DEV.F

We started the first coding bootcamp in Mexico in 2015 because we experienced the educational power of hackathons and wanted to create a digital skills school based on them which could be a door for underrepresented folks to get more involved in the tech world. After that we realized we needed to transcend the bootcamp model to scale into Spanish-speaking LATAM by adapting to the region's reality of low accessibility. For this, we made our courses part-time and as affordable as possible by building technology and becoming super cost-efficient, getting to a price as low as $49 USD a month in LATAM for a 12 month course (total $588 USD) that is live, cohort-based and synchronous; also for which we have consistently proved 85% of positive tech-related job outcomes. Normally this price level applies to previously recorded MOOCs, but in our case our students learn with a live instructor, which pushes our completion rates to around 70% compared to less than 10% for MOOCs. With the pandemic, our courses became remote, so the geographic barrier was removed for anyone who speaks Spanish to be able to join our courses from wherever there's a wifi connection. As of today, we've had over 11,000 students who have studied over 20,000 courses, in hundreds of cohorts. Recently, we realized that there are 63 million Latinxs / Hispanics living in the US (1 out of every 5 people there) – their total economic output amounts to $3.2 trillion, if they were a country of its own they would be the 5th largest GDP in the world – however, 70% of them make less than the US national average income and represent only 8% of STEM workforce. This gap is considerable, showing that this demographic group in particular lacks systemic access to learning digital skills which lead to tech-related employment (which is generally higher earning than the services industry). All of this context led us to decide to go to the US to serve Hispanics living north of the border, with our existing infrastructure we built in Mexico / LATAM, in Spanish, and being able to charge them as low as $99 USD a month (someone who makes minimum wage in the US can easily afford that price). We launched the US business in December of last year after going through a Techstars Economic Mobility accelerator and in 2 months we have sold over 100 student seats over there, which shows great potential for further growth. What has always moved us is generating economic mobility for people who currently don't have access to it, both in LATAM and USA.

Our solution are courses in Coding (Web Development), AI, Data Science and Machine Learning, UX / UI Design, which are taught with live instructors, synchronously, in real time, with a part time intensity and which start as low as $49 USD in LATAM and $99 USD in the US. This price range usually corresponds to pre-recorded MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) and self-learn courses, but in our case we offer them to such an affordable price because we have built a business engine and technology infrastructure in LATAM (Mexico) which enables us to operate with very low costs. We built a technology platform which we call our Digital Campus, which tracks granular data on each our students and using AI algorithms allows us to automate many processes – this is how we run a school which currently serves 2,000 active students with a staff of 30 people. It's also worth mentioning that a coding bootcamp in the USA costs on average $12,000 USD, while our 12 month course has a total price of less than $1,200 USD ($99 USD a month, less than 10% of the average price). Our courses are taught in Spanish and target Latinxs in the US who speak said language as their first tongue. Of the 63 million Latinxs living in the US, more than 70% of them make less than the national average income – millions of them work in the services industry, making close to minimum wage ($30 to $40,000 USD a year). Our education solution is made for this group / segment – at $99 USD a month, they could still afford our course with less than a day's work ($12,000 USD however, would be probably out of reach for most of them). Our courses feature workshops for developing soft skills, preparation for navigating the hiring landscape, lots of team projects, and constant guidance from their instructors (most of our instructors, who we call Senseis, were students themselves at DEV.F, and are now working in the tech industry).

Millions of Latinxs in the US who are working low wage jobs such as working in restaurant kitchens, carrying luggage at hotels, cutting grass as gardeners, or toiling in construction, would gain access with DEV.F to the option of developing skills which lead to better paid professional opportunities in tech-related jobs, increasing their income from the range of $30-40k a year to $50-60k a year and beyond in a span of 12 to 18 months (we've achieved this result consistently for years in LATAM). There are 63 million (over 10 million of them speak Spanish as a first language and make less than $50,000 USD a year – US Census) Latinxs / Hispanics living in the US (1 out of every 5 people there) – if they were a country of its own they would be the 5th largest GDP in the world – however, 70% of them make less than the US national average income and represent only 8% of STEM workforce. Our solution creates the opportunity for people who speak Spanish in LATAM + USA to learn digital skills which will help them transition from low wage jobs to higher earning positions which are tech related, thus generating economic mobility. We achieve this in a way that is very cost-efficient, affordable, and culturally aligned to this specific demographic group, which means lower earning segments of the population can have access to our courses either by paying directly for them or earning a scholarship funded by someone else. We believe our education solution bridges the gap for thousands of Latinxs to realize that they too can increase their income by learning tech skills and taking advantage of employment opportunities with more paths to professional growth.

