Neal Sales-Griffin of Code Academy #230

Tuesday

Feb072012

Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 11:47PM

Neal Sales-Griffin of Code Academy #230

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Code Academy co-founder (and Ruby on Rails student) Neal Sales-Griffin dropped by TWiST to talk the future of education, why it's never too late to start coding and how startups will save our economy.

0:00-1:30 We’re here today with Neal Sales-Griffin of Code Academy.
1:30-2:30 Welcome back Tyler. How’s it been going?
2:30-3:00 If you still haven’t joined the TWiST Backchannel, go to twistlist.co to sign up.
3:00-4:30 Thank you to GoToMeeting for sponsoring the show. Everyone thank them @gotomeeting.
4:30-7:30 If you haven’t heard about the LAUNCH Festival, check it out here: launch.is. It’s not too late to get your tickets!
7:30-10:00 Insight from Tyler: Launch is like an Asian girl with double Ds.
10:00-11:00 Neal, what’s the mission at Code Academy?
11:00-11:45 What’s the difference between you and Codeacademy?
11:45-13:30 How much do people pay to join and what do they get?
13:30-14:00 How do you make a profit?
14:00-15:30 What kinds of people are joining the program?
15:30-17:00 What do I need to know before I come in to Code Academy?
17:00-19:30 What can a student accomplish in an eleven week course?
19:30-21:00 Are there jobs in the US for average coders, or do you have to be elite?
21:00-22:45 Do you think what you’re doing could help menial workers acquire a new skill and get a better job?
22:45-26:00 In minority communities, how is becoming a developer looked at?
26:00-28:00 Thank you to Walker Corporate Law for supporting the show. If you need at lawyer, call Scott at 310-288-6667.
28:00-31:30 What if you put people on a payment plan or charged a placement fee for the companies that hire students afterwards?
31:30-33:00 Do you ask your students to build real-world tools uning APIs?
33:00- Do you think that internships are a screwed up concept legally?
34:45-36:00 Out of your contemporaries coming out of Northwestern, how many do you think have a job?
36:00-37:30 Have you raised money for this yet? Are you planning to?
37:30-38:15 Let’s take a Shark Tank call.
38:15-39:30 Adriana Herrara of Fashioning Change makes her pitch.
40:30-42:00 You had good energy and that came through in the pitch.
42:00-42:30 Jason gives the presentation an 8 and the business model a 7.
42:30-44:00 Neal, what did you think of the pitch?
44:00-45:00 This “search everything” is a little too much. I would rather have a daily email or offering.
45:00-46:00 Tyler, bias aside, what did you think?
46:00-48:00 How many of you would buy an American-made bag that you knew was cruelty free?
48:00-48:30 Jason: I’m lowering your presentation to a 6 because you have tons of great features that you didn’t bring up.
48:30-50:00 Tyler gives the pitch a 7, but says it could easily be a 9.
50:00-51:30 What’s the youngest age someone should be allowed to work?
51:30-53:00 Tyler gives Adriana’s business model an 8.5.
53:00-55:00 Adriana explains her competitive advantages.
55:00-55:15 Thank you for pitching us today, Adriana. You’ve won a free table at the Launch Festival!
55:15-56:00 Neal, when are you launching in a second city?
56:00-59:00 Jason proposes a business deal to Neal.
59:00-1:01:00 You’re in a race right now with all of these other schools, Neal.
1:01:00-1:04:45 Neal, you’re invited to come be my guest and have a table at the conference and all of the Code Academy alumni get a free ticket.
1:04:45-1:05:45 Jason demos a video about quadrotors.
1:05:45-1:06:00 Everyone check at Code Academy, follow Neal on Twitter @nealsales and apply for the next class!

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Jason: @jason
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Neal: @nealsales
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Walker Corporate Law: @scottedwalker

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