# Startup Institute

> Startup Institute was a Boston-founded, for-profit career accelerator combining technical training, startup workplace skills, mentorship and employer introductions. Founded in 2012, it taught web development, design, marketing and sales through full-time and later part-time programs, expanded overseas and licensed curriculum. The original bootcamp is listed as closed; its current website announces a re-engineered Silicon Valley initiative with a 2026 teaser.

- **Founded:** 2012
- **Headquarters:** Boston, United States
- **Founders:** Aaron O’Hearn (Co-founder; founding CEO), Shaun Johnson (Co-founder), Katie Rae (Co-founder; chairperson), Reed Sturtevant (Co-founder)
- **Products:** Full-Time Immersive Program / SI Core, RampUp, Part-Time Immersive Programs, Talent Expo and Career Coaching, Curriculum Licensing
- **Notable:** Launched in Boston in 2012 and expanded to New York and Chicago in 2013, then London and Berlin in 2014., Raised a reported $4.3 million across two 2014 rounds., More than 1,500 graduates reported by MIT News in February 2017.

## Products & services

- **Full-Time Immersive Program / SI Core** — Historical eight-week career accelerator with web development, web design/product and design, technical/digital marketing, and sales/account management tracks; shared workplace and career training.
- **RampUp** — Introductory part-time skills classes, including web design, technical marketing and Ruby development, offered as a lower-commitment entry point.
- **Part-Time Immersive Programs** — Historical 12-week evening and weekend programs with practical projects, career mentorship and post-course coaching.
- **Talent Expo and Career Coaching** — Graduate pitches to employers, mentor introductions and job-search support; part-time graduates were offered two further months of coaching in 2017.
- **Curriculum Licensing** — Reported 2017 agreement for Microsoft Innovation Centers in Belgium and Armenia to use Startup Institute training.

## Achievements

- Launched in Boston in 2012 and expanded to New York and Chicago in 2013, then London and Berlin in 2014.
- Raised a reported $4.3 million across two 2014 rounds.
- More than 1,500 graduates reported by MIT News in February 2017.
- Developed an employer-facing Talent Expo and practitioner mentoring model.
- Added part-time immersive training and reported international curriculum licensing in 2017.

## Latest updates

- **2019-08** — Massachusetts settlement addressed allegations of inaccurate placement-rate disclosures, missing advance disclosures and excessive prospective-student contacts; SI admitted no wrongdoing. Terms required $275,000 paid to the AGO and institutional-debt forgiveness capped at $50,000.
- **2026-10** — Research check: Course Report and SwitchUp list the original bootcamp as closed. The live company website announces a re-engineered Silicon Valley initiative and says to stay tuned in 2026; its homepage bundle was inspected directly. This is a teaser, not verification of resumed courses.

## Links

- Website: https://www.startupinstitute.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/startup-institute
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/startupinst
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startupinstitute/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/startupinst

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/startup-institute
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-04