We started DEV.F back in 2015 to focus on serving students in Mexico and Spanish-speaking LATAM, so we built a business engine and technology infrastructure which can now be deployed to serve Latinxs / Hispanics in the US at a uniquely affordable price: our courses start at $99 USD a month. We have almost 10 years of experience serving Latinxs in Spanish at a very low cost and price, with outcomes of 85% of our alumni finding tech-related jobs 3-6 months after course completion. We're proud of literally thousands of stories of alumni who changed their lives because of DEV.F, transition from jobs such as plumbing and carpentry (low wage professions in LATAM) to jobs related to tech where they're making 3x and upwards more income. We also have almuni who founded companies funded by Y-Combinator, who joined top tech companies such as Google, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, etc. We've executed scholarship programs with international partners such as the IDB Lab (Inter-American Development Bank), Fundación Televisa (largest private foundation in Mexico), with Facebook Mexico (we were the first school Facebook ever worked with for tech skills in Mexico), and others. We've been selected for top accelerator programs such as Google's Launchpad Accelerator program in LATAM, Transcend Network and Techstars Economic Mobility in New York City. We've been recognized by organizations such as Forbes, EY, and HolonIQ as one of the top EdTech companies in Latin America. We have built a digital Campus which our students use for learning and which allows us to collect granular data on all of our students' learning curves – we use this data to be very efficient as a team and is one of the elements that enables our uniquely low price.

We have proved our market in Latin America, where we've had over 11,000 students and have taught over 20,000 courses in total. For our USA Latinxs opportunity, we can start serving this market with our existing product, content and infrastructure in Spanish (down the road we do plan to make our program bilingual and even in Spanglish) – we actually already launched and have served over 100 students north of the border so far (we started signing up students in January of 2024). However, we consider we're still in a proof of concept phase for our USA opportunity, so that is why we think we are at a Growth Stage. Adding to this is that we are currently raising a Seed investment round for said opportunity, so that matches the description as well.

The main challenge for us is go-to-market, which we think we can tackle but would do so mucho more effectively with the help of mentors within the Solve network – Latinx leaders in business could be especially helpful. The financial challenge is also an important one, since we are currently fundraising for a Seed round so that we can execute as swiftly as possible on our USA Latinxs opportunity. Being selected as a Solver would not only provide a valuable credential, but it would also bring us access to a network with potential investors and funders (especially impact funders with which we have especially good chemistry because of our company's mission). We would of course also benefit from MIT's technological prowess. Our technical team is world class and well-respected, but we an always learn more from MIT's experts on how to further leverage AI and technology tools for making our education products even more accessible, efficient and effective. We see lots of potential, for example, to leverage AI for developing tools for increasing our completion rates and the odds of our students completing their courses so that they can go on to connect with employment opportunities in tech.

Our main innovation is using our know-how, expertise, and the business we've built in LATAM over the course of the previous years to serve a demographic group in the USA which represents 20% of the total population there (63 million people), but where unfortunately also 70% of them make less than the national average income for the US (US Census Data), and who at just 8% are grossly underrepresented in STEM workforce (stat from UnidosUS.org). DEV.F has always been driven by the mission to generate economic mobility through teaching technology and digital skills to people who normally do not have access to them – we have achieved this by building technology and optimizing for offering our courses for the lowest imaginable amounts, always striving for widespread affordability. We were selected on Q4 of last year for a 3-month Techstars Economic Mobility program in New York City. While there, we deeply researched our space and did not find any other schools in the US who are targeting Latinxs while having an affordable offering which is also culturally aligned and in Spanish. We consider we are uniquely positioned to serve thousands of Latinxs who have the potential to learn digital skills and go on to use them to grow their professional opportunities and thus increase their income to better take care of their families.

The problem of underrepresentation of the Latinx community in the US technology industry is a reality that limits opportunities for well-paid employment and social mobility in an ever-evolving sector. To address this situation, we designed a program with a clear and solid theory of change.

The core activity involves the offering and execution of a technology training program tailored to the needs of this industry, which has a substantial talent demand. Classes are taught by highly qualified instructors using a learning-by-doing methodology. They are delivered remotely (in real-time) to reach a diverse audience of Latinx individuals in the United States and to provide comprehensive human support throughout the learning process.

As a direct result of these activities, it is expected that a significant number of Latinx participants will enroll and graduate from the program. At an intermediate level, improvement is anticipated in both technical and soft skills, providing participants with increased confidence and readiness to compete in the technology job market. Additionally, the formation of a strong learning community will be fostered, facilitating networking, job placement, and mutual support among students.

