South Florida Tech HubSouth Florida Tech Hub
14
Mar, 2023

By Nikki Cabus

Techstrong supports diversity in tech; the next Engineer The Change scholarship recipient announced

Read Time 5 Minutes

Techstrong Group has teamed up with Boca Code once again to award another ‘Engineer the Change’ scholarship to help foster diversity in South Florida tech talent pool and empower individuals from underserved communities to develop the skills needed to succeed in the industry.

The scholarship is awarded twice per year, once in the spring and once in the fall. Winners receive $10,000 each to put toward Boca Code’s Software Engineering Course. The 10-week intensive coding bootcamp combines theory and hands-on, project-based learning that prepares the students for a career in software engineering. Boca Code offers adults comprehensive training in software development using real projects for real companies to best prepare you for and help place you in a career in the tech industry.

Our Engineer The Change scholarship recipient for the Spring 2023 cohort is . . . Camila Sandoval!

Camila was born in Colombia, South America in a small town where tragedy struck her family early on. With the support of her grandmother who taught her English and her mother who instilled strong values and a love for mathematics, Camila was driven to pursue a degree in biomedical engineering where she took two programming classes that ignited her interest in coding. She then realized she wanted to dedicate her career to developing medical software. With few opportunities in Colombia in this field, she moved to South Florida, a state known for healthcare and innovation.

Moving to the United States presented several challenges, including a lack of connections, her degree not being recognized, and having to prioritize finding a job to cover my basic needs over prioritizing her education. She continued self-taught online bootcamps where she discovered Boca Code and the “Engineer the Change” scholarship opportunity. She knew this was her next step.

Camila has a great desire to help others and much of that stems from her own personal experiences. She believes these opportunities should be available to everyone no matter there background or circumstances.

Upon winning, Camila told South Florida Tech Hub, “As an immigrant, winning the Engineer the Change Scholarship means more than just having the financial support to achieve my goals. It also provides me with the opportunity to join an industry that transforms the world. I am grateful for the chance to contribute my unique perspective and inspire others who may be facing similar challenges.”

Congratulations, Camila, we are all rooting for you!

The Engineer the Change scholarships combine two goals that are core to Techstrong Group:

  1. Doing their part to make South Florida a world-class hub for the tech industry and
  2. Providing opportunities for individuals from underrepresented communities to acquire the skills they need for a successful career in tech.

Techstrong Group is a media company and the power source for people and technology accelerating understanding of technologies that drive business by serving the needs of IT leaders and practitioners with news, research, analysis, events, education, certifications and professional development. Their focus is digital transformation, DevOps, cybersecurity, cloud and cloud-native under brands such as Techstrong Media, Techstrong Associations, Techstrong Research, Techstrong Learning and Techstrong Live!

“We are proud to continue our partnership with Boca Code to support and empower talented individuals who are seeking opportunities for growth and have demonstrated a deep commitment to pursuing a career in IT,” said Alan Shimel, founder and CEO at Techstrong Group. The scholarship will be awarded to the most deserving student whose application shows a genuine interest in technology and demonstrates the potential to be a future leader.”

Research shows a staggering lack of diversity in STEM fields, most noticeably within computer and engineering positions. It is a glaring workforce disparity that requires both recognition and responsibility from those at the highest levels in the tech world to create a more diverse and equitable workforce.

To be eligible, applicants must be over the age of 18 and be part of an underrepresented community (i.e. women, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans or other minority groups). To be considered, applicants will are required to submit an essay (minimum of 500 words in length) detailing how they can serve as a role model to other disadvantaged individuals hoping to acquire the skills to become successful tech workers and what type of career in the tech industry they are hoping to pursue.

While the idea is to help the South Florida tech community, applicants can apply from anywhere as long as their essay explains why they are coming to South Florida to launch their tech career.

Boca Code CEO Todd Albert told South Florida Tech Hub that ‘The scholarship has a huge impact because we have been able to help students that would otherwise not have been able to afford to attend. We’ve given 8 students the opportunity to change their lives and have a better future for them and their families.”

