V.C. firm backs Ybor computer coders with $5.4M

YBOR CITY — OmniElite Financial Group, a venture capital firm, has announced it will invest $5.4 million over four years in a female-owned computer coding boot camp in Ybor City. Founded by Virginia Barnett, Phuong Nguyen Cotey and Deborah Alvarez Neff, gr8code offers focused training sessions on WordPress, front-end and backend Web/application development and similar programming classes for kids.

gr8code teaches HTML, CSS, JavaScript and associated server-side technology out of a bungalow in Ybor City.

“This funding is substantial and will help us expand our programs faster and broaden our reach,” says Barnett, CEO of gr8code, in a press release. “This funding, which we believe is the largest ever in Florida awarded to a women-owned business, puts us on the map and further positions our market as a tech attractor, which is an economic driver for our community.”