In the medium to long term, a significant increase in social mobility for the US Latinx community is anticipated, along with a notable reduction in the skills gap in the technology industry for Latinx individuals in the United States. Program graduates will be ready to access well-paying jobs with future prospects in this rapidly growing sector. These technological competencies will not only enhance their personal, familiy, and community quality of life by opening doors to well-paid job opportunities but also strengthen the diversity and representation of Latinxs in the US technology sphere.

Our impact objectives are based on improving people's lives by empowering them with programming skills to access quality jobs and significantly increase their income. To achieve these goals, we adopt indicators from Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education) and Goal 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).

For measuring indicators, we rely on 4 stages of the student cycle at DEV.F:

Stage 1 - Enrollment

Stage 2 - During the Experience

Stage 3 - Graduation Week

Stage 4 - Post-Graduation - During the following year after Graduation

The information collected at Stage 1 serves as the baseline information for measuring changes in the situation through the different stages.

At Stage 1, demographic data is collected – age range, gender, country/city, postal code, highest level of education upon program entry, employment status (job, salary range, and job search status for those unemployed), and objectives for studying the program.

At Stage 2, data on the experience and learning progress are collected through interaction with the Campus platform (class ratings, progress in readings, evaluations, projects, and attendance). Additionally, halfway through the program, the employment situation (job, salary range, and job search status for those unemployed) is evaluated, which is then contrasted with the employment information collected at Stage 1.

At Stage 3, information about the student's profile upon program completion is collected. At this point, an overview is made of the student's overall performance upon completing the program in order to be able to connect them with quality job opportunities. At this stage, the employment situation measured in the previous stages is reassessed.

Finally, at Stage 4, a quarterly survey is conducted on the employment situation during the year following the completion of studies at DEV.F. This survey evaluates the same indicators regarding employment status as in the previous stages.

This information provides us with the following indicators, which can be cross-referenced with the demographic information obtained at Stage 1, for example:

• Ratio of women to men

• Percentage of students employed before and after the program

• Changes in salary range upon program entry and after the program

We believe that education is fundamental to addressing global challenges, and our approach leverages technology to empower individuals and communities.

Our solution is deeply rooted in the principles of collaborative learning and project-based development, which align with the ethos of hackathon learning. We have pioneered an innovative educational model called Atomic-Based Education, where each lesson is meticulously crafted to encapsulate diverse learning pathways within its molecular structure. This approach not only enhances comprehension but also fosters adaptability and creativity among learners.

Central to our methodology are synchronous live sessions facilitated by seasoned industry professionals who serve as mentors, or as we call them, Senseis. These sessions provide invaluable guidance and real-world insights, enriching the learning experience and preparing students for meaningful contributions to society.

We recognize that true mastery and impact require dedication and community support. Therefore, our courses are designed to cultivate grit and camaraderie among participants, with a minimum duration of 12 months to ensure ample time for skill development and application.

In line with MIT Solve's emphasis on leveraging technology for social good, we have developed a proprietary Learning Management System (LMS) that serves as the backbone of our educational ecosystem. This advanced platform seamlessly integrates data points such as attendance, progress metrics, feedback, and support interactions to enable personalized learning experiences and continuous improvement.

By harnessing the power of technology and fostering a culture of lifelong learning, our solution not only addresses immediate educational needs but also cultivates a diverse community of changemakers poised to tackle the world's most pressing challenges.

30 full-time staff.

Over 200 instructors who are contractors.

We have been building DEV.F since 2014. We started as a lifestyle business school which then evolved in 2018-19 to a full-fledged venture-backed EdTech company looking to impact all of Latin America. This year (2024) we launched the new operation for serving Latinxs in the United States.

It is a core belief at DEV.F that diversity is an invaluable asset which is necessary for our company's success. Our founding team reveals this: Elias comes from the Mexican Jewish community, Manuel from Hermosillo, a small city in northwest Mexico, and Enrique from Ixtapaluca, an area from the periphery of Mexico City. The three of us come from very different socioeconomic realities, from private to public schools, from large urban areas to smaller provincial cities, and from traditional to unconventional families. We met thanks to our love for hackathons, where we were captured by building solutions to problems using technology – in hackathons no one cared where you came from, but rather for how great your desire to create. This philosophy became DEV.F's DNA. Our greatest driver from the start has been our mission to teach skills which lead to social and economic mobility. For this reason, in 2020 we got certified as a B-Corp, which cemented our commitment to being a sustainable company and seeking to do good in the world. In 2019 we received a grant from the IDB Lab (Inter-American Development Bank) which funded a regional program for providing scholarships to vulnerable segments of the population in Latin America. One of the conditions for this program was that half of all scholarships (totaling over 1,600 scholarships) be awarded to female students so that female representation in STEM workforce can increase regionally. Since that program, we've made it part of our focus to attract more females to our student body (35% aprox, which is high compared to the tech industry in the region), to our team of instructors (25%, also high for the industry), and to our full-time employees (40%). Additionally, we have created a Gender Council at DEV.F whose mission is to ensure that our learning environment is free of harassment, bullying, and/or any time of gender violence or aggression. DEV.F also has established a strict code of conduct which our community of students, alumni, instructors and mentors must abide by. By creating these measures we seek to provide an atmosphere at DEV.F which is welcoming, inclusive and respectful.

