Coding academy, consulting firm plans Carmel expansion

Eleven Fifty, the Carmel-based coding academy and consulting firm, has committed to hiring 92 people in exchange for a state incentive package worth more than $1.3 million, Indiana economic development officials announced Tuesday.

Started by tech entrepreneur Scott Jones last September, Eleven Fifty has a not-for-profit training arm and a for-profit services and advisory arm. The academy plans to hire 15 workers by the end of 2024, and the consulting arm plans to hire 77 by the end of 2019.

In exchange for the job creation, the consulting practice will be eligible to receive $1.1 million in conditional tax credits and $100,000 in training grants, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. said. The academy is eligible to receive $105,000 in tax credit and $50,000 in training grants. The tax credits are performance-based, meaning that until workers are hired, the company is not eligible to claim incentives.

Eleven Fifty also said it planned to spend about $954,000 growing its operations in Hamilton County. The firm, which currently operates from Jones' estate in Carmel, said it plans to lease about 2,500 square feet of office space elsewhere. Eleven Fifty Consulting recently hired an 11-member sales team.

“Demand is increasing in Indiana for skilled IT personnel across a wide range of positions, including the highly technical computer coders," Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann said in written remarks. “We are grateful that the technology sector itself is responding quickly by launching new training ventures like Eleven Fifty."

Eleven Fifty is among a growing number of so-called coding boot camps across the country that look to develop coders over a short time period, capitalizing on increasing demand for software engineers.

Among other things, Eleven Fifty says it immerses students in specific programming tracks, both mobile and web, over the course of a week. CEO John Qualls, who joined Eleven Fifty in February, said the academy has trained about 400 students from 16 states and three countries so far. The goal is to train about 2,000 over the next 12 months, Qualls said.

The academy and the consulting firm work in tandem. Officials select students for paid apprenticeships at the consulting firm, and the students get to work on projects for enterprise clients like Goodwill.

At the end of the three-month apprenticeship, the students are encouraged to join clients full time or start their own consulting practices.