LaunchCode Reviews

Dishonesty around cohort outcomes, placements, and the diversity of candidates. A serious discrepancy between the organization's mission -- especially regarding women and people of color in tech -- and how employees are treated behind office doors. While tech is not known as a particularly inclusive industry, the sexism, casual racism, and bloated white male egos on display at LaunchCode still manage to go above and beyond the usual. The people in management roles generally have very little experience in both business and leadership, leading to a work culture predicated on stress, frustration, and finger pointing that goes all the way down the employee chain. Business goals are not grounded in any sort of real strategy and change so frequently that it's hard for projects to gain momentum (and no, it's NOT "just how it is in a startup.") Overall a lot of missed opportunities to be a great organization and a great place to work. TLDR: There's been close to 70 or 80% turnover in just the last three years or so.

LaunchCode's mission promises significant societal impact, and the organization attracts engaged, motivated professionals who are passionate about producing change through their work. Unfortunately, the nonprofit suffers from all the hallmark ailments of founders syndrome: a largely inexperienced senior management team intent on keeping total control of decision making; an executive director who is reluctant to take input from staff; management that fails to share information about their projects or the organization’s focus; a deep-seated belief in the organization’s uniqueness despite ample evidence to the contrary; and a founding team that avoids taking responsibility for failures, instead placing blame on mid-level and junior employees who are regularly undermined and denied the basic tools they require to be successful in their jobs. As a result, the organization continues to struggle. It has expanded too quickly, and leadership has failed to create strategic goals or produce the outcomes it has promised. While these mistakes are common among start-ups, rather than learning from their failures, the director and a handful of his VPs have been strident in their refusal to evolve. A brief list of nonprofit ethics and best practice violations I observed or participated in during my time at LaunchCode include: • Reporting falsified financial and placement data to state funding agencies, existing and prospective donors, and the board. • Reporting inflated outcome data to clients, investors, employers, and the media. • Submitting inflated salary and program budgets to investors. • Maintaining a significant cash reserve while claiming urgent financial need. • Instituting substantial pay disparities between staff doing the same work who have relatively similar educational and professional backgrounds For an organization that exists in the public trust, participation in any one of these activities would be troubling. That all of these practices continue with the knowledge of a handful of LaunchCode’s leaders is reprehensible. LaunchCode’s informal motto, cribbed from a speech by President Obama, is that “if you can do the job, you should get the job.” In LaunchCode’s short life, many of those who can do the job have quit or been pushed out. Many in leadership who got the job were afforded that privilege not because of their skills or experience, but as a result of their pedigree or proximity to the founder. In turn, they have suppressed evidence of their mismanagement and disregarded the spirit and promise of LaunchCode’s mission.