“City Entrepreneur:” How CodeAlgo Is Getting More Kids Into Coding
KCSourceLink is proud to partner with “City Entrepreneur,” a video series that showcases and uplifts Kansas City’s founders, innovators and investors.
Triumfia Houmbie Fulks came to Kansas City from Benin when she was just 16. She’d intended to earn her college degree and return home but was intrigued by the opportunities here. Then? She found The Problem.
“In Missouri alone, the average software engineer makes over $81,000 a year,” she says. “The shocking part is there are over 9,000 computing jobs open every single month that aren’t filled. And less than 5% of high school students are currently pursuing computer science when it’s time to graduate.”
Triumfia partnered with Sedric Hibler to found CodeAlgo, which engages students with video games that just happen to teach coding along the way. It’s an innovative idea, but one that’s evolved, thanks to input from students, parents and educators.
Using research to direct development
Starting out, CodeAlgo’s founders had a pretty good idea of what they needed to create. But then they volunteered with students and got data from interviewing kids, teachers and superintendents. The result? Educators and students play an active role in the company’s iterations.
“It’s super easy to feel like the solution you’re building is what they need without actually talking to [consumers] because of course we all have great and brilliant ideas,” Triumfia says. “But until you actually touch your customer, you don’t know if this is, in fact, a solution they need.”
She suggests founders turn their energies to the puzzle they’re trying to solve.
“If you are obsessed with a problem, you are going to find a solution,” Triumfia says. “The solution that you think is the solution might not be the solution, but the more obsessed you are about it, you are going to find what that solution is, and I would say that is what helped us pave the way to where we are today.”
Help from KC’s entrepreneurial ecosystem
Many organizations in Kansas City have played a role in CodeAlgo’s progress as well. Programs like LaunchKC, Pipeline Pathfinders and Prospect Business Association have helped Triumfia and Sedric build their venture. Connecting with peers and developing their entrepreneurial community have not only moved their business forward but also strengthened their resolve.
“I do this for the young girls, and I do this for the young ladies that look like myself and feel they are not able to achieve something,” Triumfia says. “I want to show them that it is possible.”
Check out the “City Entrepreneur” conversation with Triumfia, and get the inside scoop on the networking benefits of working at a coffee shop, the most effective way to start a conversation there and the superiority of caramel lattes.
