Tech Bootcamp
The shortcut: A bootcamp without a 70%+ job-placement rate is a refund magnet, a Glassdoor disaster, and an FTC investigation in roughly that order. Build the employer pipeline before you write the curriculum, not after — and never advertise a placement number you can't substantiate to the trailing-12-month cohort.
Industry: Software & Tech | Investment level: Medium — $10,000-$50,000 | Time to launch: 9-15 months (state licensing + employer pipeline + first cohort gate the launch)
Best for: A senior engineer or eng manager with a real network of hiring managers who will actually take your grads' calls — not a curriculum nerd who likes teaching. What you'll likely make: $0-$2,000 month 3 (still in licensing), $8,000-$20,000 month 6 (first cohort revenue), $25,000-$60,000 month 12 (cohort 2 + first ISA payments landing). Math is in Section 4.
Market Opportunity
Your student is 28, has $18K saved, and is one resignation letter away from quitting accounting because she's been told for two years that "learning to code" is the move. She has watched five YouTube tutorials, finished one Udemy course at 40%, and still cannot build an app. She is not paying you $15K to teach her React. She is paying you because you promised, in writing on your website, to get her a $75K job. If you can't, she wants her money back. If you stall, she wants the state attorney general to know.
That is the entire business. Curriculum is table stakes. The placement pipeline is the product.
The market is real. The bootcamp graduate cohort cleared 23,000 in 2023 and tuition averages around $11,900 — but the Course Report 2023 Outcomes Report shows a placement reality (~71% within 6 months, ~$70K starting salary) narrower than the marketing pages suggest. The four schools commanding price premium — App Academy, Hack Reactor, Flatiron School, General Assembly — all sell on outcomes data, not lecture quality.
Why this is a good time to start. The big players consolidated under 2U/Flatiron or imploded — see BloomTech (formerly Lambda School) and the California DFPI consent order over its ISA terms. National brands lost trust. Niche, regional, employer-anchored bootcamps with verifiable outcomes can take that oxygen back.
Start with this idea — free signup, no card required.
