Startup Institute brings its tech training to Armenia

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Startup Institute is taking its curriculum to Armenia and Belgium, through a licensing deal instead. Microsoft will pay for the rights to use the institute’s training program for the tech giant’s Innovation Centers in those two countries, The Boston Globe reports.

The Boston-based training center closed its Chicago location a year ago. CEO Rich DiTieri says the institute was spread too thin at the time.

“If we want to expand and grow beyond Boston and New York and help people get access into the tech ecosystem in the digital economy, this is probably the most efficient way for us to do it,” DiTieri says. “This kind of model allows us to go to all those places and start training those folks just like we do here in Boston, without having to raise millions of dollars.”

One of DiTieri’s main goals is to develop a sustainable business model for the institute, a for-profit venture backed by Silicon Valley Bank, the local VC firm Accomplice, and angel investor Walt Winshall.

Startup Institute says it offers courses, and programs built to give people the skills, mindset, and network to build careers they love, doing work that matters, with innovative local companies.