Developing Code & Community

Here at LaunchPad Lab, we believe in not only building apps, but in building a community around web and mobile development. That community building goes far beyond having a strong internal corporate culture – it’s about positively impacting others.

The community we’re building has grown through engaging with others in the industry, giving back, and stepping out of comfort zones. Software development is a complex and ever-changing world, and we as developers rely on each other to learn and get things done.

By building a community we’re giving developers and designers a way to ask questions and to learn cool and exciting things. We’re also trying to encourage and inspire new developers. One of the ways we do this is by participating in the learning culture that has spun out of efforts by tech companies and the industry as a whole.

There have been countless efforts to engage people in tech through activities and programs like hackathons, conferences, webinars, coding boot camps, Hour of Code, and apprenticeship programs. Developers, designers, founders and others are constantly learning and helping others willingly without any expectations of receiving something in return.  

Everyone benefits from this learning culture. These efforts have helped people who would otherwise not be drawn to the industry get their feet wet and learn about exciting opportunities that are available.

Earlier this year, we got to teach 4th-8th graders at Latin School of Chicago and Goudy a few hours of code over two weeks. We went over basic JavaScript skills while having students create an interactive tic tac toe game. They went from not knowing what to expect or really having much of an interest in developing to creating something of their own.

Teaching others and building a community around this learning culture is a part of our company’s identity. Building a community takes time and effort, but it’s incredibly rewarding. If you or your company is considering getting involved in the tech community here are several benefits you may gain from it in addition to doing  your part to help others.

Benefits from Getting Involved in the Tech Learning Culture

Networking

If you’re looking to build your network, whether for yourself or your business, consider getting involved in teaching and taking classes that are relevant to your field.

Recruiting

Teaching gives you access to talented students who may transition into valuable employees in the future.  

Increase Your Own Understanding

By approaching your own learning with the understanding that you may have to teach it to someone else in the future, you’re naturally going to be more engaged and seek out additional information.

Build A Community Around Common Interest

Here in Chicago, the learning culture that’s continuing to strengthen within technology is making an impact on us all. 1871, Fullstack, General Assembly, LaunchPad Lab, and the entire city is becoming a hotbed for tech because of the community that’s been growing over the past decade.

Raise Company Awareness

Being active in the tech community and being willing to give back naturally raises awareness about what your company is doing.

Create Leads

The developers we work within courses and collaborate with often have close ties with companies that could benefit from working with our team. By just being open to helping and networking, we get many leads for future business.

Establish Thought Leadership

When people want help with something or have general questions, they turn to people they think will give them the best answers. Each of these questions and chances to help are opportunities to start a conversation and develop a meaningful and beneficial relationship.

Want to get involved? Whether you’re interested in demoing a new product or learning a programming language, we’d love to connect with you. We host many events at our space in Chicago and on August 24th, we’ll be hosting Getting Started with Angular.JS at General Assembly Chicago. Come out to meet me and the team while learning the basics of React.

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