Back in 2013, Ken Mazaika and I started Firehose Project with one goal in mind: use education as the tool to help transform as many peoples lives as possible.
In the last five years, we’ve turned our idea of teaching “Drink-from-the-Firehose” weekend coding bootcamps at some of the leading universities in the US (such as Harvard, Carnegie Mellon, and Brown University), into Firehose Project, an industry-leading online learning platform, helping thousands of people learn to code and transform their careers.
Today, I’m very proud to announce the next milestone in our amazing journey—Firehose Project has been acquired by Trilogy Education, the world’s leading workforce accelerator and the fastest growing company in edtech. By joining forces, we will be able to expand our reach and impact exponentially, helping many more people realize their goals and find fulfilling careers in tech.
Trilogy partners with more than 40 top universities to upskill thousands of working adults in fields like coding, data analytics, and cybersecurity. More than 2,500 companies have hired graduates of their programs, including 50% of the Fortune 100.
Firehose’s highly effective approach to self-paced coding instruction is the ideal complement to Trilogy’s existing portfolio of in-person and live online learning programs. Over the coming months, our online learning platform and mentor network will be integrated into Trilogy’s platform to create a new, self-paced online learning format, rolling out to Trilogy’s university partners in early 2019.
From the moment Ken and I started talking with Trilogy, it was very clear that we share the same vision of closing the digital skills gap. We also share a similar philosophy about the best way to do it: put students first in every decision we make, and harness data to drive transformative experiences.
Being aligned with culture, vision and mission made this a natural step for us as a company. Personally, Ken and I can’t wait to continue improving our online education platform and provide the highest quality coding education together with Trilogy.
A Big Thank You From Us To You!
We reached this next milestone in our journey because of each and every one of you and are incredibly grateful for the help from all of our students, mentors, alumni, as well as the amazing team that helped us get to this point. While today is a reason to celebrate our incredible journey with you so far, as a team we are just getting started creating the best online educational experience.
To those of you who are currently enrolled in the Firehose Project, you’ll still have access to the same curriculum, mentor network, and support you’ve enjoyed to date. Any future students will be able to sign up through one of Trilogy’s university partners. We welcome all of our mentors to make the transition with us, as we power new online programs at universities across the globe, and continue to help and support students.
I’m excited that we are now one step closer to closing the digital skills gap!
Read more about this acquisition from Dan Sommer, the CEO of Trilogy Education, and keep watching for updates on this exciting new chapter.
After meeting Dan Sommer and David Berger — I told Marco about how thrilled I was about what it would mean to work with Trilogy. This announcement gives me so much excitement because of the impact we will be able to bring to students’ lives in the future.
Our team has truly been amazing and this wouldn’t have been possible without everyone on it. Each member of our team has been critical to bring our company to the next level and has also been great to work with.
Our lead engineer, Hilary Sinkoff, has been with us since the very early days of the platform. She built a majority of student facing platform features and integrated cutting edge web technologies in the Firehose tech stack. Her work makes the Firehose platform it what it is today.
Our marketing manager, David Watson, built the systems to take our content, marketing and, admissions systems to the next level.
And our admissions counselor, Max Bourill, helped guide members into the first step of a new, fulfilling career and ultimately changed their lives.
Since we started, we’ve always surrounded ourselves with like-minded people and A-players. Jenna, Jake, Matt, Michael, Brita, Alec and Billy — thank you, too — your work inspired us and taught us so much on the journey, as well.
I couldn’t be happier to start this next step and to touch the lives of countless more students!