Wyncode Academy adds to tech vibe
Computer programming group comes to FAT Village
A computer programming academy that got its start in Miami’s artsy Wynwood neighborhood is making its way up to Fort Lauderdale’s FAT Village, set on strengthening the village’s tech community.
Wyncode Academy started a year ago at The Lab Miami teaching young entrepreneurs and people seeking additional training or a career change the skills and tools needed for Web development, coding and programming.
Juha Mikkola, co-founder of Wyncode Academy, said so many people are driving to Miami from Fort Lauderdale to learn programming that it just made sense to bring the classes up to them instead.
The first 9-week boot camp in Fort Lauderdale is slated to start Monday at co-working space General Provision. About a dozen students have enrolled for the $10,000 training.
“It was just a perfect match for us,” Mikkola said of industrial-themed General Provision, a co-working space that’s home to artists, programmers, marketers, designers and startups. Wyncode students will gather for classes in a conference room-type area toward the back of the space.
FAT Village, which stands for Flagler Arts and Technology, is home to about 15 businesses centered around film, marketing, arts and technology, says founder Doug McCraw.
General Provision and Wyncode’s partnership will likely lure even more techdriven companies to the area just north of Broward Boulevard, he says.
“It’s a very sticky business,” McCraw said. “When you have one anchor, it begins to attract more technology companies, they want to be close to the action.”
More tech companies and incubators are already knocking on FAT Village’s doors for potential space, McCraw said.
“We have much more demand for space than we have space to accommodate, which on one side, is a good problem to have,” McCraw said. “Technology is an integral part of what we are about at FAT Village.” Membership-based General Provision opened about a year ago to serve as a gathering spot for an eclectic mix of innovators who like working surrounded by other creative people, said co-founder Tim Hasse.
“We want to bring all disciplines together,” Hasse said. “Arts and technology can have a great marriage. It’s working in Wynwood.”
Mikkola, Wyncode’s co-founder, said the academy is open to people of all skill levels.
“Our expectation is that you are not a programmer or developer,” Mikkola said. “We’ll teach you to become one.”
Students who finish the program walk out ready with the knowledge of a junior developer, with the potential for starting salaries
“We want to bring all disciplines together.” Tim Hasse, General Provision cofounder
ranging from $45,000 to $70,000 in the South Florida area, he said.
Sixty-eight students have finished the program, and about 90 percent of them have landed jobs in related fields, according to Mikkola. Among employers of Wyncode graduates is Cloud Logistics, a West Palm Beach-based company that provides Webbased logistics solutions for transportation businesses.
“The difference between someone coming fresh and someone coming from Wyncode has been astronomical,” said Scott Tesoriere, director of technical operations at Cloud Logistics, which has employed four Wyncode graduates.
Wyncode students fully commit and emerge themselves in the daylong, nine-week sessions, said Mikkola, the academy’s co-founder.
“They’re coming in, rolling up their sleeves and saying, ‘I’m all in,’” Mikkola said. “That’s the mentality that resonates with South Florida people, the hustle to have a better life.”