“Techstrong is an amazing partner and shares our passion for making the tech community even more diverse,” he continued.

“It is important to us that we seize every opportunity to help foster diversity and inclusivity within the tech industry, and the Engineer the Change scholarship is a great start to empowering disadvantaged minorities within the South Florida community to grow their technical skill set.”

Unlike other code schools where students work on dummy projects, Boca Code partners with real companies to give our students real life resume-worthy projects to work on that not only build their portfolio, but give them meaningful experiences. Their curriculum is designed by professional educators and senior developers.

Additionally, scholarship winners are featured in the ‘Engineering the Change’ video series, produced by Techstrong Group, which follows the recipients on their journey to become software engineers. From the highs to the lows, you can get a view into what these software engineering students are facing.

Additional Resources

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28
Aug, 2022

By Riley Kaminer

Entrepreneurs and investors come together at sold-out Pitch and Pour event in Coral Gables

Read Time 4 Minutes

It was an evening of innovation, entrepreneurship, and networking at South Florida Tech Hub’s Pitch and Pour event on August 25th in Coral Gables.

Hosted by angel investor Tahl Milburn, the Investment Sub-Committee Chair of Tech Hub’s Startup Committee, at Merrick Manor, upwards of 55 people from the South Florida tech scene came to meet each other and discuss the opportunities present in our rapidly-growing ecosystem.

“It is a pleasure to have you all here, as we gather in one of the world’s most exciting tech ecosystems,” Milburn said in his opening remarks.

Startup founders were at the core of the event. These eight entrepreneurs had the opportunity to pitch their company to some of South Florida’s top investors. They each had three minutes to showcase their startup, followed by three minutes of questions, before moving onto the next investor. Community members were able to listen in on pitches as they were happening. All the while, there were ample networking opportunities, facilitating connections between startups and key local stakeholders.

 

Meet the featured startups!

Startups presenting at the Pitch and Pour event represented a cross-section of South Florida’s innovation economy – from media to upskilling, and everything in between. 

Modern Trials – Leveraging electronic medical record data from a broad network of healthcare organizations to match patients in need of advanced treatment options with appropriate clinical trial opportunities.

Streann Media – SaaS platform that enables content providers to build their own distribution platforms. Read more about Streann Media in our member spotlight.

Roomaters – A startup that aims to make it easier to find roommates. Now building a communications platform focused on student housing.

Boca Code – A Boca Raton-based coding school, aiming to help connect budding technologists with some of South Florida’s most exciting tech firms.

Guiltless To Go – An app that provides the delivery of food for people with specific dietary needs.

Best Candidate – An election candidate search engine and campaign media manager.

Parkquility – Taking the headache out of parking by enabling consumers to reserve parking spots in advance. 

Brain A.C.T.I.V.E. – Empowering businesses to improve their employees’ mental fitness.

 

A resounding success, and more to come

Mike Maniscalco, EVP of Technology at Applied Blockchain and Chair of Tech Hub’s Startup Founders Peer Group, underscored the importance of events like the Pitch and Pour for South Florida’s rapidly-expanding tech ecosystem.

“It was an incredibly successful first event,” Maniscalco told South Florida Tech Hub. “We need to do more. It was clear from the amount of attendees that the appetite is huge. We should keep having more of these events, as people continue to be willing to come.”

This event is what the Startup Founders Peer Group is all about: bringing founders and entrepreneurs together to connect, share, and learn from each other in a safe setting. They typically meet once a month to share our successes, needs and resources. Through the work of the Startup Committee, participants attend events such as pitch clinics, contests, and investor connection events. They also hear from guest speakers and take part in summits and expos.

Serial entrepreneur and RaiseLink chief executive Chris Houghtaling was one of the experts hearing pitches at the event. Houghtaling said that he had been to similar events in other tech ecosystems internationally, but nothing quite like it in South Florida.

“Not only did it help startups improve their pitches, but it also allowed for ample networking in a relaxed and fun atmosphere,” commented Houghtaling.

