do we suggest? Take what works, experiment with these examples, and create a learning experience that feels like home for your audience. If you want help getting there, you know where to find us.
‘Til the next Skillet,
Caroline, Head of Content @ Skilljar
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