Austen Allred
Born 1989 · Age 36
Founder and CEO of Lambda School / Bloom Institute of Technology (BloomTech). Entrepreneur from Springville, Utah; launched Lambda School (later BloomTech) offering income-share agreements and online coding education; previously co-founded Grasswire and authored Secret Sauce.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Springville, Utah
Austen Allred was born and raised in Springville, Utah in a family-oriented Mormon community.
Assigned to Mormon mission in Eastern Ukraine
At ~19, Allred served a mission in Ukraine (first city Gorlovka), an intensive formative experience he cites as influential.
Returned to the U.S.; attended college then dropped out
After his mission Allred enrolled in college but ultimately left school to pursue tech and startups.
Moved to Silicon Valley and lived in his car while learning to code
Allred moved to the Bay Area, taught himself to code and slept in his two-door Civic while building skills and networking.
Worked as a growth engineer at a Silicon Valley startup
Broke into tech as a growth engineer, gaining product and growth experience that later informed his education model.
Worked at LendUp (senior manager role)
Allred served as a senior manager at LendUp (lending/financial services), gaining experience in credit and structured finance.
Social team lead at Stryde
Held role as social team lead at Stryde (growth/marketing role).
Part of founding team at Stubtopia
Allred was involved with the founding team at Stubtopia (early-stage project/startup involvement).
Co-founded Grasswire
Allred co-founded media platform Grasswire prior to launching Lambda School.
Co-authored Secret Sauce (growth hacking book)
Published Secret Sauce, a best-selling growth-hacking textbook which provided early seed money and visibility.
First child born
Allred's first child was born before he launched Lambda School; he cites fatherhood as a major influence.
Launched Lambda School (later Bloom Institute of Technology)
Founded Lambda School in 2017, an outcomes-focused coding school offering income share agreements (ISAs) and deferred tuition.
Participated in Y Combinator while living in his car
Allred participated in Y Combinator and built Lambda School during this accelerator experience, often while sleeping in his car.
Introduced zero-upfront tuition via Income Share Agreements
Lambda School popularized the ISA model where students pay nothing upfront and reimburse after getting a qualifying job.
Raised Seed funding (~$4M) post-YC
Lambda School raised approximately $4,000,000 in a seed financing round after Y Combinator to scale operations.
Raised additional ~$14M (Series A)
Reported subsequent round of about $14,000,000 (often cited as Series A) to expand student capacity and ISA program.
Raised ~$30M Series B
Lambda School raised approximately $30,000,000 in a Series B to fund growth and ISA-backed lending strategies.
Raised ~$75M Series C
Lambda School completed a Series C round of roughly $75,000,000, bringing total reported capital raised into the tens of millions (figures vary by source).
Shift toward operational cash-flow focus
After Series C (early 2020) leadership pivoted to approach operational cash-flow positivity and re-evaluate high burn growth strategies.
Moved back to Utah and began remote work (pre-COVID)
Allred moved back to his hometown in Utah prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and transitioned to remote work.
Co-built backend program with Amazon (partnership)
BloomTech/Lambda partnered with Amazon to co-build a backend curriculum/program, with Amazon intending to hire many graduates.
Reported: just over 1,000 grads hired in 2021
Company reported just over 1,000 graduates hired into new roles in 2021 with a median income increase of about $27,000 per graduate.
Public profile and media coverage increases
Allred and Lambda School/BloomTech featured in HBR, The Economist, WIRED, Fast Company, TechCrunch, and NYT for education innovation.
Expressed vision to scale internationally and across industries
Allred publicly articulated BloomTech's vision to provide zero-upfront pathways to well-paying jobs globally and beyond tech.
Featured on NFX podcast and other prominent startup media
Allred participated in an NFX podcast (Apr 2021) and other interviews describing the ISA model and education reform views.
Allegations of deceptive practices and illegal lending emerge
Reports and investigations alleged Lambda School deceived students about costs, inflated graduate hiring rates, and engaged in illegal lending practices.
Layoffs and cost-cutting at Lambda School
Company undertook several rounds of layoffs and cost reductions amid business and legal pressures.
Transitioned business model away from ISA-heavy bootcamp model
Following financial/legal issues and restructurings, the company pivoted strategy away from the original ISA bootcamp model toward MOOC-style offerings and traditional student loan products.
Rebranded / operated as Bloom Institute of Technology (BloomTech)
Lambda School operated under the Bloom Institute of Technology / BloomTech identity and emphasized new product/financing approaches.
Reported shift to massive open online course (MOOC) model
Company scaled toward a MOOC-like product offering, moving away from intensive cohort-based ISA enrollment in parts of the business.
Founded/Launched Gauntlet AI intensive training initiative
Allred announced Gauntlet AI — a free, intensive AI training program that flew students to events and covered expenses; thousands applied.
Investments and angel activity (Perplexity, HUNTY, Loops)
Listed as investor in several startups including Perplexity, HUNTY, and Loops (Angel investing activity reported).
Public scrutiny and regulatory attention continue
Company continued to face scrutiny over past claims, outcomes data, and financing practices while operating under the BloomTech brand.
Ongoing public speaking and thought leadership on education reform
Allred remained an active public voice on permissionless learning, cohort education, and alternatives to traditional college in podcasts and interviews.
Father of two and fluent in Russian
Personal profile note: Allred is a father of two and professionally fluent in Russian; both fatherhood and mission experience influenced his career choices.
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