Research has shown that typical autistic characteristics such as attention to detail, affinity for repetitive tasks, and introversion are all traits that lend themselves to becoming a successful employee within the tech industry.
Problem: This isn’t recognized by everyone yet. Autistics have hard time finding jobs.
Navigating autistics into meaningful STEM careers.
keeping students engaged through high school and into vocational programs or universities.
We are providing integrated technical and social skills training that reduce the overall un/underemployment rate by finding them meaningful STEM employment.
We assist organizations who are looking for untapped talent to fill their computer science roles.
Coding Autism provides a suite of services for autistic teens and adults, all centered around building vocational skills, social/communication skills, and overall independence.
A premiere coding bootcamp for autistic adults.
This is a 20 week, full-time course where students will be learning the fundamental skills necessary to secure an entry-level web developer job. We cover both front-end and back-end skills, and fully integrate them with social and career skills training. By the end of the course, students will walk away with a portfolio of full-stack web applications which they can use when applying to their first developer jobs.
Our online coding and social skills programs allow students to learn the fundamentals of coding from anywhere in the world.
Presentation and communication skills sold in packages of eight one-hour sessions, these programs open up the STEM funnel for kids, teens, and young adults. With a strong fundamental base, students will be encouraged to pursue STEM-related studies and professions. The themes of these programs vary throughout the year.
To help widen the STEM funnel, Coding Autism has recognized that we must identify, develop, and support autistic STEM talent starting at a much younger age.
We are identifying and recruiting autistic talent starting in middle school and engaging that talent through our coding program and soon through our STEM Robotics Program. The more we can teach kids how to apply science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to the real world, the more successful they will be in the future; innovation and creativity become a foundation. Our goal is to acquire NAO robots which have been clinically used at universities across the US with autistic students successfully. NAO successfully bridges the communication for autistic kids and engagement levels have increased immensely. Students will have the ability to code and interact with NAO.
Coding Autism provides individualized 1:1 career and social skills coaching for autistics of all ages.
Because these services are individualized, rates and structure vary based on the needs of the individual. We also provide tutoring and individual learning services in coding and STEM.
“Geek syndrome”: Why Autistics is an amazing source for talent for tech.
Research has shown that typical autistic characteristics such as attention to detail, affinity for repetitive tasks, and introversion are all traits that lend themselves to becoming a successful employee within the tech industry. For this reason, some researchers have dubbed autism the “Geek Syndrome”.
Forbes: Where is Autism Employment Heading in 2017?
Fast Company: Microsoft Wants Autistic Coders. Can it Find Them and Keep Them?
There is a lack of skilled technical talent to fill the 1.4+million open tech roles by 2020. More Autistics (34%) go into STEM related majors than neurotypicals (22%) and excel with less error rates. This is an un/undertapped talent pool and it is just in time.
With the $60k+ average annual salary for entry-level, full-time tech industry professionals and the anticipated 1.4M vacant tech job openings in the next 5 years, tech is an attractive industry for autistics to pursue careers in.
Over the last decade, companies such as Microsoft and SAP have implemented autism hiring initiatives. This was done not to combat autistic unemployment, but because they have seen that autistic adults can be exceptional employees and drive innovation when provided the right structure, mentorship, and on-boarding.
Starting 2018, EEOC requires federal contractors to increase hires of people with disabilities from 7% to 12%.
American Apprenticeship Initiative – Dept. of Labor subsidized costs for training and provides $7,5K to employer towards mentorship.
Regional centers subsidize vocational training.
We are looking for financing to reach 1,200 ASD youths and adults through our STEM and Social Skills program online and in person by end of 2019.
Our vision and goal is for a state of the art non-traditional learning classroom for our Computer and Robotics Lab. Our students need room to move to learn and innovate. We will have moveable desks and chairs, NAO codeable and teaching robots, laptops with up to date software, and experienced technical and neurodiverse staff. The classroom will have an open learning environment that is conducive to experimenting, innovating, and hackathons. There will be enough room for students to have their support and accommodations such as service and therapy dogs.
We are a team of autistic and neurodiverse individuals seeking to challenge stigma by helping people with disabilities achieve skills that lead to independence, meaningful work, meaningful relationships and to be of value to their community.
I was diagnosed with autism when I was 2 years old, shortly after my older brother Trinity was diagnosed. When Trinity was barely a toddler, experts told my parents he would never be able to speak or live an independent life. They were all wrong.
At age 7, Trinity finally spoke his first words and continued to defy his diagnosis. The experts were wrong. Today, Trinity is studying architecture and attending college. He is also a licensed real estate agent.
