Hire. Train. Deploy: 1647 Looks To Expand Who Can Benefit From Coding Bootcamps
Jake Hadden spent the last eight years helping people kickstart their tech careers as co-founder and CEO of the Atlanta-based coding bootcamp DigitalCrafts. But while building up his own bootcamp, he realized there was still something missing in the nontraditional education space.
While bootcamps can be a more flexible and less expensive alternative when compared to higher education programs, they really aren’t accessible to everyone nor are they flexible enough to keep up with employer's needs. Typically, bootcamps require a student to quit their day job and forgo months of potential salary during the program in order to attend. Also, bootcamps are regulated at the federal and/or state-level which places an unnecessary burden on the bootcamp itself. While Hadden is a big proponent of regulation and bootcamps at a high-level, he's determined to find a more innovative way to help individuals obtain the skills employers actually need.
Now, the UGA graduate is building 1647 to help more people get the coding bootcamp experience they need without the traditional financial stressors. His goal is for 1647 to be a resource of non-traditional tech talent to level up in their tech careers.
The 1647 model is based on the “hire, train, deploy” concept. Instead of someone quitting their job and forgoing months of salaries in order to attend a coding bootcamp, 1647 hires high-potential, vetted individuals as employees on 1647’s payroll during their training. Those employees are then deployed as consultants after completing their training to partner companies that are looking to hire high-quality tech talent.
1647 (a name which is a combination of Hadden's and his father’s lucky numbers) starts to recoup its costs when each consultant is deployed to a partner company. This delivery model also allows 1647 to train each consultant in the specific tech-stack required by the employer partner.
That can help lower the anxiety around the traditional bootcamp experience because it “removes the barriers” around financial insecurity and uncertainty about what type of job an individual might land after completing their training.
A New Way To Bootcamp
Now, this type of model isn’t particularly new in the world of bootcamp education or staffing, but it is the most promising model Hadden has discovered thus far. Hadden said 1647 will be focused on transparency and a strong set of core values from the beginning. A quick search on Glassdoor will show you how some competitors in this space have neglected transparency with candidates, a step 1647 wants to avoid.
While most of the programs will be online, Hadden said he is considering an inaugural in-person program in Atlanta early next year.
The idea for 1647 is rooted in Hadden’s experience with DigitalCrafts, a bootcamp that taught over 2,000 students where alumni landed jobs at big names like The Home Depot, Cox Communications, JP Morgan, Accenture, as well as prominent local startups like Calendly, Salesloft, and other teams building in the Atlanta Tech Village.
DigitalCrafts was acquired by Perdoceo (NASDAQ: PRDO) in August 2021.
As Hadden gets 1647 off the ground, he told Hypepotamus he is actively looking for companies that are interested in hiring 1647 in early 2024.
