Kintner focuses on education as change catalyst

BOULDER — The technology industry requires savvy from anyone who wants to get in on its action and keep moving forward.  Expertise about how to develop and maintain the business side of things as well as the software and hardware that keeps those things working are just the beginning. 

With today’s speed of technology, there’s not much wiggle room if a company doesn’t have a good handle on both aspects early on.

For that reason, technology boot camps are on the rise to guide entrepreneurs and to feed the need for technical support and development.

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Emilie Kintner oversees three campuses for one of those technology communities in Colorado.  Galvanize offers entrepreneurs guidance, support and space to get and keep them on-track. And for tech-minded individuals, it offers intensive programs in web development and data science.

Galvanize operates eight campuses across the U.S., including one in Boulder and two in Denver.  Kintner, Colorado’s regional general manager, has been with the organization since 2014 and focuses on growing her own skills as well as the skills of Galvanize members and students.

Her own experience with breaking into the technology industry exemplifies the tenacity required for success.

“I had about a decade of experience in the educational arm of nonprofits in areas like historical and visual/performing arts,” she said.  “My passion has always been education.”

At a certain point, she realized moving further would put her in the role of primarily fund raising and that what she would be able to earn was destined to be capped.  “The earning potential in nonprofits was causing me angst — I had a six-month-old boy at home.”

To make the leap, Kintner focused on bridging her gaps.  “It took me a little time to build my technology chops and network and understand the technology landscape in Colorado but I did it.”

She now manages two Galvanize cafes and about 50 employees across three campuses.

A shift in speed-to-act from the nonprofit world to the technology world was one of Kintner’s first learned lessons in her role.  Learning how to accept failure came soon after.

“You have to trust your gut and your team and sometimes you still screw up,” she said.  “The first few failures were hard but I’ve learned to accept them.”

Her point goes beyond those failures that led to new skills and successes.  Developing a team by letting them go through their own processes helps strengthen a company as well.

“I used to be the one who wanted everything to be perfect — I wanted to control every execution of every project.”

She described the flip side of letting go and giving her team autonomy as the need to make sure the team keeps her in the loop of their decisions.  Presenting a united front to customers and building on ways to increase offerings within that is her goal.

Meeting the needs to two distinct types of customers — entrepreneurs and students —  requires an eye on both sides of the fence in the technology industry.

Founders of different sizes and stages of tech companies sign up for monthly memberships with Galvanize.  In exchange, they get to choose the resources that fit their needs.  Those offerings include weekly mentoring, office space, introductions and workshops that focus on the areas of fundraising, growth, product and team.

“Membership goes way beyond real estate as a commodity,” Kintner said.  Resources include input on lawyers, marketing, branding and even human resources.

“Community real estate is available many places but there’s also a community of like-minded people here.  Being an entrepreneur is hard.  Having people who are struggling with similar things who you can also celebrate with is big.”

Boulder member companies total 224, and Denver member companies total 152.  Monthly memberships start at about $300.

For individuals who are wanting to get a leg up on their careers in technology, Galvanize offers two full-time learning programs.  The Data Science Immersive course runs three months, and tuition is $18,000. The Web Development Immersive course runs for six months and costs $21,000.

“Our placement for students is hovering around 90 percent within six months of graduation,” Kintner said.

“We’re delivering change to our students — they’re placing their time and money in our hands,” she added.  “With about 200 boot camps in the U.S. we have to keep an eye on the changing market and putting developers into the world that people want to hire.”

The Boulder Web Development Immersive course currently has 30 students, and Denver has 115.  Denver also has 27 data science students.