South Florida Tech HubSouth Florida Tech Hub

By Nikki Cabus

4Geeks Academy and Boca Code announce merger and plans to expand tech education in Florida

Read Time 5 Minutes

4Geeks Academy, a leading coding bootcamp in Miami, is thrilled to announce its merging with Boca Code, a respected coding school in Boca Raton.

South Florida Tech Hub sat down with 4Geeks Founders, Marcelo Ricigliano and Alejandro Sanchez, and Boca Code Founder, Todd Albert, to discuss this newly formed relationship.

4Geeks Co-Founder, Marcelo Ricigliano, opened the conversation by stating that “Boca Code is a respected and engaging coding school that I had been following for the last few years. The first time I met Todd I let him know he was doing a great job for technical education in Boca Raton and South Florida. This is a great day for everyone involved!”

This strategic merger marks a significant milestone in the evolution of both institutions and promises to enhance the landscape of technology education in the state. With their international headquarters already based in Miami and another Florida location in Orlando, Boca Raton will become the third location in the Florida for 4Geeks Academy.

Marcelo shared that he and Alejandro have dreamed of making 4Geeks a reference in Florida for those wanting to change careers into technology.

Under this new alliance, Boca Code students and alumni will now become part of the 4Geeks family. Prospective learners and the broader community interested in coding education will gain additional access to a wider array of educational resources, courses, and career opportunities. By joining forces, 4Geeks Academy and Boca Code aim to better serve the rapidly growing tech community across the state. 

“Internally, we always talked great things about Boca Code’s results and approach,” Marcelo admits. “This merger aligns with our mission of making quality coding education accessible to all and will enable us to provide even more comprehensive, industry-relevant training to our students.”

Boca Code students are heavily involved in the community through organizations such as South Florida Tech Hub, attending and volunteering for Hackathons, conferences and supporting local entrepreneurs such as with the pitch scoring app they built for last year’s Ignite Florida Startup Summit. Although based in Boca Raton, Boca Code students attend meetups and networking events across the region from Miami-Dade to Indian River.

Alejandro Sanchez, Co-Founder of 4Geeks added, “The job that Todd has done was always followed by us. We really like everything he was doing at Boca Code. It’s really exciting to do this and welcome everyone to 4Geeks Academy. I’m sure it will be an extraordinary experience.” 

He continued, “The Boca Code curriculum is very thorough and are still digesting it. My first reaction when seeing it, was to keep it. We want to take the best from both schools offering students additional options as well as ensure the best possible educational content.”

4Geeks currently offers a more concentrated curriculum around mobile web development with courses in Full Stack Coding Bootcamp, Data Science and ML, and Blockchain and Web3 while Boca Code code curriculum is a little more broad offering courses such as Software Engineering Career Track, Data Analytics and Python, AR / VR and Game Development, Intro to Web Development, Intro to JavaScript and Node.js, and React.

4Geeks is known for offering a unique value, (quality + methodology + financing options + price) aimed to scale among the best coding bootcamps in the state and this will certainly keep them on track to achieving that goal. During the transition phase, Todd Albert, Founder of Boca Code is expected to continue teaching some of the classes.

Boca Code founder Todd Albert added, “Partnering with 4Geeks is a great deal for us. Their team, credibility and experience will drive our community to great standards and outcomes; also, they align well with what we’ve been working to build at Boca Code. I’m happy to be a part of this journey and ready for new challenges to come.” 

Todd is currently the Bootcamps Sub-Committee Chair of the Tech Talent Committee pulling together industry, higher education, bootcamps across the region. 4Geeks is also a part of the Miami Talent Coalition supporting the expansion of tech education connections in Miami. With the merger, Alissa Landra, Campus Manager at 4Geeks will be joining Todd as the South Florida Tech Hub Bootcamps Sub-Committee Co-Chair, helping further connect Miami efforts to the entire region.

Alissa shared that, “Across the United States, 4Geeks has graduated more than 70 cohorts, more than 2,000 graduates, and 35% of those graduates are women. We want to push more women to take our program!” This sentiment is shared across both organizations who have worked with other partners and nonprofits to aid in access and financial assistance to their programs creating more diversity in the tech landscape.