 

Developing South Florida’s tech ecosystem

South Florida Tech Hub is the only tech ecosystem development organization active throughout our region, including Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and Martin counties. Through its events, committees, and advocacy, Tech Hub is at the forefront of developing South Florida as a cutting-edge, inclusive hotspot for innovation.

As South Florida rises to prominence on a global stage, events like Pitch and Pour are critical to bring together innovators from the entire region – uplifting all parties while also fostering a strong sense of community.

Tech Hub’s Startup Committee proudly supports and connects dozens of startup organizations and stakeholders in South Florida. It unites the following resources and leaders together to achieve common goals: Startup Accelerators & Incubators, Entrepreneur Support Organizations, Community-oriented Coworking Spaces, Venture Capital & Angel Investors, Economic Development & Government Partners, Corporate & University Innovation Programs and more.

Click here to view more photos from the Pitch & Pour startup event. 📸

 

Are you interested in getting involved in Tech Hub’s activities in South Florida? Come out and show your supPOURt! Visit TechHubSouthFlorida.org or email team@techhubsouthflorida.org for more information. 

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22
Aug, 2022

By Riley Kaminer

Engineer the Change scholarship expands access to South Florida tech jobs while expanding our regional talent pool 

Read Time 3 Minutes

A lack of top tech talent is one of the major barriers to the growth of South Florida’s innovation ecosystem. Our research suggests that Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade have 6.5 times the number of new software engineering positions available this year than there are engineers to fill them. This is significantly higher than global figures, which sit at around 2x.

Boca Code is working to fill this talent gap by equipping ambitious South Floridians with the skills they need to excel in a software engineering role.

To support Boca Code’s mission, Boca-based tech media conglomerate Techstrong Group has announced that it will take part in the Fall 2022 ‘Engineer the Change’ scholarship. Two students will receive $10,000 each to put towards Boca Code’s Software Engineering Course, a 10-week, full-time bootcamp. By the end of the program, students will be prepared for a career in software engineering. 

For Techstrong Group, these scholarships combine two goals. One: help make South Florida a world-class tech hub. Two: provide opportunities for people from underrepresented communities to gain the skills they need to find success in the tech industry.

“We are pleased to partner with Boca Code to give talented individuals a chance to pursue their dreams and launch, or advance, their career in IT,” commented Alan Shimel, founder and CEO at Techstrong Group. “The scholarship will be awarded to the most deserving student who is passionate about technology and demonstrates the potential to be a future leader.”

“We appreciate our partnership with Techstrong Group,” said Boca Code CEO Todd Albert. “It is important to us that we seize every opportunity to help foster diversity and inclusivity within the tech industry.”

“The Engineer the Change scholarship is a great start to empowering disadvantaged minorities within the South Florida community to grow their technical skill set,” Albert continued.

This scholarship has already led to some major success stories. For instance, last year’s scholarship went to Alina Maliuk, a first-generation immigrant from Ukraine. Maliuk now works as a software engineer at West Palm Beach-based fintech SMArtX Advisory Solutions.

“Boca Code’s workshop in web development was energizing and furthered the learning I had already  started on my own. Through that initial course, the Boca Code team inspired me to go even further. I  am ready to move onto my next chapter and I would like that to be a career in software engineering,” said Maliuk. 

“Thanks to the Engineer the Change scholarship, I now have this amazing opportunity to accelerate my tech career,” Maliuk continued. “I will give back by showing other female immigrants of the Russian speaking community in Florida that if you can dream it and work hard to achieve it, you can make it happen.”

Albert told South Florida Tech Hub that Boca Code has seen rapid growth since being founded in 2020. “Every cohort this year has been full,” he said. They are also looking to add some new classes to create even more opportunities for students. 

Interested in applying for the Engineer the Change Scholarship? Visit Techstrong’s website, or learn more about other scholarship opportunities by visiting Boca Code’s website.

Follow along by watching Techstrong’s reality show about this year’s Engineer the Change scholarship. Episode 1 is available now.