Trinity and I are extremely lucky, we had the support and resources needed to excel and pursue our dreams. When I was in college studying business administration, I realized how fortunate I really was. It was in college where I recognized that the numbers of my autistic peers had drastically declined since high school. This truly distressed me.
That’s when I decided that I wanted to build something that would help other autistics. Everyone deserves the right to work and be self-sufficient. While researching autism, I saw an alarming statistic repeated over and over again. “...over 80% of autistic adults are either unemployed, or underemployed.” How can that be? It’s just not acceptable.
From experience I have seen highly intelligent autistics not getting the opportunities they deserve due to communication barriers. I know firsthand that with the right support and opportunity, people with cognitive differences can accomplish great things. That is why I founded Coding Autism, a new kind of professional education that would provide autistics with employable skills that would not only provide them with jobs, but fulfilling careers where they can fully utilize their talents. In addition, we are redefining what talent looks like and that autistics are truly untapped talent.
Invest now and help Coding Autism accomplish its goal of navigating autistics to meaningful careers.
The smallest investment amount that Coding Autism is accepting.
Coding Autism needs to reach their minimum funding goal before the deadline. If they don’t, all investments will be refunded.
If a trigger event for Coding Autism occurs, the discount provision gives investors equity shares (or equal value in cash) at a reduced price.
Coding Autism needs to raise $25K before the deadline. The maximum amount Coding Autism is willing to raise is $107K.
Thank you note and social media shout out from the founders of Coding Autism.
Receive a signed composite of the participants of our inaugural in-person coding bootcamp and listed as official sponsor on our Coding Autism site and Limited Edition T-Shirt.
All of the above plus become our Robotics Class sponsor listed on our site and ability to name the robot you helped purchase.
Become our Robotics Class sponsor listed on our site and ability to name 2 robots you helped purchase. In addition, a thank you lunch or dinner with founders for 4 is included.
Become our main Robotics and Computer Lab Sponsor with official ribbon cutting ceremony. Name the lab and 2 robots that your generous donation helped purchased. In addition, a thank you dinner with founders for 4 is included.
Is Coding Autism a non-profit?
We are a for-profit LLC. As a for-profit business we will be able launch and scale more quickly by not having to rely on constant fundraising. This will allow us to make more reliable financial projections, and be able to compensate the best talent we can find.
Will students get a degree? Are you accredited?
Upon completion of the course, students will receive a certificate of completion. As with other coding bootcamps, we are not accredited. What students show their employers is the quality of their portfolio, the work that they produce while at Coding Autism. We are not an academic institution, but a company focused around training students with real-world vocational skills.
How do students apply? Are the students vetted?
Students will apply by filling out an application on our website. We will review the applications and reach out to students that we think would be a good fit. From there we will conduct interviews, either in person or through video conferencing. With our web development immersive, we will be vetting students based on our assessment that they can keep up with the rigorous coursework and be employable with the proper training. Autism is a spectrum, and some students will have an easier time acclimating to neurotypical workspaces than others. This does not mean that we have forgotten nonverbal or other students with greater barriers. As we expand we will be providing other programs that will allow these types of learners an opportunity to acquire new skills, socialize, and demonstrate their talents. For the program we are fundraising for now, we are limiting our scope to the students that we think we can best equip to find employment after graduation.
We currently have online coding and social skills pilots for children ages 13 and older. We plan on launching in person workshops by the end of Q1 2018.
When will Coding Autism be launching their 20 week vocational program?
Our goal is to launch our first class in Q2 2018.
How do people sign up for the wait-list for Coding Autism's first in-person coding bootcamp?
If you or someone you know would be interested in taking the class, it isn’t too early to reach out! Please visit our website to add yourself to our waitlist and we will follow up with you as we get closer to launch.
Where is Coding Autism located?
Oliver Thornton: Hello judges. My name is Oliver Thornton.
Austen Weinhart: And I'm Austen Weinhart, and we are Coding Autism. Coding Autism trains and navigates adults on the autism spectrum in the tech jobs.
Today we've come to talk about three key points. We're going to talk about trends in autism hiring, the problem, and our solution to the problem.
Oliver Thornton: Did you know that one out of 68 children in the United States today are born with autism each year? Did you know that 40,000 to 60,000 individuals on the autism spectrum age into adulthood each year? Lastly, did you know that around 80% of all adults on the autism spectrum are either unemployed or underemployed?
As an adult on the autism spectrum myself, I find this statistic to be completely unacceptable. For this reason, we decided to found the company Coding Autism.
A lot of the times, the biggest barrier to autism hiring is not actually their technical capability. A lot of the times people in the autism spectrum excel at technical roles, but their communication skills. So by focusing on socialization, we're not only ensuring that our candidates are more likely to get hired, but also to stay hired.
