The Latin American startup scene has attracted venture investment treasures, turning into high-value companies like Rappi and NuBank. Now that the spotlight has arrived, those same startups need more talent than ever to meet demand.
This is where a seed-stage startup from Buenos Aires wants to help. Henry created an online computer school that trains software developers from low-income backgrounds to understand technical skills and gain employment. The company was founded by brother-sister duo Luz and Martin Borchardt, as well as by Manuel Barna Ferrés, Antonio Tralice and Leonardo Maglia.
The company says there are approximately 1 million job opportunities in the software engineering industry in Latin America, but fewer than 100,000 professionals who have suitable training for these roles.
"Higher education affects only 13% of the population in Latin America," says Martin Borchardt, CEO and co-founder of Henry . "It is very unique, very expensive and has very low impact capacity. So we're giving these people a chance. "
With 90% of graduates coming from a non-formal higher education background, Henry seeks to help bring more junior back-end developers and full-stack developers into startups. Henry offers a five-month course that runs Monday through Friday, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, which focuses on software developer skills. In addition to technical training, Henry offers participants vocational training, curriculum workshops and postgraduate skills improvement opportunities.
To make the school more accessible, Henry seeks to adopt the same strategy used by Lambda School, a YC graduate who has raised over $ 122 million in known funding: income-sharing agreements. The setup would allow Boot Camp attendees to join the program at 0 upfront cost and then pay only after being hired for a job.
The Lambda School ISA terms require students to pay 17% of their monthly stipend for 24 months once they have earned $ 4,167 per month. Students pay a maximum of $ 30,000. Henry takes a much smaller piece of the pie, partly because salaries are lower in Latin America than in the United States. Henry asks students to pay 15% of their monthly salary for 24 months once students make $ 500 a month.
If a student Henry is not employed in a job that allows him to earn $ 500 a month within 5 years of completing the program, he is off the hook for the bootcamp payment.
Henry is also focused on helping more women get into the software development field. Internally, Henry's remote team is made up of 20% women and 64% men. Current students reflect the same breakdown.
One problem with bootcamp coding is that although it can help a student go from unemployed to employed, a lack of credentials and a degree could limit professional mobility beyond that first job. For this reason, Henry has created a resource database for alumni, including retraining and retraining opportunities in the latest skills which will be free for graduates.
Henry needs a job placement to be successful in his field. Currently, over 80% of students in Henry's first cohort have found jobs, but it's too early in the startup trajectory to get a stronger metric on that front. About 4 Henry graduates were employed by the startup.
The need for more talent in emerging countries has not gone unnoticed. Microverse, also funded by Y Combinator, similarly uses income-sharing agreements to bring education to the masses in developing countries, including spaces in Latin America. Henry thinks the competitor is approaching the dynamic too broadly.
"They are focusing on all emerging markets and are not teaching Spanish-speaking people," said Borchardt. Henry, alternatively, focuses on the Spanish, over 60% of its market in Latin America.
What if the Lambda School, Henry's source of inspiration, had entered Latin America? The founder added that the fund-rich company has attempted, unsuccessfully, to expand into international geographies including China and Europe due to fragmentation.
Currently, Henry has graduated 200 students and is working with 600 students in Colombia, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina. He plans to expand to Mexico and bring Portuguese education.
Now, the VCs are giving Henry some money to do it. After reviewing the Y Combinator summer batch, Henry announced today that he has raised $ 1.5 million in seed funding in a round led by Accion Venture Lab. Emles Venture Partners, Noveus VC. Numerous edtech angel investors from Latin America also participated in the round.
"I love the human interaction within the instructors, our staff and students," said Borchardt. "This is something very powerful about Henry compared to a MOOC. The biggest challenge is how to scale while keeping those resources that bring you this? "
