Shortly after settling into its new St. Petersburg office, tech company Codeboxx has secured a $1.6 million investment.
The company, which offers coding boot camps and digital workshops, secured the investment from 17 investors. It was led by New York-based MLG Ventures, according to co-founder Meg Charles.
Codeboxx announced in September 2020 it was eyeing a move to Tampa Bay and made good on that deal, opening its new office in the Thrive DTSP coworking space in late May.
"We’re focused on places where there is a desire to attract tech workers, there's a shortage of tech workers in particular," Charles said. "And where we see a lot of movement is out of California to Florida. We believe the Tampa Bay region is the new Austin."
Codeboxx focuses specifically on those who typically would not have access to gain tech skills or careers.
Charles expects to close the remaining $400,000 of funding in the coming weeks. The funding will be used to open the company's second U.S. office in Philadelphia this fall and to boost marketing efforts to ensure its presence in St. Petersburg is well known. She is unsure of the company's future funding plan but believes they will likely seek more funds in the future.
"We’re in the fortunate position to be profitable; the likelihood is yes [for additional funding] but it will be based on what our board says, how quickly we want to scale to other campuses," Charles said. "And because we use coaches, there is a human component to it as well. So, it's how fast we can address that."
The company's first in-person cohort will kick off this August, after offering an online spring cohort for any locals interested. Charles said at least two Tampa Bay residents completed the program, and now work for Codeboxx's solutions group.
It is currently seeking additional community partners, as well as professional ones that can hire its graduates. The company counts national brands such as eBay and Lucky Brands among the latter.
"We believe a career in tech should be based on potential, not privilege," Charles said. "We believe the potential is everywhere, and our program is designed for that."
This is the first local funding of the month, following more than $13 million raised in May.