Oliver Thornton: In the technology industry today, there's been an increased trend in autism hiring. In fact, companies like Microsoft, SAP, and Hewlett-Packard have all increased their autism hiring initiatives and developed autism hiring programs that have been so successful, that they've ramped up the recruiting for talent on the autism spectrum tenfold.
The reason behind this is because adults on the autism spectrum can be exceptional employees and drive innovation within companies, when provided the right structure, onboarding processes, and mentorship.
Austen Weinhart: So today we've talked about three key points. We've talked about trends in autism hiring, the problem, and our solution to the problem.
To this end, we've raised a little over $100,000, and today we've come here to ask for $200,000 which will go to the design and staffing of our first program.
Oliver Thornton: Again, we're Coding Autism, and we thank you guys so much for your time, and we're here to answer any questions you may have.
Bill Draper: Why aren't you a non-profit as opposed to a for-profit?
Jesse Draper: Exactly what I was thinking.
Oliver Thornton: Sure. We decided to develop our business model as a for-profit social enterprise. We actually, at this point in time, have the pending B Corp certification through B Labs. In a year from now we're going to reanalyze our company to get the fully certified B Corp status.
The reason why we wanted to go the for-profit route instead of the non-profit round, is because we firmly believe through research, as well as through consumer validation, that with the for-profit model it would be easier for us to scale. We'd be able to acquire top end talent. We won't have to operate in the bureaucratic non-profit process where we're consistently fundraising, and relying on charitable and individual donations and contributions to be sustainable.
And that, it allows us to grow the organization in a way that allows us to have that hybrid business model, as well as position ourselves for success, both on the financial side, as well as the social impact side.
Bill Draper: That's a very good answer and I totally agree with everything you said. If you do decide to go to the non-profit route, Draper Richards Kaplan is something that specializes in non-profit organizations at the earliest stage. And we give $300,000 over a three year period with a lot of coaching, and we're only with you for three years.
I think you might remember that in case you do go non-profit.
Oliver Thornton: Well, to add on to our current business model, we actually are in the process of developing a non-profit arm, which we're going to brand Coding Autism Foundation.
The purpose of that non-profit arm would help subsidize the tuition cost of our for-profit program, as well as provide a funding in the form of scholarships to low income families, for other vocational training programs that someone may want to enroll into.
Tim Draper: You know, this B Corp thing, it thought wow, this is the best of both worlds, but then when you dig down and you look into it, it turns out it's the worst of both worlds.
You are regulated as a for-profit, and you don't get any of the benefits of being a non-profit. So why go B Corp? I mean, I yet to have anyone being able to tell me why there's any kind of reason to go there.
Oliver Thornton: From my understanding, with the B Corp status, there is the B Corporation as a business structure, there's also the certified, or pending B Corp status that's sponsored through B Lab, where your business model isn't necessarily a B Corporation. You're still an LLC, but you have the B Corp label as if you operate under a social impact practice, and that everything you operate is on the best standards ethically as a social enterprise. So it allows us to stabilize ourselves still as the LLC, instead of having the formal B Corp model.
Tim Draper: It's just, I'm worried that you become under the government microscope, instead of just being able to run your business. So keep that in mind as you go through and figure out what you're going to be.
Jesse Draper: I know you, right?
Jesse Draper: You taught me tennis.
Oliver Thornton: Yeah, I did.
Tim Draper: What's the strongest part of your game?
Oliver Thornton: My serve, definitely. I've always been a big server. It's gotten me out of a lot of trouble in competitive matches, and it allowed me to play college tennis momentarily in division one, as well as in division three.
Bill Draper: What got you interested in autism? Do either of you have any problem that way, or?
Oliver Thornton: I was personally diagnosed with Asperger syndrome when I was two years old, shortly after my older brother was diagnosed with autism. Later on in my life, I have another sibling, brother, who is 10 years old today, and was diagnosed with Asperger. So three of the five siblings in my family tree are on the autism spectrum to a certain degree.
And growing up, I've always wanted to build a business that improved the opportunities for individuals on the autism spectrum. And when I was in my last semester of college at California Lutheran University, I was in this class called Venture Development, and the premise of the class was to develop a start-up concept that you would enroll into your university's venture competition.
So I took that as a goal and opportunity to explore autism in further detail. And when I learned about the autism unemployment and underemployment rates that exist in our society, alongside the major recruiting trends from tech companies, because they were able to identify the talents that many adults with autism contain, that I thought it was a no-brainer to develop a business model that would supplement autistic individuals, and provide that autism specialized service, and focus, so that they can reach their highest potential.
Bill Draper: What about you?
