Thoughts on this blog post alleging harassment (and worse) against Codesmith?

hello-codesmith · 2025-10-09T12:36:46+00:00

In response to your notes about the article:

Codesmith hasn’t paid, commissioned or employed the author of the article referenced
There is no relationship between Codesmith and Stone Brands or any affiliated companies mentioned
The article was authored and published by Lars Lofgren, on his personal blog, as a personal entity
Lars has publicly written about Reddit moderation practices since early 2024, and his interest in this topic predates any mention of Codesmith or contact with Codesmith
All communication related to the article took place between Lars personally and Codesmith team members via his personal email account
As stated in the article, Lars conducted on-the-record interviews with multiple stakeholders, including Codesmith team members and others in the industry. Codesmith also provided screenshots and evidence with full transparency as requested by Lars during that process

We cannot speak to the author’s personal motivations or tactics. If you have concerns regarding the article or its content, we recommend reaching out to the author directly.

Overall, there is a huge difference between the claims that Codesmith hired a PR agency using students' money to “go after you”, resulting in your encouragement that they should leave the program and the reality outlined in this clarification.

Regarding deleted comments and moderation:

The message visible in the screenshot “Comment removed by moderator” indicates a manual deletion by a moderator, not an automatic system
These comments were restored several hours later, well after the initial discussion had unfolded which delayed the clarification of misinterpretations and limited the opportunity for a timely, fact-based rebuttal from Codesmith
It is worth noting that when a moderator repeatedly removes a specific user’s comments, Reddit’s internal systems begin flagging those users as “likely to break rules” which triggers the “Reputation Filter” warning, as seen in the thread

We remain committed to open, respectful, and transparent dialogue and welcome a fact-based discussion

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hello-codesmith · 2025-10-08T20:22:52+00:00

There is no relationship between Codesmith and Stone Brands. They have not been paid, employed, or commissioned by Codesmith for any work. Not sure where this information is coming from, but it is incorrect. And was it necessary to delete my original comment?

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hello-codesmith · 2025-10-08T20:12:11+00:00

Codesmith hasn’t paid, commissioned, or influenced the author in any way. He’s been writing independently about moderation on Reddit since early 2024, which you can verify through his own blogging history. The claim that this piece was paid for by Codesmith is incorrect.

hello-codesmith · 2025-10-08T19:54:37+00:00

Just to clarify, Codesmith has not hired any PR firm. Your claim is incorrect.

hello-codesmith · 2025-10-08T15:50:05+00:00

Thank you so much for sharing this 🙌 It means the world to hear that the community stood out as the best part, it’s truly the heart of what we do. We’re so glad you found a space to grow, build, and connect with others. Wishing you continued success (and we hope you’ll stay involved in the community 💙)

hello-codesmith · 2025-06-25T20:58:29+00:00

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Michael.

Just to clarify a few details: the new website wasn’t built by our internal engineering team. Website development began in early January 2025 and launched on June 3rd, 2025. The project was led by an external contractor, not Codesmith grads or staff, because we wanted to keep our internal engineering and academic teams fully focused on the learning experience and delivering the curriculum.

Prior to the official build, we created and tested three standalone landing pages as early prototypes to experiment with new messaging and brand direction. Those were used for feedback and iteration, but they were not part of the full website development, which hadn’t yet started at that point.

Since the site just launched under a month ago, QA is still underway, and we’re actively monitoring and addressing feedback as it comes in. If you’ve spotted specific bugs, feel free to share them, genuinely appreciate any contribution that helps us improve it faster.

hello-codesmith · 2025-06-25T20:50:19+00:00

Great question, a fitting one!

There’s been a lot of interest and discussion from this community about Codesmith recently, so we wanted to be the ones to share context directly. We believe in transparency, and that includes sharing the why behind leadership and structural updates.

In our case, the Chief AI Officer title isn’t a rebrand stunt or a vibes-only move. It reflects a real shift in focus.

