LaunchCode organizers quickly found more than 100 companies willing to hire apprentices, but they rejected most of the 500 would-be programmers who applied. “We are being somewhat selective,” Lind said.

In an attempt to increase the pool of applicants, LaunchCode started an introductory programming course in January. Lind said at least 250 people are taking the class, down from about 800 who attended an introductory meeting. Some will be ready for apprenticeships when they finish the course this spring, he said, and others will require more training.

Until it can place more people in programming jobs, LaunchCode remains a big experiment. Harrell is just one of its data points, but definitely a positive one. “I told them I was looking for something small and fast-paced, and that’s where they placed me,” he says.

Food Essentials has gone from three employees in 2012, when it moved here from Chicago as an Arch Grants winner, to 17 full-timers now.

It has raised $800,000 in capital and has landed an important contract with the Food and Drug Administration.

If playing poker once seemed like a fun career, Harrell says being part of an entrepreneurial company is even better.

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