CG Academy and the 90-Day AI Mastery plan

What CG Academy is

CG Academy is Common Ground's own learning product: a 90-day AI mastery plan that takes a person from "what is an LLM" to a certified practitioner who builds automations. The site's pitch is that it needs no degree, and that a degree takes 4 years and costs $50K while this takes 90 days and costs $150 [1]. The program runs 12 weeks in four phases, and every lesson has real content, practical tasks and a quiz [1][2].

The site is at learn.commonground.ventures. It has a home page, a full curriculum page, a progress dashboard and one page for each of the lessons [1][2][3]. Its stated headline numbers are 12 weeks, 8+ free certifications, $150 total investment and a 90% percentile target [1]. The percentile figure is a target the site sets for the learner, not a measured result.

Who it is for

The plan is written for working adults who want practical AI skill, and the examples show who the author had in mind: people in construction and development. Lessons compare AI tools to subcontractors, use requests for information (RFIs), punch lists and commercial build-outs as their working examples, and ask the learner to write an AI implementation plan for their own company or a hypothetical development firm [4][5]. The tone is blunt and informal, and some lesson titles are profane. The first lesson defines its terms from scratch and says the main tools are mostly free to start using [4].

How the plan is built

The curriculum page prints the full structure [2]. The number beside each lesson is the number of quiz questions the site lists for it.

Every lesson page follows the same layout: the lesson, key terms where they apply, a list of that week's tasks, and a quiz. The quiz page for each lesson says 70% is a pass [4]. The site's rule for a miss is to take it again [2].

Phase 1: Foundations, weeks 1 to 3

Phase 1 teaches what AI is and how to talk to it. Week 1 defines AI, large language models, GPT, Claude and prompts, then puts five tools side by side: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot and Perplexity [4][6]. The lesson's argument is that no single AI is best at everything, and that the skill is knowing which tool to grab for which job. Claude is named as the program's primary tool [4][6]. The week's tasks are to sign up for three of the tools, ask them the same question and compare the answers, then start the Google Generative AI Learning Path on Google Cloud Skills Boost [4][7].

Week 2 teaches prompting with a five-part framework the site calls CRAFT: Context, Role, Action, Format, Tone [8]. The second lesson covers the working vocabulary: tokens, context windows, hallucination, retrieval-augmented generation, fine-tuning and APIs. It names hallucination as the number one risk and tells the learner to verify important facts, numbers and claims [9].

Week 3 explains how generative models work: they predict the next word from patterns learned in training, which is also why hallucinations happen [10]. The phase closes with an assessment checkpoint [11].

Phase 2: Applied Skills, weeks 4 to 6

Phase 2 puts the tools to work on business tasks. Week 4 sends the learner through free sales and marketing certifications from HubSpot Academy and the AI training on Salesforce Trailhead, with a goal of earning at least 5 badges in the week [12][13]. Week 5 introduces two no-code automation platforms, Zapier and Make, and asks the learner to build one real automation. The lesson ranks three starter builds from easy to advanced: an email attachment saver, a lead notifier and logger, and a meeting notes processor [14][15].

Week 6 adds advanced prompting: chain-of-thought, few-shot examples, system prompts and custom instructions, and iterative refinement [16]. The tasks include prompt engineering courses from AWS Skill Builder and from Anthropic, and the phase ends with a second assessment [16][17].

Phase 3: Automation and Business, weeks 7 to 9

Week 7 moves from one automation to a system: multi-step workflows with conditional logic, using an RFI routing flow as the worked example, plus Make Academy's advanced course [18]. Week 8 has the learner write an AI Implementation Plan with six parts: current state, opportunity mapping, a priority matrix, a timeline, a budget and risk with mitigation [5]. Week 9 builds a custom assistant on the learner's own documents, as a Custom GPT or a Claude Project, and points to Microsoft's AI-900 training materials [19]. A third assessment closes the phase [20].

Phase 4: Certification and Mastery, weeks 10 to 12

Week 10 is the paid credential sprint. The site names two exams at $75 each, the Salesforce AI Associate and the AWS AI Practitioner, for the $150 total investment that the home page advertises [21][1]. Week 11 is the portfolio: documented automations with before and after times, a LinkedIn article about the learning journey, an updated LinkedIn profile and a one-page AI capabilities summary [22]. Week 12 is the final assessment and a plan for months 4 to 6, which includes the Microsoft AI-900 exam at $165 as an optional next step [23].

