Develop Detroit seeks to grow Motor City's mobile dev workforce

A group of mobile app entrepreneurs, along with the support of some large tech firms in downtown Detroit, are launching a new initiative to help expand the software coding workforce called Develop Detroit.

Mike Vichich (founder of mobile app start-up Glyph) and Dave Koziol (founder of software firm Arbormoon Software) launched Develop Detroit in June. The 12-week course teaches its students the ins and outs of creating mobile apps. They meet in the Chase Building in downtown (space provided by Quicken Loans) where they help the students build their own apps.

"Our goal is to train and develop the talent that will build tech companies in the city of Detroit," Vichich says.

Develop Detroit teaches about 20 people each session and gives them access to investors and tech firms pining to hire new mobile app developers. Some of the venture capitalists participating include Detroit Venture Partners and Resonant Venture Partners. Some of the tech firms looking to hire include Quicken Loans and Compuware.

"The goal is to give people skills and get them connected," Vichich says.

Develop Detroit is modeled after Code Academy, a similar mobile app development program launched in Chicago last year. Participants pay $4,000 to take part in the Develop Detroit. Vichich would like to see 80 graduates in its first year and the first class graduates at the end of August.

Source: Mike Vichich, co-founder of Develop Detroit
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.