Interview with Lee Beom-gyu, CEO of Team Sparta
Preference for Hiring New Developers Amid Investment Market Contraction
Coding Education Enthusiasm Still Strong
Half of 'KAIST Jungle' Join 'Naver, Kakao, Line, Coupang, Baemin'
[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] "Previously, companies hired five experienced developers, but now the trend is to hire 2-3 fresh graduates and 2-3 experienced developers. This means more opportunities are opening up for non-major fresh developers."
At the headquarters in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Lee Beom-gyu, CEO of TeamSparta, said that recent contractions in the venture and startup investment market have brought changes to IT developer recruitment. Companies prefer hiring fresh graduates over high-salary experienced developers to reduce labor costs. Lee said, "The decrease in developers' market value mainly concerns senior-level developers; fresh graduates are hardly affected," adding, "As more people around me switch to development careers, the perception of 'maybe I should try too' has emerged, so the enthusiasm for coding education has not diminished."
TeamSparta is a coding education startup established in April 2019. It is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the developer training boom triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Its revenue grew from 10 billion KRW in 2021 to 25 billion KRW last year. This year, the goal is 50 billion KRW. As of the first half of last year, it was a 'profitable' startup with an operating profit margin of 30%.
TeamSparta operates 'Sparta Coding Club,' an online coding course for non-majors. Despite the relatively high entry barrier typical of coding education, the course completion rate approaches 90%. Lee explained, "In humanities, if you find something difficult, you can sometimes understand it through context, but with coding, if you get stuck, you can't move forward," adding, "We provide immediate Q&A to resolve stuck points, and managers personally call students who are slow in progress to motivate them."
The company's name hints at a 'rigorous(?)' lecture system. TeamSparta created the developer academy 'KAIST Jungle' in 2020 in collaboration with KAIST and Krafton. This is a non-degree program where about 60 students undergo a five-month residential bootcamp in a Spartan style to be reborn as developers. Most are non-majors. Their passion for education is so high that they focus 80-90 hours per week solely on coding. The 6th batch, recently recruited, is scheduled to start the residential program on the 27th. Lee said, "Half of the Jungle graduates have been employed at so-called 'Nekarakuba' (Naver, Kakao, Line, Coupang, Baedal Minjok)," adding, "Many have gained experience at Series A stage startups before moving to Nekarakuba."
As the reputation of TeamSparta alumni as 'competent workers' spreads in the industry, many companies compete to secure outstanding students. To meet this demand, TeamSparta launched 'Intellipick' in June last year, a developer recruitment platform connecting job seekers and companies. Over 1,000 companies, including Toss, Today’s House, and Woowa Brothers, are partners. Lee said, "We provide coaching on resumes and interviews and offer scoring to companies so that capable people are hired regardless of academic background or major," adding, "The platform is open not only to TeamSparta alumni but also to general job seekers."
Recently, an era has dawned where even non-coders can easily create applications through drag-and-drop methods using AI chatbots like 'ChatGPT,' which writes code based on simple requirements, as well as no-code and low-code tools. Does this mean learning coding will no longer be necessary? Lee responded, "Just as the advent of self-driving cars doesn't immediately eliminate the need to drive, for the next 20-30 years, people with some coding skills will be better valued," and confidently stated, "Even when ChatGPT and no-code tools become fully commercialized, existing developers will probably be the biggest beneficiaries."
TeamSparta also offers entrepreneurship education for office workers through the startup bootcamp 'Chang.' It is a three-month course held only on weekends to allow participants to focus on their main jobs. Many in their 20s and 30s dreaming of starting a business after quitting their jobs attend. TeamSparta directly invests in teams with outstanding ideas after course completion and supports incubation and follow-up investment connections. Lee said, "70% of the students come with the serious intention of quitting their jobs, so the enthusiasm is intense," adding, "There are cases of successful startups founded based on ideas learned in Chang."
This year, TeamSparta plans to focus on global business. Following its entry into Indonesia in 2021, it plans to expand into Japan, Europe, and other markets. Lee said, "Japan was the only developed country where the wage gap between developers and non-developers was almost nonexistent, but the atmosphere has changed significantly after COVID-19," adding, "As developer demand grows worldwide, the related education market will also expand."
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