Austen Weinhart: And then, for me, I've known Oliver and his family since birth. I mean, I consider him family. He's like a brother to me. I've seen how much progress both he and his brother have made through life and all the amazing strives that they have achieved. And just growing up with that, and also I have some family members of my own that are on the spectrum ... autism is a cause that's very near and dear to my heart.
Austen Weinhart: When Oliver told me about his idea, I had just gone through ... I had recently gone through a bootcamp similar to the one he wanted to create, and I've been working as a web developer for a couple of years and turned my life around that way, it just seemed like a no-brainer that we should work together and just really make this dream a reality.
Bill Draper: How long have you been working? When did you start this?
Oliver Thornton: We started this business in April of 2016. It's about 15 months old. The first year, a lot of the time was invested into consumer validation, and really testing the market with how we wanted to build out the business model.
We explored both on the business to consumer side, as well as the business to business side. We went to several companies that ... we wanted to figure out exactly what type of technical skills they were looking for. We learned that there was a wide aray of different skillsets they were hiring for, from web development to software testing, to even cyber security.
And then we went on the consumer side from individuals on the spectrum not wanting to go through a four year college because of the broad general ED courses and not being able to take courses that were specialized to what their true passions are.
Creating something that is a little bit more tight-knit and focused on something that they may be incredibly passionate about, seemed like it was just something that a huge need in the autistic community demanded.
Tim Draper: How do you make money? How does the business make money?
Austen Weinhart: We operate on a tuition based model.
Jesse Draper: So it's like a school.
Tim Draper: It's a school?
Tim Draper: And then do you also make money from the corporations that hire them?
Bill Draper: How far along are you?
Austen Weinhart: We're till pretty ... I mean, we're launching our very first program in January is our target date to launch our first program.
Bill Draper: What about students? How many?
Austen Weinhart: We have a wait list right now of over 100 people who have applied, but our first program is going to be a small group of 15, because we really want to keep our classroom small.
Bill Draper: So you haven't gotten them working yet.
Tim Draper: You haven't started one yet.
Oliver Thornton: Yeah. The first year we invested a significant amount of our time into the validation of it. Once we captured all of that data, we developed a crowdfunding campaign, a rewards-based crowdfunding campaign on Start Something Good. That's a social enterprise based crowdfunding platform.
Jesse Draper: And how did that go?
Oliver Thornton: We raised $52,855 from 250 different supporters in 30 days.
Tim Draper: Like a donation?
Bill Draper: How many individuals did you end up have as your shareholders?
Oliver Thornton: Through the rewards campaign there was zero equity ties whatsoever.
Bill Draper: I see. Yes.
Oliver Thornton: The remaining fund, because we said we've raised around $100,000, we raised at a $2,5 million evaluation. We've only given up just about 2% of equity in our company so far.
Jesse Draper: I still think this should be maybe set up as a non-profit. I think that that is ... I think you're onto something, because it's a school. It's an education system, and then you can fund yourself. But I like the social enterprise idea, so it could be kind of like in the Toms Shoes realm, where you're doing good, but you're also making money, so you don't have to throw fundraisers all the time. And you'd make that money from when you place people.
Bill Draper: I think he had a good answer to that.
Tim Draper: Here is my question. You hinted that Microsoft had this program, and they decided to beef it up, meaning they're finding that the autistic people that they are hiring are maybe over-performing than people who don't have autism in certain roles. So that's what I wanted to get to.
Is there real extra value to an autistic performer? Maybe on average they're not performing, but a few of them are over-performing, and Microsoft is feeling like that's something I really want to focus on.
Bill Draper: Like, are they better coders than the average?
Austen Weinhart: The great thing about a lot of people on the spectrum is they tend to be systems thinkers. They are people that like structure, repetition. They're very meticulous with detail, which tends to lend itself very well to technical roles.
The companies that have autism hiring initiatives are already seeing that they excel as software testers, and quality assurance professionals. They do very well in cyber security, and also as engineers and web developers.
Tim Draper: And you're going to be selecting the people that you bring in to the school. You're not going to take everybody, right?
Bill Draper: Maybe 30 people?
Jesse Draper: He said 15.
Jesse Draper: Where do you find the place, where do you find [crosstalk 00:52:44]?
Oliver Thornton: Our first program that we're launching is going to be in Westlake, which is next to Thousand Oaks. It's part of the Southern California Los Angeles region. A lot of the talent that has applied through our program have reached out to us through several modes of communication when we did have the crowdfunding campaign. We were featured in articles such as Mashable, Autism Speaks, Yahoo and Software Development Times, where that reached out to several individuals in that demographic.
I tend to write a lot of different articles that are related to the autism community. That has also brought in several interested prospects. Through our efforts, whether it's through pitching in start-up competitions, or expo events in the Los Angeles area, we've also been able to reach out to certain people.
