Miami’s oldest coding school is being acquired, but only the name is changing
.jpg "Wyncode Academy will now be known as BrainStation")
The dean of Miami’s coding bootcamps is getting a new name.
But that’s about all that’s going to change, say Johanna and Juha Mikkola, the co-founders of Wyncode Academy, despite their announcement Friday that the company is being acquired by BrainStation, an international coding school group. Terms were not disclosed.
Founded in 2014 out of an office at Wynwood’s LAB co-working space (now known as LAB Miami), Wyncode has helped land hundreds of South Florida residents jobs at major corporations including Boeing, American Express, and Norwegian Cruise Line. According to its most recent audited report, 90% of job-seeking graduates in 2019 cohorts had obtained jobs by Sept. 2020 with the average salaries of $53,721.
Wyncode was also cited by global financial giant Blackstone as a key hiring resource for the tech office it is establishing downtown.
But because Wyncode was limited to just one campus, its impact was always going to be geographically constrained, said co-founder Juha — a situation that became even more acute as the COVID pandemic bore down. While Wyncode had entertained other acquisition offers through the years, BrainStation came around at the right time and demonstrated the right combination of global footprint, core competencies, aligned values — and the offer to have Wyncode’s entire team stay on, she said.
“Wyncode has found its soulmate,” said Johanna of BrainStation. “While the Wyncode name will be moving on — something that often happens in a marriage — this is a union where we’re so aligned, it’s only going to enhance what makes Wyncode great.”
She and partner Juha will assume titles as BrainStation executives; Wyncode, henceforth to be known as BrainStation, will remain at its current location at 2650 N.W. 5th Ave in Wynwood.
“Acquiring Wyncode is a strong and strategic step to expanding the BrainStation business, and will accelerate our mission to reshape the future of digital skills training across the country,” said Jason Field, Founder and CEO of BrainStation, in a statement. “Wyncode has been an integral part of Miami’s fast-growing tech industry and Wyncode’s founders and leaders have built deep relationships in the community.”
Reflecting on the changes of the “learn-to-code” that’s come to dominate career-focused discussions around the world, the Mikkolas said not a year has gone by that its curriculum has not adapted to changing demands. In addition to its foundational web development and user experience/user interface design programs, Wyncode has created Wyntalent, a hiring and consulting firm. Under BrainStation, it will also add a data science component in addition to a recently added digital marketing unit.
“Our team is so committed and passionate,” Johanna said. “I feel like this is just the beginning of an exciting new chapter.”
This story was originally published January 22, 2021 at 10:00 AM.