READ MORE ON SOUTH FLORIDA TECH HUB:

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13
Dec, 2021

By Riley Kaminer

Member Spotlight | Boca Code

Read Time 3 Minutes

Mission: To teach the next generation of software engineers and supply South Florida’s tech companies with top talent

Launched: 2020

Instructors: 7

Website: BocaCode.com

 

Todd Albert has been coding practically since he started reading. “I’ve been coding since I was seven years old, when my dad first brought home a computer,” he told South Florida Tech Hub. “There was nothing to do on it except write code!” 

A young Albert would devour computer magazines and eventually take part in high school coding competitions. He ended up pursuing a career as a climate scientist, which enabled him to travel the world and work with major organizations including NASA and NOAA.

All the while, however, coding was still a major part of Albert’s life: “I loved running my own programs and writing code.” After successfully completing a PhD, he re-entered the tech world full-time by teaching coding. 

Albert’s passion for coding led him to eventually work as the lead developer for a few South Florida tech companies, including his own agency. While in these positions, Albert began to realize that there was a lack of talent in our area. 

“So I decided to combine my teaching background and my coding background to create a code school, Boca Code” said Albert. “Our goal is to be the best code school that there is so that people come to us first for talent, and our students are in the highest demand.”

Boca Code’s courses stand apart from the crowd because, according to Albert, instead of starting students out on “the easy stuff” like HTML and CSS, at Boca Code they “jump right into the fundamentals: algorithms and data structures.”

“We get the students writing actual code on day one, and teach things from a high level architectural level perspective,” explained Albert. He said that this approach trains students to “think and code like a senior engineer right off the bat.”

Boca Code’s main offering is a full-time, 10-week intensive software engineering course. “With this course, students become a top software engineer in 10 weeks,” said Albert. The code school also has a handful of courses covering topics such as data analytics and python, user experience design, and game development.

Despite just launching last year, Boca Code already has a series of success stories. For example, one recent high school graduate got his first-ever job after taking Boca Code’s 10-week course. A 33 year old immigrant mother who had never coded decided to switch careers, got a scholarship to Boca Code’s software engineering course, and landed a job making $70,000 a year. And a Pizza Hut night manager was able to supercharge his college computer science degree and land a life-changing job after a stint at Boca Code.

Why Boca? Albert says it’s a quiet powerhouse. “While Microsoft, Apple, and Google were getting started in Silicon Valley, IBM was building the first personal computer here in Boca,” he acknowledged. Nowadays, Albert underscored that Boca has a thriving ecosystem of more than 400 startups and even a handful of unicorns: “Miami is always getting a lot of attention, but the tech scene in Boca is chugging away.”

Interested in leveling up your career? Check out Boca Code’s offerings by visiting their website.

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12
Apr, 2021

By Todd Albert

Todd Albert | Why Does Talent Leave South Florida?

Read Time 4 Minutes

Companies are moving to South Florida in droves. We all see it. We’ve all read about it. And a few months ago it reached a tipping point when national media began reporting on it.

According to our latest tech talent report, there are approximately 5.1 times as many new tech jobs annually as there are new candidates.

For local software engineers, this is awesome – the last time I applied for a job, I got 6 serious offers within 4 days – one to lead a division of a FAANG company in California that I didn’t even apply to or send my resume. I literally only applied to 4 local companies. (Hmm… maybe our devices really are listening to us?!)

But as a hiring manager, looking to hire local talent, this presents a significant challenge. There are sources of junior talent (0–1 years experience) coming out of colleges and bootcamps, but the level and skills of those individuals vary widely and the supply of mid-level talent (2–4 years experience) and senior-level talent (5+ years experience) is essentially non-existent.

(Yes, the years I put on here are for reference only – I’ve met developers with 20 years experience that were still clearly junior-level and developers with 2 years experience that could run circles on most mid-level developers…)

So why, with the incredible demand for talent here in South Florida, do many of our best-trained developers take jobs elsewhere?

There are likely many reasons for the brain drain we experience, but I can offer 5 key reasons with a simple fix for each.

