Company Profile
The LaunchCode Foundation
Company Overview
LaunchCode is a nonprofit offering free tech education and job placement opportunities to bring new people from all backgrounds into the tech field and reshape the way employers think about hiring.
Company History
LaunchCode was founded in 2013 to help people with nontraditional backgrounds find fulfilling, upwardly-mobile careers, and to help companies find skilled, new tech talent from all backgrounds and walks of life.
Millions of Americans are unemployed and many more are stuck in low-wage job cycles which leave them struggling to find livable salaries, employable skills, and a chance for advancement. American businesses also have a problem — there just isn’t enough traditional tech talent to match the growing demand. Code.org reports nearly 500,000 open computing jobs nationwide, yet only around 60,000 computer science graduates entered the workforce last year. These jobs are spread all over the economy, making products and services like your mobile phone, satellite television, and online searches just…work.
Back in 2013, Square’s Jim McKelvey founded LaunchCode to address these problems. Jim had experienced the lack of talent firsthand while trying to build a development shop for his new company Square in his hometown of St. Louis, MO. Eventually Jim moved Square to California for access to skilled workers, but knew there must be some way to connect the city’s rising unemployment with its shortage of tech talent. And so, LaunchCode was born.
It turns out, when you make quality education free and accessible, amazing things can happen.
Benefits
We offer a strong compensation and benefits package to support the financial, mental, and physical wellbeing of our staff. During your first year of employment, you'll accrue up to 25 days of PTO, enjoy 11 paid federal holidays and all-staff remote weeks during the holiday season. We offer competitive healthcare benefits with 100% employer-funded medical insurance premiums for employees, vision, dental, and life insurance, and $1 for $1 401k contributions match up to 6% of pay with immediate vesting. LaunchCode also offers 12 weeks of fully paid parental leave for birth or adoption of a child, regardless of parent's gender after one year of employment.