V.C. firm backs Ybor computer coders with $5.4M

YBOR CITY — OmniElite Financial Group, a venture capital firm, has announced it will invest $5.4 million over four years in a female-owned computer coding boot camp in Ybor City. Founded by Virginia Barnett, Phuong Nguyen Cotey and Deborah Alvarez Neff, gr8code offers focused training sessions on WordPress, front-end and backend Web/application development and similar programming classes for kids.

gr8code teaches HTML, CSS, JavaScript and associated server-side technology out of a bungalow in Ybor City.

“This funding is substantial and will help us expand our programs faster and broaden our reach,” says Barnett, CEO of gr8code, in a press release. “This funding, which we believe is the largest ever in Florida awarded to a women-owned business, puts us on the map and further positions our market as a tech attractor, which is an economic driver for our community.”

In addition to providing career-changing skills, gr8code says it has established partnerships with several local businesses that are seeking to hire front-end, back-end, .net and mobile application developers upon completion of its courses.

“This is not a typical investment for us, but after meeting with the gr8code team and several of our key investors, it quickly became apparent that we wanted to be involved in this tech initiative,” Steve Brickner, president and CEO of Las Vegas-based OmniElite, says in a press release. “We believe in gr8code's vision and look forward to their impact in the entrepreneurial tech space locally, nationally and even worldwide.”