Leo Grand is a coder who developed the mobile app "Trees for Cars."[1]

Leo Grand
Other namesJourneyman
Occupationcoder
EmployerMetLife (until 2011)
Notable workTrees for Cars app

Grand lost his job at MetLife in 2011, as well as his home, being forced on his own in New York City.[2][3] In August 2013, while homeless, he was offered the choice between $100 or coding lessons, by Patrick McConlogue. Grand opted for the lessons.[4]

Grand was able to learn coding, leading to the launch of "Trees for Cars," his own mobile app.[3] The application has the aim of being environmentally beneficial.[5] The app went on sale for $0.99.[6]

In May 2014, a follow-up by Business Insider revealed that Grand, although earning a little under $10,000 from the app, was still homeless.[7] A 2015 follow-up by Mashable found that Grand continues to be homeless. He has less enthusiasm in coding, but wants to get back into it someday.[8]

References

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  1. ^ "Journeyman". Journeymancourse.com. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  2. ^ Everett, Ross (December 11, 2013). "Homeless Man Learns To Code, Launches App". SourceFed. YouTube. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  3. ^ a b Neal, Ryan W. (December 11, 2013). "Meet Leo Grand: Homeless Man Releases 'Trees For Cars' Mobile App After 16 Weeks Of Coding Lessons [VIDEO]". International Business Times. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  4. ^ Berkman, Fran (December 10, 2013). "Homeless 'Journeyman Hacker' Launches Eco-Friendly Mobile App". Mashable. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  5. ^ Moss, Caroline (December 10, 2013). "Leo The Homeless Coder Finished His App, And You Can Download It Right Now". Business Insider. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  6. ^ Billington, James (December 11, 2013). "Homeless man learns code on streets and launches his own app, Trees for Cars". News.com. Retrieved December 11, 2013.
  7. ^ Moss, Caroline (May 27, 2014). "8 Months After Learning To Code And Launching An App, Leo The Homeless Coder Is Still Homeless". Business Insider. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  8. ^ Consunji, Bianca (April 5, 2015). "One year later, the homeless coder is still living on the streets". Mashable. Retrieved August 2, 2022.