And the autism community is very small. When they hear about a business that has the capabilities of what Coding Autism is projected to develop, the word of mouth just spreads like wildfire.
Tim Draper: How big could this get? How big is the market? How many autistic people that might fit into your category, and then, if you place them all, how big a market could that be?
Oliver Thornton: Sure. The coding academy market as a whole, the market cap is around $200 million. The autism community, there's ... in 2014 by the CDC, they stated that there's roughly 3.5 million autistic Americans, 2.7 million being children ages zero through 17, and 800,000 being adults 18 plus.
A lot of the individuals who have been diagnosed are individuals that were formerly diagnosed with a licensed professional to do so. There's a significant population that's either misdiagnosed, or undiagnosed as well, so with companies like this that are advertising this autism specialized mission and coding instruction, and this opportunity to transform your life, it also motivates individuals to want to see if they are on the autism spectrum as well.
Jesse Draper: I think this is really cool.
Tim Draper: Yeah. So do you have a sense for the market size? How big could this be?
Jesse Draper: Or even a smaller side.
Tim Draper: ... are qualified, that you would bring in, that you would then place. How big would that be?
Oliver Thornton: Sure. What we've stated in a lot of our marketing materials, is that we want to try to train and employ at least 1,500 adults on the autism spectrum by 2020. With the tuition price of our program, if we were to train 1,500 adults on the autism spectrum through our program at a $20,000 price, that would be a $30 million revenue before expenses. That's just the physical offerings.
In the future we do see ourselves developing an online platform as well, getting involved in the children and teenager market and other offerings as well, that would generate additional revenue.
Bill Draper: Will they pay that kind of tuition, do you think? Have you tested the market?
Austen Weinhart: We have seen through just the general coding bootcamp market, which is flourishing right now, that this is the go in rate that most of these programs are charging.
Tim Draper: Is that right?
Tim Draper: That can work with autistics.
Austen Weinhart: Right. And be able to work with people on the spectrum, as well as having coaches for both social skills, as well as career coaches.
This is the reality of the situation, is that in order to put a program like this together, we have very highly specialized talent that requires good compensation in order to ... they have to compensate them competitively.
Oliver Thornton: And also to elaborate more on to that, although the price tag may be steep and some people developed a notion that, okay, is this program geared for the fluent autism community? Our answer would be no, because we're providing several incentives to slash that cost, whether it's through financing options. A lot of different coding academies and bootcamps have financing options that they build with companies like Climb Credit and Skills.fund.
We also, through our non-profit arm, like we mentioned earlier, want to subsidize that cost through scholarships for lower income families. A lot of individuals on the autism spectrum are also partnered with regional centers, the department of rehab, and there's other local funding incentives to help individuals with disabilities and autism in particular, acquire training so that they can enter the workforce.
Because at the end of the day they want to slash that 80% unemployment and underemployment rate. They want to be able to create excellent opportunities for that population, for them to thrive and have promising and lucrative careers.
Bill Draper: You don't guarantee them a job.
Austen Weinhart: No. We can't promise them that, but we're providing a way to prepare them, so that they have the qualifications needed to get an entry level developer job.
Bill Draper: I think it's terrific.
Jesse Draper: Yeah. Me too.
Tim Draper: Great. It's great what you're doing.
Bill Draper: Thank you very much.
Oliver Thornton: We really appreciate it.
Tim Draper: ... from some of our TV audience.
Jesse Draper: So do you want to fund Coding Autism? Or do you want to vote? If you can't fund them, you can still vote and support this incredible business. Vote and fund.
Bill Draper: Good luck to you guys.
Austen Weinhart: Thank you so much.
Oliver Thornton: Thank you so much.
Tim Draper: Thanks for coming in.
Jesse Draper: That was great.
So, we have an incredible guest mentor, who has been behind the scenes, helping these entrepreneurs pitch, teaching them all of his business tips and tricks, and he has quite a few. He sold his first company Involver, to Oracle. He's currently co-founder of SV Academy, and he was on Inc's 30 Under 30. So this guy is pretty incredible. Let's see what Rahim Fazal is up to behind the scenes.
Bill Draper: Marvelous. I love what they're doing, I love their commitment, I like how they got there.
Jesse Draper: They're making real change.
Bill Draper: They're both good friends. They're going to succeed. And a lot of people are going to help them do it, whether through a non-profit or a for-profit, it doesn't really matter. It's a very fine thing they're trying to do.
Jesse Draper: I completely agree. I think they're really onto something. I've never seen anything like it, and they're making significant change. And we do know there are, as they said, millions of people with autism in the US alone. So there's deffinitely a need for something like this.
