In the heartland of America, Iowa is known for leading the nomination for the next president of the United State, as well as Hawkeye football, corn, and beef. What many may not know is that it’s also the center of a bubbling startup ecosystem.
New Bohemian Innovation Collaboration (NewBoCo) is the first and only tech-based startup accelerator program in Iowa, with coworking community and entrepreneurial education program with over 160 world-class mentors. They have recently launched DeltaV, Iowa’s first adult comprehensive coding curriculum, powered by Code Fellows, a renowned coding bootcamp based in Seattle, WA.
In an interview with Eric Engelmann, the executive director NewBoCo, he explained that launching the coding class was in response to a growing need in the community.
“We kept running into the issue that technical talent to join a startup wasn’t available, and in general startups in Iowa can’t afford full-time talent,” said Engelmann.
The coding bootcamp immersion program offers four levels of courses, from entry level courses for students with little or no coding experience to advanced courses where students will gain useful work skills for jobs in need web development.
Catering to specific age groups in the tech education realm is, simply put, a great idea. With a substantial age gap already plaguing the world of tech, intimidation and peer pressure can be huge deterrents in the search for talent. And, much like Planet Fitness, the less pressure you can put on potential candidates, the better results you’re going to get.
NewBoCo also runs a startup accelerator for kids and entrepreneurs and foresees some crossover with the students.
“Some of the students will have the opportunity to work on startup software products as part of their coursework – a very unique experience – and gain firsthand knowledge of what it’s like building early stage companies and products,” Engelmann said.
The complete full-time residential program is estimated to cost around $15,000 with the goal to help students gain a competitive advantage by blending technical and entrepreneurial skills.
“Employers are looking to acquire skills and get things built – our graduates will have the technical skills and some of the entrepreneurial skills to deliver them to the market,” Engelmann said.
Learn more about the Delta program and NewBoCo here.