Where he started
Xinran was a professional product designer in New York City, writing a weekly newsletter about design and AI. He talked so much about wanting to teach a course that his wife finally called his bluff. A family vacation gave him a hard deadline. He know he might never feel fully ready, so he launched before he did.
The course and where it came from
The course and where it came from
AI for Product Designers · Cohort 1, ~June 2024
The course was sourced from the intersection of his expertise and a trend he could see coming.
Xinran wasn't an AI expert, but he was a deeply experienced product designer, and he could see AI and design converging fast. Rather than waiting until he had years of AI credentials, he asked a simpler question: what do I already know, and where is the world heading? The overlap was his course.
"I sensed the trend. I know there's a trend of AI. I know I'm very comfortable talking about topics around product design. So there's an intersection between my expertise and the trend."
— Xinran Ma, Maven Instructor AMA
He also had a head start: he had been a student in a Maven course before. He knew what good teaching felt like from the other side and built his course around what he enjoyed and wanted more of as a student.
How the first cohort actually got off the ground
How the first cohort actually got off the ground
First, he sent one private email. Unlike many, Xinran didn't post on LinkedIn. He sent an email to his newsletter list (which wasn't large) and told them he was launching a course. Within a few hours, he had 3 signups, and the course became real.
His accountability hack: shoot a little higher than your comfort zone. He's clear that imposter syndrome was real, and teaching AI felt like overreach. But getting those first enrollments created pressure he couldn't back out of, and that pressure forced the preparation. His discomfort was the forcing function.
After cohort 1, the flywheel started. He's now on his 8th cohort with over 200 students across his courses. He's co-taught with another instructor, run a now-retired second course, and built Design With AI, a community with over 10K subscribers. None of that existed when he sent that first email.
The Lightning Lesson that amplified his reach
The Lightning Lesson that amplified his reach
By the time Xinran ran his lightning lesson, Create AI-Powered Prototypes as a Designer, he still wasn't a heavy self-promoter. He shared it once or twice on LinkedIn, mentioned it briefly in his newsletter, and posted in a Slack group for designers. He was surprised and delighted that nearly 6,000 people signed up.
A few things made it work:
He launched early. He gave himself over a month of lead time before the session. That runway let Maven's algorithm and cross-promotion features do their job. When people enrolled in similar design or AI sessions, his appeared as a suggested lesson alongside them.
The topic was specific, not broad. He intentionally added "as a designer" to the title to attract high-intent attendees. The specificity didn't limit him. It made the right people feel like it was built exactly for them.
He gave away almost everything. He spent 45 minutes delivering real, dense content, some of which overlaps with his paid course, and only flashed his course on screen for a single slide at the end. His north star was value first.
The principles that compound his success
The principles that compound his success
Consistency builds trust before credentials do
Xinran published his newsletter every week for a year before launching a course. He showed up, shared what he was learning, and let that compounding reliability do the credibility work. By the time he launched, his list already trusted him.
"I published a newsletter every week for a year. I think consistency builds trust."
— Xinran Ma, Maven AMA
Learn in public, then teach what you learned
His newsletter, his course, and his own AI learning were never separate tracks. Writing about what he was figuring out built the expertise and the audience at the same time.
You don’t need a massive audience to get started
He didn't have hundreds of thousands of followers already. He had a newsletter list that actually knew him. Start with the people who already trust you, then earn the rest.
Give the thing away; sell the experience
His lightning lesson was essentially a free sample of his course. That's a feature, not a bug. People don't pay for information they can read somewhere. They pay for live access, real-time Q&A, and doing the work alongside someone who's done it.