Tim Draper: Yeah. Doing, they said, repetitive tasks. I thought they were both just terrific.
Bill Draper: I did too.
Tim Draper: These two really are going to make something happen. I was concerned about market size, and I'm also concerned about B Corp. B Corp is sort of the worst of both worlds.
Bill Draper: Yeah. They may change their mind on that.
Tim Draper: And I think since the market size is not that big, you may be right, that a non-profit here is the answer.
Tim Draper: But I like the spirit of the idea that, hey, we're going to make money. We don't want donations. We don't want sympathy. We want to really run this business.
Jesse Draper: Yeah. So it's a social enterprise. I mean, I think it would be great for DRK Foundation.
Bill Draper: Yeah, I do too. Draper Richards Kaplan.
Tim Draper: Can you guys invest in a B Corp?
Tim Draper: Well, then maybe it is its solution.
Tim Draper: I was wondering, if you're a B Corp, can you take donations and take equity?
Tim Draper: No. But can a B Corp take donations on one end, and equity on the other?
Bill Draper: I think so, yes.
Tim Draper: If they can, then there is a reason to have one. But I'm not so sure.
Bill Draper: Regardless of how they do it and who they do it with, I think there is something there that I think is really very important, and that is this idea that autistic people might have more value than the average ... in certain areas, and coding might be one of them.
Jesse Draper: I think that's so true. I think it's incredible.
Bill Draper: Is that right, son?
Jesse Draper: Inappropriate autism [crosstalk 01:01:32].
Tim Draper: ... between those two. But it's been growing. So this is a growth industry.
Jesse Draper: Anyway. Before we go any further, thumbs up, thumbs down, thumbs all around.
Jesse Draper: I think thumbs up.
Tim Draper: Thumbs almost up.
Austen Weinhart: I'm Austen Weinhart, and we are Coding/Autism. Coding/Autism trains and navigates adults on the autism spectrum into tech jobs.
Bill Draper: They're going to succeed.
Jesse Draper: Completely agree. I think they're really on to something. I've never seen anything like it, and they're making significant change, and we do know there are, as they said, millions of people with autism in the U.S. alone.
Jesse Draper: Oh, 100 percent.
Tim Draper: I was concerned about market size, and I'm also concerned about B Corp. B Corp is sort of the worst of both worlds. I think since the market size is not that big, you may be right that a nonprofit here is the answer.
Jesse Draper: I think a nonprofit is the way.
Tim Draper: I like the spirit of the idea that, "Yeah, we're going to make money," so this is a growth industry.
Jesse Draper: Anyway, before we go any further, thumbs up, thumbs down, thumbs all around.
To date, we have not generated revenue and do not foresee generating any revenue in the near future; therefore, we rely on external financing.
We are a startup Company and our business model currently focuses on getting our minimum viable product off the ground rather than generating revenue. While we intend to generate revenue in the future, we cannot assure you when or if we will be able to do so. We rely on external financing to fund our operations. We anticipate, based on our current proposed plans and assumptions relating to our operations (including the timetable of, and costs associated with, new product development) that, if the Minimum Amount is raised in this Offering, it will be sufficient to satisfy our contemplated cash requirements for several months assuming that we do not accelerate the development of other opportunities available to us, engage in an extraordinary transaction or otherwise face unexpected events, costs or contingencies, any of which could affect our cash requirements. We expect capital outlays and operating expenditures to increase over the next several years as we expand our infrastructure, commercial operations, development activities and establish offices. Our future funding requirements will depend on many factors, including but not limited to the following: The cost of expanding our operations; The financial terms and timing of any collaborations, licensing or other arrangements into which we may enter; The rate of progress and cost of development activities; The need to respond to technological changes and increased competition; The costs of filing, prosecuting, defending and enforcing any patent claims and other intellectual property rights; The cost and delays in product development that may result from changes in regulatory requirements applicable to our products; Sales and marketing efforts to bring these new product candidates to market; Unforeseen difficulties in establishing and maintaining an effective sales and distribution network; and Lack of demand for and market acceptance of our products and technologies.We may have difficulty obtaining additional funding and we cannot assure you that additional capital will be available to us when needed, if at all, or if available, will be obtained on terms acceptable to us. If we raise additional funds by issuing additional debt securities, such debt instruments may provide for rights, preferences or privileges senior to the Securities. In addition, the terms of the debt securities issued could impose significant restrictions on our operations. If we raise additional funds through collaborations and licensing arrangements, we might be required to relinquish significant rights to our technologies or product candidates, or grant licenses on terms that are not favorable to us. If adequate funds are not available, we may have to delay, scale back, or eliminate some of our operations or our research development and commercialization activities. Under these circumstances, if the Company is unable to acquire additional capital or is required to raise it on terms that are less satisfactory than desired, it may have a material adverse effect on its financial condition.
