When Jimmy Tran set down the path to opening the first Code Ninjas location in the city of Dallas, a tornado, a global pandemic and one of the coldest storms on record conspired against him.
But despite all that, the city is set to see its first location of the computer and STEM education program open its doors on Tuesday.
“There’s only so many people that have been opening up businesses that are not fully digitally native during the pandemic. I’m one of them and have certainly faced these massive headwinds,” Tran told NTX Inno.
Tran became interested in Code Ninjas partly due to its headquarters location in Pearland, near his hometown. When he became an area developer for the company, signing the lease for the Preston Hollow location was part of a goal he had set to transition out of the corporate world by the time he was 40 years old.
The tornadoes that tore through that region and other parts of northern Dallas devasted parts of the neighborhood. While the next light down from where the location would be was badly damaged, that block remained unscathed. And though that was a near miss, the next hurdle was on the way.
With a program that serves kids 4 to 14 years old, Code Ninjas locations typically open at 3 p.m., so Tran planned to slowly make the transition to working on it full-time from his position at CBRE. However, he was thrust into devoting his full attention to the project after being laid off in April.
“That was a personal thing, obviously, but it impacted my thoughts on this business. I was like, ‘Should I go get another corporate job,” Tran said. “I was forced into it, but in some ways, I kind of needed that extra push."
Despite the pandemic and a new online system for permit applications in Dallas, he continued working as bringing the process to a crawl. Then, coming into the new year, like nearly everyone across the state, business froze in February along with the temperatures. Shipments of furniture and other equipment Tran had been expecting from Utah were lost or delayed.
“I see those as growth opportunities. Looking back, if you can get through that now, all we have to do is teach kids to code. That’s a piece of cake. If we got through these trials, the hardest part is behind us,” Tran said. “Now, what we need to do is sell our value proposition and get kids signed up.”
Though Tran said there were many times he considered the easier option of returning to the corporate world, he wanted to serve the local community. He also added that he remembers his own children's excitement (who are all enrolled at the new Code Ninjas) when they learned how to do some robotics coding at a Capital Factory program a few years ago.
“I know as a parent how important it is for kids to do something productive with technology, not just play video games and things like that,” Tran said.
Now, Code Ninjas Preston Hollows is opening its doors and beginning to accept enrollments for its 10-week summer camps. Tran said the focus on educating the next generation is important to him, calling coding the “fourth pillar of education.” At the coding schools launched in 2016 and now number more than 300, students learn JavaScript, Lua and C# code languages from teachers called Code Senseis. Through two-hour per week sessions, chosen based on students' individual schedules, kids get colored wristbands to mark their mastery level, similar to a martial arts class. At the end of the program, students publish an app online.
“We live in the digital world now, and the pandemic has only reinforced that. That has really underscored the importance for me for kids to pick this up and really have it as a core component of their learning early on,” Tran said. “Kids are already involved in doing stuff in technology… it’s so natural to them, so we’re just attaching ourselves to that momentum that is already there.”
Tran also said that being the first location within Dallas city limits – there are 10 other North Texas locations – he felt it was important to embed itself in the community. So far, it has done that through partnerships with the Girl Scouts of the USA and sponsorships of local PTAs and nonprofit events. And wanting to be a part of the solution of closing Dallas’ digital divide, Tran said he is making sure that his location is marketing to a diverse group of potential students and is offering need-based financial assistance. He has also brought on a team of 10, with more than 50 percent of the teaching staff being female.
“We want to make sure that any girl that comes in feels really comfortable with the environment, that they can see… that the tutors the mentors are just like them,” Tran said.
Hoping that now the headwinds are behind him, Tran plans to build out the Preston Hollow location. However, he also owns the rights to Lakewood and Park Cities' regions and hopes to have the lease signed for a new Code Ninjas location by the end of the year.
“Personally, I view it honestly like a social enterprise. We have a double bottom line. We have to make money, period, because we have obligations obviously… but it’s not just about that. Our other bottom line is we need to make a positive difference in kids’ lives,” Tran said. “Kids are going to be part of our program for multiple years, and ultimately my vision is the kids that are a part of Code Ninjas Dallas. It becomes a core part of who they are almost.”
