SAN ANTONIO – After weeks of silence since suddenly letting go of its staff and closing its doors, Codeup LLC now explains what happened in December 2023. The statement, signed “The Codeup Team,” cites hiring freezes, a shift in its funding landscape and its inability to retain essential teaching resources for its collapse.
The former coding school’s statement appeared live on its defunct website around 6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 1. It begins by thanking everyone who had been involved with the company since its founding in 2013.
“Codeup was built to fill a gap in San Antonio’s tech community, and countless people – including staff, teachers and employer partners – enabled its success. Over the past decade, we helped thousands of individuals change their lives for the better and embark on transformative journeys in the field of technology,” the statement reads.
The statement continues, “We have always believed in our students and Codeup’s mission, so we are heartbroken by having to close a program that has provided a pathway to success for so many. With hiring freezes in the job market, the funding landscape shifting in 2023, specifically with local and VET TEC funding programs, combined with our inability to retain essential teaching resources in December, Codeup could no longer deliver on its mission.”
Jason Straughan, co-founder and CEO of Codeup, announced on social media on Dec. 8 that he was stepping down from his role at the company’s helm.
A few weeks later, on Dec. 28, Codeup sent an email to its remaining staff, notifying them of their termination “effective immediately” and canceling all classes for its remaining cohorts.
Codeup was founded in 2013 by Michael Girdley, Chris Turner and Jason Straughan to train people with little to no coding experience to become web developers and programmers, filling jobs in a rapidly growing tech market. Since 2013, the computer coding school states it has graduated over 2,000 students, contributing approximately $61 million in new tech salaries to the local economy in their first year post-graduation.
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Editor’s note: This story was published through a partnership between KSAT and the San Antonio Business Journal.