We were organized under the laws of California on May 16, 2016. Accordingly, we have no history upon which an evaluation of our prospects and future performance can be made. Our proposed operations are subject to all business risks associated with new enterprises. The likelihood of our creation of a viable business must be considered in light of the problems, expenses, difficulties, complications, and delays frequently encountered in connection with the inception of a business, operation in a competitive industry, and the continued development of advertising, promotions, and a corresponding client base. We anticipate that our operating expenses will increase for the near future. There can be no assurances that we will ever operate profitably. You should consider the Companys business, operations and prospects in light of the risks, expenses and challenges faced as an early-stage company.
We face competition with respect to any products that we may seek to develop or commercialize in the future. Our competitors include major companies worldwide. Many of our competitors have significantly greater financial, technical and human resources than we have and superior expertise in research and development and marketing approved services and thus may be better equipped than us to develop and commercialize our in-person coding immersive, 1:1 coaching services, and our online social skills training program. These competitors also compete with us in recruiting and retaining qualified personnel and acquiring technologies. Smaller or early stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large and established companies. Accordingly, our competitors may commercialize products more rapidly or effectively than we are able to, which would adversely affect our competitive position, the likelihood that our in-person coding immersive, 1:1 coaching services, and our online social skills training program will achieve initial market acceptance and our ability to generate meaningful additional revenues from our products.
The Companys success depends on the experience and skill of the managers, its executive officers and key employees.
In particular, the Company is dependent on Oliver Thornton, Andrea Vu Chasko, and Austen Weinhart who are the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Innovation Officer, and Chief Operating Officer of the Company, respectively. The Company has or intends to enter into employment agreements with Oliver Thornton, Andrea Vu Chasko and Austen Weinhart although there can be no assurance that it will do so or that they will continue to be employed by the Company for a particular period of time. The loss of Oliver Thornton, Andrea Vu Chasko, and Austen Weinhart or any manager or executive officer could harm the Companys business, financial condition, cash flow and results of operations.
The Company is dependent on Oliver Thornton, Andrea Vu Chasko, and Austen Weinhart in order to conduct its operations and execute its business plan, however, the Company has not purchased any insurance policies with respect to those individuals in the event of their death or disability. Therefore, if Oliver Thornton, Andrea Vu Chasko, and/or Austen Weinhart die or become disabled, the Company will not receive any compensation to assist with such persons absence. The loss of such person could negatively affect the Company and its operations.
Our past operating results may not be accurate indicators of future performance, and you should not rely on such results to predict our future performance. Our operating results have fluctuated significantly in the past, and could fluctuate in the future. Factors that may contribute to fluctuations include: changes in aggregate capital spending, cyclicality and other economic conditions, or domestic and international demand in the industries we serve; our ability to effectively manage our working capital; our ability to satisfy consumer demands in a timely and cost-effective manner; pricing and availability of labor and materials; our inability to adjust certain fixed costs and expenses for changes in demand; shifts in geographic concentration of customers, supplies and labor pools; and seasonal fluctuations in demand and our revenue.
Technology companies, including many of the Companys competitors, frequently enter into litigation based on allegations of patent infringement or other violations of intellectual property rights. In addition, patent holding companies seek to monetize patents they have purchased or otherwise obtained. As the Company grows, the intellectual property rights claims against it will likely increase. The Company intends to vigorously defend infringement actions in court and before the U.S. International Trade Commission. The plaintiffs in these actions frequently seek injunctions and substantial damages. Regardless of the scope or validity of such patents or other intellectual property rights, or the merits of any claims by potential or actual litigants, the Company may have to engage in protracted litigation. If the Company is found to infringe on one or more patents or other intellectual property rights, regardless of whether it can develop non-infringing technology, it may be required to pay substantial damages or royalties to a third-party, or it may be subject to a temporary or permanent injunction prohibiting the Company from marketing or selling certain products. In certain cases, the Company may consider the desirability of entering into licensing agreements, although no assurance can be given that such licenses can be obtained on acceptable terms or that litigation will not occur. These licenses may also significantly increase the Companys operating expenses. Regardless of the merit of particular claims, litigation may be expensive, time-consuming, disruptive to the Companys operations and distracting to management. In recognition of these considerations, the Company may enter into arrangements to settle litigation. If one or more legal matters were resolved against the Companys consolidated financial statements for that reporting period could be materially adversely affected. Further, such an outcome could result in significant compensatory, punitive or trebled monetary damages, disgorgement of revenue or profits, remedial corporate measures or injunctive relief against the Company that could adversely affect its financial condition and results of operations.