  • Be Agile: Not all tech companies are created equal. I’ve spoken to several people that work in tech who claim the company they work for “thinks” they are a tech company, but they don’t “act” like a tech company. I had to unpack this a bit. At first, it sounded like spoiled developers that were missing the proverbial ping-pong table at work, but what it really turned out to be was that those companies weren’t following Agile Principles. And one of the Agile Principles is that development teams should be self-organized and any management of the team should be servant-style, not top-down. Well-trained developers know the best way to work and manage their projects and team, so no one outside the team should try to micromanage them. If you’re not truly Agile, you’ll lose top talent fast.
  • Pay more: Obviously places like New York and California are going to pay more than here in Florida due to the higher cost of living, but the small savings we get from not having state income tax does not make up for massive discrepancies in salaries. The cost of living in Florida is higher than in Virginia and the Carolinas, yet tech companies in those states are paying more, on average. Our salaries are on par with the national average, but our cost of living is higher. Be willing to pay a bit more for quality tech talent. It is usually well worth it.
  • Simplify job requirements: Tech jobs notoriously have the most ridiculous requirements. Let me let you in on a little secret – a good software engineer can learn a new technology quickly. We have to. The technologies we use are constantly changing and no one knows them all. Yet we regularly see job postings for junior developers requiring them to know dozens of esoteric languages, tools, libraries, and frameworks, and miraculously have eons of experience in each one. There are famous stories of people not getting a job because they didn’t have enough experience in a library that they, themselves, wrote. Or job postings requiring 7 years of experience in a framework that is only 4 years old. Get real. Stop hunting for some fantasy unicorn. When I post a job description it is “Seeking junior developer.” This aggravates my HR team, but opens us up to a wide range of talented individuals. Which is what I want: talent. I want someone that can quickly learn and excel at most anything I throw at them. And honestly, if someone has 7 years of experience in anything and is still looking for a junior-level position, you might NOT want to hire that person!
  • Set realistic expectations: Not only is the depth of experience often unrealistic or unwarranted, but the breadth of technologies is frequently a source of jokes and ridicule itself! Job requirements often list every technology anyone has ever mentioned in or around the building or on Slack. Yet 90% of the time, you’re just looking for a developer that knows React, Node, and CSS. And that’s it. What else do you need?
  • Hire mostly juniors, some mid-level, and very few seniors: Nearly every job posting I read is looking for senior developers. Clearly, these people have never worked with quality juniors and mid-level developers. Seniors are able to solve problems quickly, but we are, without fail, the least productive developers on a well-rounded team. Seniors spend most of their time thinking, analyzing, and planning, but relatively little time actually coding. We are better at architecting a solution, but can leave the coding to the work horses. Just as a good chef has many assistants, so should a good senior developer. Mid-level developers tend to be pretty fixed in their ways, keep their heads down, and just crank out work. Juniors, on the other hand, are eager to learn and experiment. They can’t work as fast as mid-level developers, but they are much more flexible and willing to try and learn new things. Juniors work best when they have a senior developer that can mentor them, whereas mid-level developers work best on their own. A good senior developer can mentor several juniors and manage several mid-level developers. This is the most cost-effective and Agile formula, especially since you can often hire 3 juniors (or 2 mid-levels) for the cost of a single senior. And if their mentor is good, it will take very little of his or her time to mentor these juniors — the time they spend is more than made up for in added productivity.

There is amazing talent and opportunity in the South Florida Tech community. We are thrilled to be a part of this community and to help train and foster new talent within it.

So what can you do to help keep this talent and hire locally? Simply put: hire more juniors and mid-level developers, be realistic about job requirements and expectations, pay more, and be Agile!

Written by Todd H. Albert, Ph.D., Founder and Lead Instructor at Boca Code

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21
Sep, 2020

By Nancy Dahlberg

Member Spotlight | Boca Code & Todd Albert

Read Time 4 Minutes

Business: A coding academy offering short courses in web and mobile development,  game development, data analytics and UX/UI.  In the plans for early 2021: a 10-week career course.