4Geeks Academy and Boca Code share a commitment to providing top-tier coding education as well as making this education accessible to underserved and underrepresented groups of people in the community. 4Geeks has worked with organizations such as United Way Miami and Miami Dade College to offer education to those who may not have access otherwise. Boca Code has built a long-standing relationship with TechStrong Group, a Boca Raton-based media and events company, who provide scholarships to students through the “Engineer the Change” program. 

This merger brings together the expertise and resources of both organizations, resulting in improved learning materials and support for students. Students will gain access to a wider range of coding languages, technologies, industry-focused courses, and even scholarships and financial support. Graduates will also benefit from an expanded professional network, providing more opportunities for career growth across the South Florida region. 

For more information about the merger or to inquire about enrollment opportunities, please visit 4geeksacademy.com  or contact (786) 416-6640.

By Riley Kaminer

4Geeks and the Shrimp Society partner to offer NFTs, membership to budding developers

Read Time 3 Minutes

Two local organizations are joining forces to further develop the South Florida tech talent ecosystem. 4Geeks, a Miami-based software programming academy, has partnered with community organization the Shrimp Society to offer 4Geeks’ students access to the Shrimp Society’s network. 

Until the end of June, 4Geeks students will be given a Shrimp Society non-fungible token (NFT) upon successfully completing their course. This NFT gives them access to the Shrimp Society’s community, events, programs, and member perks. 

The Shrimp Society’s NFT initiative has gained notoriety for being one of the first NFTs to be built on the back of a community-based organization. Currently, there are approximately 1,800 individual Shrimp NFT holders from around the world, with a major presence in their hometown of Miami. Shrimp Society backers and supporters include the Knight Foundation, the City of Miami, and Venture Miami.

“It’s not about the shrimp itself,” said 4Geeks’ CEO Marcelo Ricigliano, referring to the quirky crustaceans that are minted uniquely for each and every NFT. “It’s about what you get with the asset.” Ricigliano signaled that the shrimps can be good conversation starters and potentially lead to new job opportunities. 

“The best way to find a job in the US as a software developer right now it not by applying online – although that might work in some cases,” Ricigliano explained. “What actually works is that you position yourself at the right time with the right people.”

According to Ricigliano, 4Geeks and the Shrimp Society hope to give out approximately 100 NFTs through the partnership. Ricigliano praised the Shrimp Society’s initiatives to bring together distinct members of our tech community: “The Shrimp Society is all about building a network full of opportunities for those who belong to the community.”

“A huge priority for the Shrimp Society has been to include people that add value to this innovation ecosystem,” Shrimp Society founder Chris Daniels told Tech Hub South Florida. Daniels expects this partnership to promote the development of South Florida’s local developer talent, while also helping those developers find top-notch job opportunities. 

“Collaborating with 4Geeks was the perfect match because we enable people who are ambitious, want to learn, and have a growth mindset to join the Shrimp Society,” Daniels commented. “Then, these developers can match with visionary founders who want to get products out.”

For Daniels, partnering with 4Geeks was a no-brainer: “It felt like a family: very relationship-based. Marcelo and his team are really invested in our community.” Daniels also appreciated the fast-moving nature of 4Geeks. “We were able to move fast to provide value to the community.”

Alissa Landra, 4Geeks’ Campus Manager, reported that since the coding school’s launch in 2016, they have graduated more than 2,000 students. The Miami-based school has 10 locations in seven countries. Classes are hybrid, giving students the opportunity to learn online or in-person at 4Geeks’ Miami location.

Of the recent South Florida tech boom, Landra expressed excitement. “It’s always interesting to see what people are building in Miami,” she explained. Landra also highlighted the recent Miami Hack Week as particularly potent of South Florida’s increasingly high profile on the global tech scene. “I met people from all over the country and the world,” she noted.

4Geeks Academy and Boca Code announce merger and plans to expand tech education in Florida
4Geeks and the Shrimp Society partner to offer NFTs, membership to budding developers