How the Tech Council of Delaware is supporting the state’s tech ecosystem

Technical.ly is a free news resource thanks to financial supporters like Tech Council of Delaware, a Technical.ly client, which sponsored this article. It was reviewed before publication. Learn more about Tech Council of Delaware here. This article was originally published as part of the Tech Council Chronicle magazine.

Filling a Tech Ecosystem Gap

Delaware native Ben duPont, venture capitalist and co-founder of Zip Code Wilmington, is dually invested in the state’s burgeoning tech scene. His bootcamp organization is both a a workforce training provider and a member of the Tech Council of Delaware.

“For Delaware to have a bright future, it needs to stay relevant,” duPont said. “And what’s relevant is tech. The future is coding.”

Ten years ago, duPont saw a glaring gap in Delaware’s labor market: Companies had a
growing need for tech talent, but there was a shortage of software developers.

By 2015, he worked with other local leaders to create Zip Code Wilmington — a nonprofit coding bootcamp that provides affordable training for students and career changers looking to become software developers and data engineers.

“It was a bigger success than we expected,” duPont said. “We’re coming up on 700 grads now, 80% of whom work in Delaware, all earning over $100,000, two years after graduation.”

The startup launched almost a century after his grandfather, Pierre S. duPont, during a period of legal segregation, donated six million dollars to build over 100 schools for Black and Indigenous students so that they would have access to quality education.

“But Zip Code is only one cog in a big wheel,” duPont said. “It’s critical that there are other cogs. That’s why the Tech Council of Delaware’s work is so important. We need places where everyone can gather, collaborate and thrive.”

Building upon duPont’s efforts, the Council continues to strategically fill gaps in Delaware’s tech ecosystem.

Stakeholder leadership

In October 2020, JPMorgan Chase & Co. commissioned a report titled “Delaware’s IT Talent Strategy: A Roadmap for Building an Inclusive Tech Workforce.”

Published through Delaware Prosperity Partnership, the report laid important groundwork for the Tech Council of Delaware’s strategic focus during its 3-year start-up phase. Recognizing that a startup entity like a tech council needs sustainable funding to operate, JPMorgan Chase & Co., along with a handful of other investors, made a multiyear financial commitment to launch the council within Rodel.

Contributing towards strengthening the state’s tech ecosystem, the firm engaged in business convenings held by the governor about the state’s tech workforce, served on the Tech Leaders Roundtable committee, hired countless tech bootcamp and college graduates from local programs, and recently announced plans to expand its branch footprint in Delaware. In addition to these significant efforts, JPMorgan Chase & Co. is the largest private sector employer of tech talent in Delaware.

“As we continue to develop Delaware’s tech ecosystem, strong relationships between companies, educators, and talent suppliers will help us build a strong, supportive community for technologists,” said Jennifer McDermott, JP Morgan Chase’s global technology hiring transformation and higher education engagement lead.

“Our collaboration as part of the Tech Council of Delaware helps us provide professional development opportunities such as networking, knowledge sharing, and upskilling as industry needs shift. This unification, supported by marketing initiatives to help spread the word, has helped us get to where we are now and will be essential as we continue to strengthen the local tech community.”

The Tech Council of Delaware was tasked with increasing Delaware’s position and perception as a tech hub in the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond.

“Delaware is increasingly seen as an emerging tech hub nationally,” McDermott said. “Growing industries, like healthcare and advanced manufacturing, have a rising demand for IT professionals. A few hours from Boston, DC, New York City, and Baltimore, Wilmington, Delaware is positioned perfectly for growth of innovation and technology in the years to come. However, there is a need for employers to come together with government and communities to build an inclusive tech talent pipeline that will meet the increasing need for talent. When we all come together via the Tech Council of Delaware, we can achieve a greater impact.”

A greater impact is certainly what the Tech Council of Delaware, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and other tech stakeholders aim to achieve for the many businesses and workers that call the First State home.

A Technologist’s Perspective

Having played a role in the strategy behind Pittsburgh’s thriving tech ecosystem — a well-known tech hub led by the Pittsburgh Tech Council with thousands of members — Stephanie Eldridge knows more than a few things about the importance of a strong tech council. 

The Pittsburgh native lent her expertise to the Tech Council of Delaware, leveraging her experiences as a tech culture influencer, veteran technologist (Booz Allen Hamilton, JPMorgan Chase), and co-founder and CEO of Code Differently, offered valuable insights and guidance as a member of the Council’s 2022 Advisory Board.

“It takes all of us working together in order to build the talent, the ecosystem and the lifestyle that will attract tech companies to our area,” Eldridge said. “If we’re all going on the same journey, we have to be willing to go in the same direction.” 

As the Council’s first tech advisor, her contribution to Delaware’s rising tech ecosystem began when she joined the hiring panel to select the Council’s inaugural executive director. She went on to serve as one of four advisors responsible for guiding the Council’s early work, building a team, and rebranding the organization from the Delaware IT Industry Council to the Tech Council of Delaware.  

Today, Eldridge remains an active member and partner of the Tech Council of Delaware, advocating for tech meet-ups and hack-a-thons. For her incredible work so far, she was awarded the Council’s ‘2023 Workforce Provider Member of the Year’ at its annual year-end Thanks-A-Brunch Celebration. 

“I want people to understand that the Tech Council is not just another organization, it’s a verb,” Eldridge said. “It’s about taking action to build a better tech ecosystem for Delaware and doing the work to grow it.”

See the full Tech Council Chronicle publication here.