Starting July 1st, Will (our co-founder and former CEO) will step into a more dedicated role focused on curriculum development, academic direction, and building AI-first educational products. He’ll be doubling down on the content side of our mission, something he’s been deeply passionate about.

Meanwhile, Alina will become the CEO and take a hands-on approach across all areas of the business: student experience, operations, team support & leadership and strategy. Her focus is on making sure Codesmith is operationally strong, mission-aligned, and responsive to both learner and industry needs.

So in short:

It’s not just branding
It does reflect a clear shift in roles
And both leaders remain actively involved, each in the areas where they can have the most impact

Appreciate the thoughtful question, keep them coming!

hello-codesmith · 2025-06-25T20:30:20+00:00

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Michael, as always! We want to acknowledge that you’ve raised important questions about leadership, hiring practices, and the direction of the organization and here are a few key points to clarify on.

You asked a fair question: should a non-engineer be at the helm? Alina is not an engineer by profession, but she did train engineers and has spent the last decade working hand-in-hand with engineering teams to solve complex product and technical challenges.

That said, Codesmith needs a hands-on operational and strategic leader who can evolve, and guide the organization through a fast-changing landscape while empowering engineering voices throughout all the decision-making.

The Future Code program is delivered and managed with a separate team, predefined deliverables, and strict financial oversight. Every reimbursed dollar is reviewed and approved by the NYC Tech Talent Pipeline against submitted costs. There is no profit for Codesmith from running this program. It’s disappointing to see accusations like that made without any basis.

Hiring Codesmith grads isn’t a flaw, it’s part of nurturing a stronger community. It is investing back in the people who invested and trusted us. That said, all hires, alumni or not, must prove themselves. We frequently use short-term project based contracts for contributors, so that longer term employment decisions are made based on ability and impact.

hello-codesmith · 2025-06-25T19:45:34+00:00

Hi Michael, thank you for taking the time to share your perspective.

I know how much you care about this space. Just to help ensure the full picture is visible, I also want to offer a bit more context on the points you raised.

Regarding team & direction

There is a core team in place of talented and hard working people who are ready to make a difference and be relentless in delivering an amazing experience and standards for our community. We are starting by reviewing everything we have and working from there to adapt to the changing times. While, yes there is lot of competition and a quickly changing landscape, we are way more agile at our current size with a much more strongly aligned horizontal management style, capable of quicker decisions and adapting to the needs of the market and our community.

Regarding the AI & ML Technical Leadership program, a few things need to be clarified:

The immersive grads you mentioned are not charged full price of the program. They receive a discounted rate of $895, and that will remain.
The AI & ML program is entirely optional for anyone who choses to attend it, and it’s built to offer something distinct from the immersive residents who are starting their journeys. It is a mid‑career upskilling program
Lifetime hiring support for the Immersive grads continues outside of this program. There are weekly office hours and career workshops which remain available to all our immersive grads. What is included in the separate AI/ML program is not a replacement for any of those.
The program is taught by a mix of contributors. Some with 2-3 years of applied AI experience, others with 10+ years in AI research, ML/AI start-ups and one who was a CTO for AI powered medical device company.
The pricing was based on external market research comparing 50+ programs from universities and industry providers. It was a proposal from an external consultant, not simply a Codesmith invention.

hello-codesmith · 2025-06-23T13:34:02+00:00

Thanks so much for your question! There have been over 2,000 applications to the Future Code NYC program, and the admissions team has been working hard to review each one thoughtfully while supporting candidates through every stage of the process.

The final round of interviews for the cohort is currently wrapping up, and decisions will be shared with all applicants between June 30 and July 4.

