Part memoir, part business book, part brazen showboating, theCoderBros Go to White Castle is the enlightening story of Hansel and Wayne, two best friends who transformed their passion for coding into a thriving lifestyle business. Growing up as Asian-Americans in white America, they each navigated cultural challenges before eventually meeting in San Francisco. There, they began their up-and-down adventures that culminated in theCoderSchool, a national franchise business that teaches kids to code.
Foregoing the Silicon Valley ideology of “go big or die trying,” Hansel and Wayne don’t see theCoderSchool as their ticket to big money, but as a means to have great experiences. In this book, they offer an insider’s perspective on not only how to build a company that rewards you with a great lifestyle, but how to define the success that comes from it. Alongside business insights, Hansel and Wayne share personal anecdotes—from their single days in the Asian club scene to launching a punk rock cover band during the dot-com bust to meeting celebrities at NBA games, bringing humor and humanity to their professional Journey.
More than a business memoir or an Asian-American success story, this book is a light-hearted look at how two best friends worked together to build a lifestyle they’ve always wanted. It’s about the decisions that built a successful franchising business and the people they’ve met along the way. It’s about how theCoderBros got to their White Castle.
Hansel spent much of his early career in the high tech corporate world in and out of Silicon Valley, and struck out on his own in 2011. From running his own rock music school for kids as a franchisee to developing Bay Area real estate, Hansel dabbled in a few things before founding theCoderSchool in 2014. He's fluent in Cantonese (can fake it with Mandarin), is a published co-author (with Wayne) of two children's coding books, and is an avid endurance athlete, having run the Western States 100 Mile race, and is currently an active Ironman triathlete. Hansel currently lives in Palo Alto with his uber-supportive wife Lisa and three awesome kids. Hansel is responsible for company strategy, branding, technology, and franchising, and can be reached at hansel@thecoderschool.com.
Wayne graduated from WashU in St. Louis (same as Hansel so it must be the best university in the world) with an EE degree and also has a masters in computer engineering from the University of Southern California. He has a vast amount of software experience in both large companies such as Oracle, TRW Space & Defense, and Cambridge Technology Partners as well as many smaller start-ups ranging from 2-200 employees. He played varsity tennis at WashU and still enjoys it as well as other sports such as golf and basketball, but rarely gets to play. Wayne currently lives in San Mateo with his wife Winnie and two daughters, Ella and Emma. Wayne handles support for all locations, and manages curriculum and technical platforms for the system. He can be reached at wayne@thecoderschool.com.
