# James Stapleton

> James Stapleton is the co-founder and CEO of Codefi, an organization connecting technology training, startup support and economic development. A former entrepreneurship professor at Southeast Missouri State University, he helped start Codefi in Cape Girardeau in 2014 and relocated to Springfield in 2023 to help lead its regional expansion.

- **Role:** Co-founder & CEO at Codefi
- **Organizations:** Codefi, Codefi Foundation on Rural Innovation, Southern Missouri Innovation Network, Southeast Missouri State University (former faculty)
- **Education:** Ph.D., Human Resource Development, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, MBA, Business, Southern New Hampshire University, MS, Business Education, Southern New Hampshire University, BS, Organizational Management and Leadership, Friends University
- **Known for:** Co-founded Codefi in 2014., Helped build a regional partnership with Missouri State University’s efactory., Codefi reported supporting 60+ startups and training 600+ people by February 2026; these are organizational results.

## Career timeline

- **Age 18** — Started his first company.
- **2006-2016** — Served as an entrepreneurship professor at Southeast Missouri State University.
- **2014** — Co-founded Codefi; its Cape Girardeau coworking space and technology incubator opened in November.
- **2015** — Codefi hosted Startup Weekend and introduced the 1ST50K startup competition.
- **2022** — Codefi and Missouri State University’s efactory partnered on Innovate SOMO.
- **2023** — Relocated to Springfield to help lead Codefi’s southwest Missouri expansion.
- **2024** — Codefi and efactory launched the $2 million Innovate SOMO Funds.
- **2026** — Codefi relaunched AI-native programs statewide with national offerings.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Codefi in 2014.
- Helped build a regional partnership with Missouri State University’s efactory.
- Codefi reported supporting 60+ startups and training 600+ people by February 2026; these are organizational results.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Published Make Missouri AI-Ready, connecting workforce constraints with a case for accessible applied-AI training.
- **2026-02** — Announced Codefi’s AI-native program relaunch and statewide availability, alongside national offerings.
- **2025-05** — Reflected on Codefi’s next chapter after co-founder Chris Carnell stepped down at the end of 2024.

## Links

- Website: https://codefiworks.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drjamesstapleton

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/james-stapleton
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-22