About Founders and Coders
Founders & Coders is a UK-based nonprofit organization that runs a tuition-free coding academy in London. We have trained more than 150 students on our full-time programme. Over the last two years, more than 90% of our graduates have gone on to work in software or a related field. We generate income by charging recruitment fees when employers hire our graduates. We also provide technical expertise and training to nonprofits, local businesses and early-stage startups.
In February 2017, we opened Founders & Coders Nazareth, our first international campus.
HISTORY
As a project manager working on the London 2012 Olympics websites, Dan realized how much he missed the challenges of software development, and when the project wrapped, he decided to take some online programming courses to refresh his skills. In 2013, he started organising regular meetups at the British Library with other people taking similar courses.
Dan realised he loved peer-led learning so when Camden Collective offered him some space, he decided to expand the meetups by setting up a classroom where aspiring developers could collaborate, and Founders & Coders’ first official cohort began in January 2014.
In November 2014, during the last week of the fourth cohort in Camden, we were informed that our classroom would no longer be available. Spurred to action, the students spent the last week of their course organising a successful crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for a new classroom.
In January 2015, Ines and Nelson joined the team as a Director and Lead Technical Mentor respectively, bringing with them years of industry experience, and the fourth course began at Founders & Coders’ new home in Bethnal Green. Most of the third cohort stayed to organise the fourth course, providing critical mentorship and together, deepening the community ethos that continues to define Founders & Coders.
Founders & Coders has become a highly selective programme with a reputation for producing outstanding graduates. In summer 2016, Dan met Rebecca Radding, an educator, and began planning for the international expansion of Founders & Coders, starting with Nazareth in February 2017.
In late 2017, we began the process of incorporating a UK-based charity, Founders & Coders International, to support our international expansion efforts.
