Code School Opening in American Tobacco

Kicking down doors and busting through glass ceilings is just another day in the life for aspiring coders in Durham. Now there will be a new code school in Durham to help men and women learn skills in Java, CSS, HTML, Ruby on Rails, and other software languages that are needed for successful careers in technology.

A new code academy, The Iron Yard, is coming to Durham in June at the American Tobacco Campus.The school will partner with Smashing Boxes, a Durham-based technology shop to bring the intensive classes to life. This partnership is just another example of the growing technology sector in Durham, and the integral nature of thriving partnerships in the community.

The code school will hold 12-week courses that will combine practical application, mentorship, collaboration, and teaching, all within close proximity to successful Durham tech entrepreneurs at places like the American Underground and the Startup Factory, just two of many such entities here in town. Students will graduate from the school with the necessary skills to be hired as junior-level coders. There are an abundance of these kinds of jobs in Durham, and this school hopes to close the gap between skilled workers and the need for them.

The Iron Yard will join the ranks of Durham's educational institutions like North Carolina Central University, Duke University, and Durham Tech which prepare talented students to enter the workforce. The new school will also contribute to the growing technology buzz in Durham, already identified and affirmed by Google with its Tech Hub partnership with American Underground. That partnership allows technology developers to interact and have access to Google developers and products.

The Iron Yard and Smashing Boxes aim to teach students who have little or no prior development knowledge. This speaks to the inclusive nature of the technology community in Durham, where diversity is valued and encouraged. Recently Google helped fund Soar, a Durham-based program that connects women entrepreneurs with capital needed to help close the gender gap in entrepreneurship. These programs are just a couple of examples of how the Durham community seeks to support all of its members.

Look online to discover more reasons why Durham is a great place to visit, work, and do business.

Google Fiber Redux?

With a rising stake as a destination for entrepreneurs, as well as continually being heralded as great place to live and visit, Durham is again catching the eye of internet search giant Google.

Durham vied hard to get the company to bring its gigabit fiber optic network to Durham back in 2011.  The project drew national attention for its efforts.  Now, Google is looking at 34 communities to next bring their service to, and Durham is on the list along with some neighboring communities. 

In 2010 more than 1,000 people showed up at
the Durham Bulls Athletic Park to show their
support for Google to bring its Gigabit Fiber
Optic Internet Service to Durham.

The service fees are competitive, and the service speeds exceed what is currently offered. Among several options currently offered in Kansas City is one gigabit per second download speed for $70 per month.  

While no public influence project like the one launched in 2011 has been announced, Durham fans are encouraged to use the hashtag #DurhamWantsGoogle in social media posts to demonstrate their interest in the possibility of the company bringing its project here.

"Public sentiment ran very high during that project," according to Sam Poley, Director of Public Relations and Communications for the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau, and who helped spearhead Durham's efforts in  2010. "Durham is a prime spot for this project, it aligns with Google's goals of innovation and collaboration, and it's already on the company's radar for investing here," Poley added referring to the fact that the American Underground in Durham is one of seven Google Tech Hubs in the US.

So, will Durham catch Google this time?  Who knows, but show support with #DurhamWantsGoogle.

Google, are you listening?

Breaking News: Google Selects Durham's American Underground

Durham, NC.  A community where, among other things, entrepreneurs are regularly greeted by opportunity and support.  That sort of support makes this morning's announcement by American Underground that it will become part of an exclusive Google for Entrepreneurs Tech Hub Network all the more important. Durham is now one of of seven hubs throughout North America in the network that supports entrepreneurs and provides a stimulus for the economy in local communities.

“The American Underground is making great strides to ensure every entrepreneur in our network has an unparalleled opportunity to launch, grow and succeed,” said Adam Klein, chief strategist, American Underground. “Being selected as a Google for Entrepreneurs Tech Hub means that the 100-plus startups in our network are one giant leap closer to being the companies that capture imaginations and create jobs here and, as they grow, around the country.”

American Underground, along with Durham's other incubators, has really helped to drive that message home. "In Durham, the common refrain is more likely to be 'How can I help?' rather than 'Good luck with that.'" said Shelly Green, President and CEO of the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau.  "Entrepreneurship has been part of Durham's DNA for hundreds of years, so this announcement is one that has implications for economic development across the board - tourism included," she added.

Google will support American Underground both financially and technologically. Hubs will have greater access to Google experts and products, and will participate in a number of Google events each year. Most importantly, hubs in the network will have access to each other, with Google facilitating quarterly calls and bringing hub partners together in-person to share lessons learned and best practices for entrepreneurs.

The Google for Entrepreneurs Tech Hub Network is the first formal network of this kind in the world. “Google heard consistently from tech hubs that they wanted to be part of a larger network, to learn from each other and collaborate together on ideas. We are happy to facilitate that,” said John Lyman, Head of Partnerships for Google for Entrepreneurs. “Our team has been incredibly impressed with the great work these hubs have done in their cities, and are excited to partner with them to do even more.”

Durham's stock-in-trade as a hub for entrepreneurs and startups has risen so sharply in recent years that it is regularly mentioned in the same breath as Silicon Valley, Austin, and Boston as a destination for visionaries looking for a place to get going.

The other six hubs in the network include: CoCo in Minneapolis, MN; 1871 in Chicago, IL; Communitech in Waterloo, Ontario; Nashville Entrepreneur Center in Nashville, TN; Galvanize in Denver, CO; and Grand Circus in Detroit, MI.

Learn more about Durham online.