Address: 7035 Beracasa Way, 207, Boca Raton

Team: Todd Albert, founder and lead instructor; Emily Cleary, lead UX instructor; Mariela Pascual, developer and instructor; Ashley Taylor, creative director; Pearse Brolly, business development, Maddie Galvelis, social marketing.

Website:  Bocacode.com

 

Todd Albert learned to code when he was 7 and built his first arcade game as a teen. For some reason he did not pursue a career in tech, but instead he became a scientist as a NASA research fellow and then taught at in universities for 15 years, as well as at the middle school level. “And through my research and in my teaching, I was always coding.”

When Albert decided to leave teaching after moving back to South Florida in 2012, he followed his heart into tech and started a tech agency. At one point the agency had 17 developers, and Albert said finding local developers was always difficult. Most of the resumes were coming from code schools in Miami or from out of state.

That’s when Albert began noodling with the idea of starting a local code school. Then, after he has seen some schools come into Palm Beach County or northern Broward and then fail – and the mistakes they made — he took the plunge, founding Boca Code in February of this year.

“I love to code and I love to mentor young developers. And I realized — and people around me realized too — that having a code school was really not just my dream but it almost felt like that was what I was destined for. My background in teaching, in coding, in mentoring, it was all me leading towards this.”

 

MAKING AN IMPACT

With a code school, you’re helping people enter a good career with great earning potential, he said. Graduates can earn $60-$65k in their first job, and in just a few years it could be six figures.

But just as important: “The community is desperately needing the talent.”

Boca Code’s home – a 2,900-square-foot bright and modern space at the intersection of Palmetto and Powerline in Boca Raton — is nearly built out, but Boca Code started offering virtual intensive short courses classes this spring and summer and has offerings such as Data Analytics & Python and AR, VR and Game Development through the fall.  It is in the process of obtaining its state of Florida license to teach its signature career course – a 10-week full-time bootcamp – and Boca Code expects to begin offering that in January. Boca Code also offers a number of free workshops and offers a scholarship to women.

While other code schools have tried and failed, Boca Code has a few differentiators that will make it successful, Albert believes. First, Albert is not only the owner but the lead instructor, so he doesn’t have to worry about the lead instructor quitting mid- class, as happened at other schools. He also has built a very talented team who are also instructors as well as experts in sales and marketing. He and his team are also well-connected within the community. “Being a part of the larger South Florida tech community I think is really important for the success of the school but for placing the students in jobs afterwards.”

 

DEDICATION TO COMMUNITY

Another key differentiator is that Boca Code students are going to be doing real projects for real companies. “So for small businesses that are just getting started, we can help develop their app or their website. The students are getting real experience and the companies are getting affordable development work. And I don’t know anyone else who is doing that.”

In addition to the 10-week bootcamp, Boca Code plans to always offer the 15-hour short courses, such as Intro to Web Dev for people who just want to dip their toe into an introductory coding course or who want to upskill in the latest technologies, like React, or learn more about UX/UI. The courses are often offered at nights and weekends to accommodate full-time employment.

“We are all dedicated to helping not just the students but the community as a whole,” Albert said. “We want to become a central hub in the community for training and for talent, and we are starting to make good progress.”

This is Albert’s third time living in South Florida, and he likes what he sees: a unique and cohesive tech community.

“Rather than competing and vying for talent, we’re all getting together and supporting each other as a community, which is owed in large part to South Florida Tech. Joe [Russo] has provided us a central hub,” Albert said. “And when you have such a giving community it makes you want to be a part of it and it makes you want to help others. It’s contagious.”

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Techstrong supports diversity in tech; the next Engineer The Change scholarship recipient announced
Entrepreneurs and investors come together at sold-out Pitch and Pour event in Coral Gables
Engineer the Change scholarship expands access to South Florida tech jobs while expanding our regional talent pool 
Member Spotlight | Boca Code
Todd Albert | Why Does Talent Leave South Florida?
Member Spotlight | Boca Code & Todd Albert