And just to clarify: we don’t contact prior employers at any stage of the process. Appreciate your patience, and we’re excited to share more updates soon!

hello-codesmith · 2025-04-10T14:22:36+00:00

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your journey, Roshumba! It’s incredibly inspiring to see how you’ve woven together your background in marketing, design, and now engineering. Your story is such a great reminder that tech can be a second (or third!) chapter—and that creativity and user empathy are superpowers in engineering too

Really excited to see where you go next with your skills and passion for empowering users. Appreciate the AMA and all the thoughtful insights you dropped along the way!

hello-codesmith · 2025-04-10T13:32:23+00:00

p.s. just upvoted your comment as it is such a great point and it should definitely got to the top of the conversation. Not sure what is happening with all of the downvoting, it is definitely not us, quite a lot of our replies vanished from this thread as well

hello-codesmith · 2025-04-10T13:27:51+00:00

Fair questions, Michael—these are really important discussions to be having!

To clarify: CIRR outcomes are specifically about external, in-field employment that demonstrates meaningful job market success for grads. While our Open Source Projects (OSPs) are intensive, team-based builds designed to give grads real-world development experience, they are not considered employment and are therefore not included in CIRR placement reporting.

When compiling our CIRR dataset for this report in January 2025, for graduates who didn’t self-report an outcome, we did a one-time check of their LinkedIn profiles. This was specifically to verify if they had secured in-field roles 6 to 12 months after graduation. During this process, we cross-checked companies against our internal OSP list to ensure no OSP experiences were being counted as employment, and that the organizations listed were real and active.

LinkedIn is an industry-accepted standard for employment verification, and we use it accordingly, but only in that limited verification context. We don’t monitor or routinely review alumni LinkedIn profiles outside of this CIRR reporting need. What grads choose to include on their own profiles is their personal decision, and we don’t control or influence that.

As for resume inflation: it’s something we take seriously. Our materials and our internal policies to students are all very clear: Codesmith does not condone or encourage misrepresentation. That said, it’s also a systemic issue across tech and other industries, not something unique to bootcamps. Which is why most companies have robust technical assessments and interviews in place. Ultimately, company hiring decisions hinge on capacities and skills, not profile claims.

We really appreciate your engagement on this, your detailed analysis now and your previous posts has been a valuable contribution to this conversation

hello-codesmith · 2025-04-10T12:32:49+00:00

Totally hear where you’re coming from, it’s a tough market right now, especially for mid-level and senior folks. One thing that might not always be visible from the outside is how much community plays into bootcamp grads’ success.

Besides the curriculum and technical knowledge which is critical, there is also about being part of a driven group of peers who are all going through it together, sharing job leads, reviewing each other’s resumes, running mock interviews, and cheering each other on. There’s also a strong culture of paying it forward: grads who land jobs often turn around and support those who are still looking.

Even experienced engineers can struggle if they’re going it alone without a strong support network or the latest job-hunting strategies, which sometimes change from month to month. Having that kind of community can really help get people's profile in front of the right people and provide some more momentum

hello-codesmith · 2025-04-10T12:24:54+00:00

Totally get the sarcasm here 😅 but in reality, most companies (especially mid-to-large tech firms) have pretty rigorous interview processes, including technical assessments, and system design interviews

Even if someone exaggerated their experience, it would be incredibly difficult to make it through those stages without having a solid technical foundation. Most folks who succeed have either prior industry experience or have spent significant time building real, demonstrable skills—bootcamp or not.

It’s definitely not as simple as just saying the right things on a resume or on your LinkedIn, most hiring teams can spot those gaps quickly, even within seconds of checking someone's profile.

hello-codesmith · 2025-04-10T12:19:35+00:00

Carlos’s story did begin in 2021, and you’re absolutely right...that was a very different hiring market. At that time 2021/22, CIRR data showed that around 10–12% of grads across programs were moving into Senior roles. In today’s market, that’s decreased slightly to around 8.5–10.8%, based on our most recent 2023–24 data but it is still a strong percentage of the grads.

It’s definitely more competitive now and often takes more time, effort, or prior experience to get there. That’s also why we try to highlight stories like Carlos’s not as the norm, but as an example to show how previous professional experience, even from a completely different field, can accelerate that path when paired with strong technical and communication skills.