Our business model is threefold: Direct-to-consumer (D2C), B2B2C (Business to business to consumer) and B2B.

1) Direct-to-consumer (D2C) – we sell courses directly to the general public at a very affordable tuition which starts at $99 USD per month for a 12 month course (total $1,188 USD). The main value elements of our courses for the Latinx segment are: A) affordable tuition (our target user is making around $30 to $40,000 USD a year, which is considered low to moderate income in the US – also existing tech skills options in the US cost on average $12,000 USD), B) technical skills content in Spanish (we've done our research and there's virtually no options for learning in this language in the US), C) a learning experience which is culturally aligned with Latinxs – our instructors are based in Mexico and other countries in Latin America, so they understand our students' culture and serve as role models they can identify with for inspiration and perseverance.

2) B2B2C – this model works mainly with higher education institutions (colleges + universities) and with foundations + not-for-profit organizations. With higher ed, DEV.F works as an on-ramp education program for universities to reach people in the Latinx segment whom they aren't currently being able to serve. These people sign up to DEV.F, take our courses in Spanish – for which they get university credit towards a degree program – and in parallel they take a course of English as a Second Language (ESL). For referring these students to DEV.F, universities receive revenue share. They also get the valuable benefit of getting more students enrolled in degree programs from the Latinx segment (most of these people were previously not eligible for a degree program because they speak Spanish and because of social and cultural barriers). With NGOs, the model is simply that these organizations act as third party funders for tuitions on behalf of Latinx people who sign up as students at DEV.F.

3) B2B – this model works with companies, especially those who are actively investing in DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion). The way it usually works is that these companies will pay for tuition at DEV.F on behalf of their workers so that they can learn new skills which lead to better paid positions within these same companies (upskilling) or to new positions altogether (reskilling). Companies find in DEV.F an option for serving their Latinx workers who feel comfortable learning new skills in Spanish and at an affordable price compared to other upskilling / reskilling options on the market.

The Latinx population we serve faces very strong economic difficulties and live paycheck to paycheck. We consider the price we've achieved of $99 per month to be heroic and allows them access to an education they otherwise couldn't afford. Someone earning $30k a year cannot afford alternatives priced at $12k to 18k USD currently available (in English) in the US. That's why we charge a low fee and seek massive scale. For this, we've created all the necessary technology and follow the scalable and funding model of a startup. We have various avenues for funding:

• VC: We've received investment from significant VC funds like Techstars and from Angel Investors and family offices investing in Edtech.

• Grants: There are many programs and calls for funding companies like ours. We've won very important grants, including one of over $1 million USD from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the largest development bank in LATAM. With this, among other things, we were able to obtain the resources for the technological platform that helps us scale.

• B2C: Today we have a well-structured acquisition funnel. We have a team that analyzes population segments and designs key messages to reach them through digital marketing. This process is triggered when people attend our info sessions held three times a week. In these informative sessions, all questions are resolved, and the application and conversion process is initiated. The entire process is designed to work digitally and automatedly and is very efficient. Today we have an LTV/CAC ratio of over 3x and a cash-to-cash cycle of 4 months. We're achieving these metrics, which are at the level for a SaaS, which is great for education and speaks to the fact that what we've achieved is just the beginning.

• B2B: Companies know that today they need to hire diverse talent and are increasingly striving to be more equitable and inclusive. Some examples are that we were the first school in the world to whom Facebook has paid scholarships, and we have also partnered with Fundacion Televisa/Univisión to benefit more than 2,000 students with joint scholarship programs.

• B2B2C: Community colleges and universities seek programs like ours to complement what they teach and achieve better outcomes in employability and learning digital skills. So, we have several partnerships for them to be an acquisition channel for users, with revenue-sharing models or subcontracting.

All of the above are different channels to reach different users. Anyone looking to improve their digital skills in Spanish, whether to find a new job or to continue growing in their career, has a place in our school. The product is the same, and the more diverse our community, the better.