María Vélez, Crack the Code | Preparing Kids for the Future With Tech Education [Ep. 66]

The audio and video are in Spanish. These notes are a translation.

With the growth of the digital economy, there is a lot of talk about the shortage of technical talent in Latin America and, therefore, about the need to train more professionals in technology careers. However, for today’s guest, María Vélez, CEO and founder of Crack the Code, the shortage of technical talent originates in school education, because children are only taught to consume technology, but not to create it.

María told us why learning to program is like learning a language and should be taught from childhood. We also talked about the role of parents, schools, and governments in preparing boys and girls for a future where the economy will be more based on technology and entrepreneurship. We also talked about María’s experience as a solo founder.

Crack The Code is the leading online technology school for children in Latin America and, to date, has raised close to 3 million dollars from capital funds such as Kaszek Ventures.

Thanks to Hernan Kazah of Kaszek Ventures, and to Aida Sarabia and Estefania San Miguel of Crack The Code for their question recommendations.

What You Can Learn Today

The importance of learning to program at school age
How the pandemic changed the learning mindset
The challenges of founding alone

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Youtube Timestamps*

About María and Crack the Code

[1:28] - How did María arrive in the world of startups?
- She is Colombian, but she lived in Costa Rica from a young age
- She studied in New York and worked 6 years at JP Morgan
- She married a Peruvian and moved to Peru
- She decided to start a company, despite having job opportunities
[3:17] - What is Crack the Code?
- It is an online computer science academy
- It is a complement to traditional school
- They teach programming classes for children from 5 to 18 years old

The Need to Educate Children in Technology

[4:00] - Children consume technology, but they do not create it
- Previously, programming was never taught
- Today, it is essential for any professional
- Just as they consume content, children are also capable of creating it
[6:42] - The importance of technology for Latin American parents
- Parents’ mindset changed a lot with the pandemic
- Before, Crack the Code taught its classes in person.
- Now, parents understand why programming is important
- Around 20% of Crack the Code’s students are teenagers
- Universities will implement programming admissions tests
[10:12] - Mindset change because of the pandemic
- Private education is very exclusive, and that does not help progress
- Parents are rethinking their children’s education
- Online learning is much more effective
- Parents want their children to be independent and to know how to handle technology
[13:57] - Perspective of governments
- Latin American geography is complex and there is not much internet access
- Political instability affects education
- Crack the Code helps children in public schools through foundations and NGOs

The Role of Parents and Schools

[17:25] - Why is childhood the best stage for learning to program?
- A child is a blank canvas. They have no paradigms or biases
- At school, a rigid mindset is often created in children
- Programming is a great tool for solving problems in thousands of ways
- When learning a language or learning to program, children do not even realize they are learning
[20:35] - How to prepare children for the future?
- Now, it is necessary to be learning all the time
- Children need to apply what they learn, not only memorize information
- Parents have the power to expose their children to new experiences
[24:52] - Are schools aware of the need to educate in technology?
- Schools are comfortable with their content and curricula
- For schools, it is costly to retrain their teachers
- Teachers teach the same thing every year
- It is complex to align the expectations of parents, students, administrators, and teachers
- Competency-based education will become more important
[31:20] - Children’s interest in learning science and math
- Programming is cross-cutting
- Math is intimidating for children, but it teaches them a lot
- It is important that teachers know how to teach these topics well

Founding Crack the Code as a Solo Founder

[37:02] - The decision to found alone
- For funds, it is risky to invest in companies with a single founder
- “Better alone than in bad company”
- A large share of startups fail because of conflicts between founders
- Having a partner is like having a marriage
[41:57] - Look for partners or start on your own?
- Looking for a cofounder is a job
- You should not devote yourself only to looking for a partner
- Building a network of contacts is good, but it is not the most important thing
[44:09] - Encouraging entrepreneurship in children
- It is necessary to be proactive about it
- Exposing children to this environment is crucial
- Inviting children to explore and try different hobbies

Tweet Round

[47:51] -
- Recommended book: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
- Changes in Latin America’s startup ecosystem: that there not be so many stigmas or pressures to start a company
- Founder to interview: Courtney McColgan, of Runa

Episode Mentions

You can find María on LinkedIn

Recommended book: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Founders to interview: Courtney McColgan, of Runa (Listen to the episode with Courtney here)

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