SeedPaths Software Development Boot Camp Changes Lives in Colorado

DENVER - Sept. 10, 2014 - PRLog -- Imagine identifying a problem in your community and starting a company to permanently change the path of thousands of lives.

That’s what happened when Jeff Macco founded SeedPaths in 2013. SeedPaths provides software development and job skills training to disadvantaged and low-income young adults to help them find and keep technology jobs. The company employs a one-of-a-kind model which funds the program through profits from its IT recruiting division along with federal government funding, allowing qualified students to attend free of charge.

Five times each year, SeedPaths offers a two-month technology boot camp in which participants learn how to build complex websites using full stack .NET development, which includes C#, SQL, JavaScript, jQuery, HTML and CSS.  All graduates are Certified Scrum Masters who have built their own e-commerce website from scratch as part of the course. Participants also bolster their leadership, collaboration, professionalism, communication and emotional intelligence skills through SeedPaths’ professional development curriculum.

SeedPaths works directly with community partners, such as the Denver Housing Authority, Mile High United Way and Denver Public Schools, to recruit eligible participants and has a goal of at least 30 participants per session. 95 percent of SeedPaths graduates from the first two programs who sought employment found an opportunity within 90 days and enjoyed a 460 percent increase in pay from the positions they held prior to completing their training.

“We saw many young people in the community who came from disadvantaged circumstances—some were high school drop outs, others were recent immigrants,” said Macco, CEO and founder of SeedPaths. “At the same time, we knew there was high demand in Denver for competent, entry-level software developers, so we teamed with entrepreneurs, technologists, and industry leaders to create SeedPaths. We just started our fourth program and are now accepting applications for our next program, beginning in October.”

In addition to covering the $6,000 program cost through scholarships for qualified applicants, SeedPaths pays their students to learn how to code by providing the opportunity to earn up to $500. Funding for these scholarships is provided by workforce development centers and through SeedPaths’ recruiting fees that are reinvested in the program.

“Our goal is to expand to 10 cities over the next 10 years to teach 10,000 people how to code,” said Macco.

To apply for SeedPaths, visit www.SeedPaths.com/Apply. Applications for the next boot camp are due Oct. 8.

About SeedPaths

SeedPaths is in the business of changing lives. A self-funded startup located in Denver, SeedPaths was founded in 2013 with complementary academic and recruiting divisions. The academic division operates two-month boot camps to train entry-level software developers while the IT recruiting division places top-tier software talent into top-tier companies and reinvests its profits to fund scholarships for qualified participants. To learn more, visit www.SeedPaths.com.