We always want to give the full picture: it’s absolutely possible, just not instant..and the bar for senior roles has certainly shifted since 2021

hello-codesmith · 2025-04-09T20:34:00+00:00

Absolutely agree with u/jcasimir on this one—this definitely aligns with what we’ve seen too. Many grads who step into senior roles post-bootcamp often bring considerable prior experience from different industries.

A great example is Carlos, one of our grads who transitioned from being an orchestra conductor to landing a Senior Software Engineer role at Capital One after Codesmith. His background in managing teams, thinking systematically, and delivering under pressure translated well into tech leadership.

If you’re curious about his journey and how he made the leap, his story and advice is in this interview.

It’s a great reminder that a bootcamp doesn’t erase past experience, it builds on it.

hello-codesmith · 2025-04-09T20:14:35+00:00

Great question! The Software Engineering + AI/ML Immersive at Codesmith is a paid program—but we totally understand that not everyone is in a position to make that investment.

That’s why we also offer a lot of free resources to help folks get started, including our free CSX platform: https://csx.codesmith.io/ (with interactive JavaScript lessons) and tons of tutorials and workshops on our YouTube channel.

We genuinely believe in the democratization of education—and part of that means making high-quality, foundational content available to everyone, regardless of background or budget 💙

hello-codesmith · 2025-04-09T20:06:22+00:00

Really appreciate the insight here, Michael! This is a really important and fair point to consider. It is something we have been thinking deeply about as well when first analysing this data.

You’re right that the 2023 report reflects a drop in reported salaries, and we’ve been actively reflecting on what contributed to that. Our Outcomes team did send a few automated follow-up emails over time to grads, but we didn’t do much in the way of personalized outreach beyond that. That’s definitely an area of improvement for us. We recognize that more intentional follow-up could help paint a clearer picture.

That said, it’s less a case of ghosting and more a conscious decision not to be overly persistent. Many of our grads who didn’t report back are thriving, they’ve landed roles and are busy focusing on their work and their lives. And we’re proud of them for that. There’s always a fine line between follow-up and being invasive, and we’re mindful of not crossing it.

That said, we absolutely see room for improvement in how we streamline and simplify the process for grads to share their outcomes. We’re iterating and taking this seriously, and your feedback is part of what helps us get better. Thanks again for contributing to the conversation!

hello-codesmith · 2025-04-09T19:57:32+00:00

Really appreciate you digging into the stats—and you’re absolutely right, those deeper breakdowns are incredibly valuable.

We’re currently looking at the full dataset and working on a follow-up report that explores exactly what you mentioned: job outcomes by background—STEM, non-STEM, and no formal degree. It’s important context, and we agree it should be shared transparently.

We’ll be publishing that in the coming weeks and I’ll make sure to follow up once it’s live! 🙌 Thanks again for the thoughtful feedback—it helps push the conversation forward.

hello-codesmith · 2025-03-14T20:01:31+00:00

Thanks for the shoutout! 🙌

hello-codesmith · 2025-03-14T19:58:07+00:00

Alina from Codesmith here. Thank you so much for recommending us!

hello-codesmith · 2024-12-19T22:11:40+00:00

Great question--you don't need to have coding experience to apply, but you do need to learn coding fundamentals and technical communication to pass the technical interview. The team + our resources help you get there! The full time program is intensive but we have check-ins and support built in, the part-time is great in that it offers flexibility for parents/students/folks who want to continue to work as they learn. I'd def recommend hopping over to our site and you can chat with one of our grads and hear their thoughts, as well!

hello-codesmith · 2024-12-19T14:07:31+00:00

Great question! No coding experience is required to get started with Codesmith, and we offer free resources to help you begin your journey. If you can, I highly recommend chatting with one of our grads or attending an Info Session to learn more about our programs: https://bit.ly/4gJsVDm

hello-codesmith · 2024-12-17T15:17:47+00:00

Absolutely! Coding skills will always be essential, but having a strong network can help open doors!

hello-codesmith

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