Bloc is an online interactive platform that offers a variety of online coding bootcamps in several areas including web development, mobile development, and design. Students are paired with an experienced mentor who provides support and guidance throughout the curriculum using Skype.
History
Bloc was founded in February 2012 by Roshan Choxi and Dave Paola. They met at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2008, before moving to San Francisco where the company is currently headquartered. Subsequently, Paola and Choxi began tutoring students over Skype in 2012, then later introduced Bloc at the Launch Festival in San Francisco. The company raised $250,000 in seed funding in May 2012, another $2 million in December 2013, and $6 million in Series A funding in November 2014. The latest round of funding was with Harrison Metal of First Round Capital. In 2017, Bloc had 96 people enrolled in their user experience design course, of which 14 completed. In April 2018, Bloc was acquired by online bootcamp Thinkful for an undisclosed sum. Officials at Thinkful said Bloc was not profitable and "almost breaking even" at the time the deal closed.
Courses
Bloc has a total of 5 courses, separated into two phases: foundation, and a building real projects phase. In the last 2 weeks of the courses, students and their mentors will work on a capstone project of their choice. Courses include Rails Web Development, Frontend Web Development, User Experience Design, Android Development, and iOS Development.
Scholarships
Bloc offers two scholarships: the New Relic Diversity Scholarship in Software Development and Design, and the Veterans Scholarship in Software Development and Design. In 2013, Bloc and New Relic created the New Relic Diversity Scholarship in Software Development and Design to promote diversity in software development and UX design. The scholarship caters to females, veterans of the U.S. military, and ethnic minority groups that are underrepresented in the software engineering field; since inception, over 1000 scholarships have been awarded. The Veterans Scholarship in Software Development and Design is offered to U.S. military veterans. The scholarship aims to equip U.S. veterans with the necessary tools for launching their tech careers.
