The Nerdery powers down, exiting Kansas City in move to consolidate investments
January 17, 2019 | Austin Barnes
Once topping Inc. Magazine’s fastest-growing companies list, The Nerdery is now pulling back — closing its Kansas City office and redirecting the paths of 28 metro employees, the company revealed this week.
“This decision is by no means a reflection of the performance of the team in Kansas City, who have all done a fantastic job,” said Mark Malmberg, Nerdery communication director.
A need to consolidate strategic investments in the The Nerdery’s Chicago, Phoenix, and Twin Cities offices formed the basis for the Kansas City closure, Malmberg said, noting six of the company’s Kansas City employees are expected to relocate to other Nerdery offices or enroll in its work from home program. An additional 22 Kansas City workers will be provided with severance pay and placement support as part of the pullout, he said.
“We’ve enjoyed the opportunity to work with some great people here, both clients and colleagues alike. Kansas City is a great city. We’ll hold onto strong lasting relationships and continue serving clients here,” Malmberg reflected.
Photo by the Nerdery
Founded in 2003, The Nerdery — a digital consultancy agency that provides strategy, design, and technology resources, event space, and other services — first arrived in Kansas City in 2012, Malmberg noted.
Despite closing its Kansas City office, The Nerdery remains a profitable business with potential for aggressive reinvestment of profits into new areas of strategic growth, Malmberg said.
“We’re investing in areas where we intend to grow, including platform modernization, IoT, data sciences and cloud services. We’ll continue serving clients nationwide from our offices in Chicago, Phoenix and the Twin Cities,” he said.
As The Nerdery exits Kansas City, another concept from the minds behind the company — Prime Digital Academy — is expected to open its doors to a cohort of local students in March, said Mark Hurlburt, Prime Digital Academy president and CEO.
Click here to learn more about the Kansas City launch of Prime Digital Academy.
“Prime is really excited to be setting up our campus in Kansas City, ironically some of the things that likely contributed to Nerdery’s decision to focus its growth elsewhere are what makes us feel that the market [in Kansas City] is a great fit,” Hurlburt said. “The extremely competitive talent market and the high demand for developers are the ideal conditions to get the local tech industry to embrace new talent ready to contribute to growth here in Kansas City.”
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