What the site claims and where the claims stop

The site promises a transformation in 12 weeks and frames it against a four-year degree. It also sets percentile targets in its lessons: the midpoint lesson says the learner is ahead of 90% of people in their industry if they hit the checkpoints, and the Phase 3 lesson says the learner has moved from the bottom 10% to approximately the top 20% in AI literacy [17][20]. Those are the program's own framing. The site publishes no outcome data, and this record does not add any.

Frequently asked questions

What is CG Academy? It is Common Ground's 90-day AI mastery program, delivered as a website with a 12-week curriculum, lessons, tasks and quizzes. It is at learn.commonground.ventures [1][2].

Who runs CG Academy? Common Ground, the venture group, built and runs it. The site's own description reads "Built by Common Ground" [1].

How much does it cost? The home page lists a $150 total investment. The curriculum names two $75 certification exams in weeks 10 and 11, and the lessons point to free courses for everything else [1][21][22].

Do I need a technical background? No. The first lesson is written for someone who has heard about AI and does not yet know what the terms mean, and the site says no degree is required [1][4].

What certifications does it prepare me for? The free ones are courses and badges from Google Cloud Skills Boost, HubSpot Academy, Salesforce Trailhead, Make Academy and AWS Skill Builder. The paid exams are the Salesforce AI Associate and the AWS AI Practitioner, with the Microsoft AI-900 as an optional exam afterward [7][12][21][23].

Which AI tools does it teach? ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot and Perplexity for general use, with Claude as the primary tool, and Zapier and Make for automation [6][14].

What do I have to pass to finish a lesson? A quiz. The pass mark shown on the lesson pages is 70% [4].

Is there a progress tracker? Yes. The dashboard shows lessons done, quizzes passed, average score and a day streak, with an up-next card [3].

Sources

1. CG Academy, home page: https://learn.commonground.ventures/
2. CG Academy, full curriculum: https://learn.commonground.ventures/curriculum
3. CG Academy, dashboard: https://learn.commonground.ventures/dashboard
4. Lesson, What the Hell is AI?: https://learn.commonground.ventures/lesson/w1-l1
5. Lesson, The AI Implementation Plan: https://learn.commonground.ventures/lesson/w8-l1
6. Lesson, The AI Lineup: https://learn.commonground.ventures/lesson/w1-l2
7. Lesson, Your First Real AI Workout: https://learn.commonground.ventures/lesson/w1-l3
8. Lesson, Prompt Engineering 101: https://learn.commonground.ventures/lesson/w2-l1
9. Lesson, Tokens, Context Windows and vocabulary: https://learn.commonground.ventures/lesson/w2-l2
10. Lesson, Generative AI: Beyond the Basics: https://learn.commonground.ventures/lesson/w3-l1
11. Lesson, Phase 1 Final Assessment: https://learn.commonground.ventures/lesson/w3-l2
12. Lesson, AI in Sales & Marketing: https://learn.commonground.ventures/lesson/w4-l1
13. Lesson, Salesforce Trailhead & Gamified Learning: https://learn.commonground.ventures/lesson/w4-l2
14. Lesson, Automation: The Real Money Move: https://learn.commonground.ventures/lesson/w5-l1
15. Lesson, Build Something Real: https://learn.commonground.ventures/lesson/w5-l2
16. Lesson, Advanced Prompt Engineering: https://learn.commonground.ventures/lesson/w6-l1
17. Lesson, Phase 2 Final Assessment: https://learn.commonground.ventures/lesson/w6-l2
18. Lesson, Multi-Step Workflows: https://learn.commonground.ventures/lesson/w7-l1
19. Lesson, Custom GPTs and Claude Projects: https://learn.commonground.ventures/lesson/w9-l1
20. Lesson, Phase 3 Final Assessment: https://learn.commonground.ventures/lesson/w9-l2
21. Lesson, Exam Prep: Salesforce AI Associate: https://learn.commonground.ventures/lesson/w10-l1
22. Lesson, Building Your AI Portfolio: https://learn.commonground.ventures/lesson/w11-l1
23. Lesson, The Final Assessment & What's Next: https://learn.commonground.ventures/lesson/w12-l1