Our ability to implement and provide our applications and services to our clients depends, in part, on services, goods, technology, and intellectual property rights owned or controlled by third parties. These third parties may become unable to or refuse to continue to provide these services, goods, technology, or intellectual property rights on commercially reasonable terms consistent with our business practices, or otherwise discontinue a service important for us to continue to operate our applications. If we fail to replace these services, goods, technologies, or intellectual property rights in a timely manner or on commercially reasonable terms, our operating results and financial condition could be harmed. In addition, we exercise limited control over our third-party vendors, which increases our vulnerability to problems with technology and services those vendors provide. If the services, technology, or intellectual property of third parties were to fail to perform as expected, it could subject us to potential liability, and adversely affect our renewal rates, financial condition and results of operations.
Like others in our industry, we continue to face advanced and persistent attacks on our information infrastructure where we manage and store various proprietary information and sensitive/confidential data relating to our operations. These attacks may include sophisticated malware (viruses, worms, and other malicious software programs) and phishing emails that attack our products or otherwise exploit any security vulnerabilities. These intrusions sometimes may be zero-day malware that are difficult to identify because they are not included in the signature set of commercially available antivirus scanning programs. Experienced computer programmers and hackers may be able to penetrate our network security and misappropriate or compromise our confidential information or that of our customers or other third-parties, create system disruptions, or cause shutdowns. Additionally, sophisticated software and applications that we produce or procure from third-parties may contain defects in design or manufacturing, including "bugs" and other problems that could unexpectedly interfere with the operation of the information infrastructure. A disruption, infiltration or failure of our information infrastructure systems or any of our data centers as a result of software or hardware malfunctions, computer viruses, cyber attacks, employee theft or misuse, power disruptions, natural disasters or accidents could cause breaches of data security, loss of critical data and performance delays, which in turn could adversely affect our business.
I really like the idea and the way it will be delivered. Looking forward to seeing Coding Autism flourish.
My middle son Jimmy is autistic but he is low functioning. I would love to see higher functioning autistic people get and excel at something worthwhile.
My girlfriend's son is Autistic and maybe this will be the one that helps people with this type of need.
I believe in the power of people who don't let society place limitations on them.
This is a great cause and I like how you are focusing on the strengths of the students and coaching to improve people skills.
As a Psychology Professor, I believe autistic individuals have many under-appreciated capabilities and should have the opportunities to play a central role in our society.
I support Oliver's vision and know count people on the spectrum among my family and friends. This is an amazing program!!
I invested in Coding Autism because of the amazing opportunities and training the Company is providing to support those with autism. I am honored to be an early investor in the Company and wish the team the best of success going forward.
I know its not much but as a programmer I felt a duty to help you achieve you goal.
Our daughter works with autistic children.
If Coding Autism succeeds, it can redefine how employers perceive tech workforces.
I invested because I believe that technology has the potential to help everyone!
I am a counselor working in a section 23 classroom with exceptional and challenging student who are making tremendous progress academically, as well as growth in term of social and life skills.
I invested because opportunities for autistic adults to work in the tech industry are lacking. As there is a huge percentage of adults with autism in the US are unemployed. These are the reasons what i feel that this company has a great future.
A very smart idea - discovering, nurturing, and putting to good use the best abilities in humankind.
A meaningful cause which will help many individuals rightfully deserving a chance to something better.
I have a nephew with Asperger's Syndrome and I believe that this company will be able to open new avenues of success for him. I will be praying for your success!!
Hola, espero que su iniciativa salga adelante, el autismo además de soledad encierra mucho talento que la humanidad necesita para ser mejor. Gracias.
I have personally invested because I was diagnosed on the autism spectrum and my son is as well.
I have worked with various autistic children through my babysitting company Sitter Buddy, and I too have realized they have tremendous potential and talent. Even if I don't get a return in my investment, I am hoping to support this wonderful mission!
Happy to highly skilled, least appredciated people being helped. As my twelve year old is trying to help Autism kids by creating his own innovative idea thru his school, I wish to my part.
Helps and gives opportunity to a often misunderstood group of people.
My son was just diagnosed with autism and I want to see opportunities like this for my son.
Very worthy effort with great potential.
I am impressed on how amazing people with autism with coding so I'd like to support them.
Finding way to help people suffering from Autism.
I am fully supportive of the idea, it has an important social impact and I am sure it will be a success.
We believe in the potential of people and this is a great channel to match skills with a need that can be life fulfilling and supply value to our society.
I have aspergers myself and would have loved to have programs like this available when I was growing up.
I invested because this is a great cause that is over looked and under funded.