📅This fact may be outdated
The core fact is accurate - this event did happen in 2013. However, the fact uses present tense ('is available to download') which is no longer true. The 'Trees for Cars' app was removed from app stores years ago as Leo Grand stopped paying for server space. The last substantive updates from 2014-2015 showed Grand was still homeless despite earning ~$10,000 from the app. No current information about Leo Grand's situation is available.
A young programmer offered a homeless man the choice between $100 cash or coding lessons. Leo Grand chose the lessons, and now his first mobile app is available to download for $.99.
Homeless Man Chose Coding Lessons Over Cash—What Happened
In August 2013, Patrick McConlogue walked past the same homeless man every day on his way to work in New York City. For five months, he'd seen 37-year-old Leo Grand sitting on the sidewalk. But one day, McConlogue stopped and made an unusual offer: $100 in cash, or coding lessons. Grand chose the lessons.
What happened next became one of the internet's most viral feel-good stories—and a cautionary tale about the limits of bootstrap solutions to homelessness.
The 109-Day Crash Course
McConlogue delivered on his promise. He gave Grand a Samsung Chromebook with 3G connectivity, three JavaScript books, a solar charger, and a protective case. Every morning before work, the 23-year-old programmer spent an hour teaching Grand to code.
Grand, a former MetLife employee who'd lost his job in 2011, threw himself into learning. He supplemented McConlogue's lessons with Codecademy courses. Just 16 weeks later, in December 2013, he released "Trees for Cars"—a carpooling app designed to connect drivers and riders while tracking CO2 emissions saved.
The app launched on iOS and Android for $0.99. Media outlets around the world covered the story. It seemed like a modern fairy tale: homelessness solved through tech skills and determination.
The Reality Check
Eight months after the app's release, Business Insider checked in on Grand. He'd earned nearly $10,000 from the app and crowdfunding—but he was still homeless. He hadn't touched most of the money, continuing to attend coding classes at TurnToTech a few days a week.
By 2015, follow-ups found Grand still without housing and less enthusiastic about coding. The Trees for Cars app had disappeared from app stores—Grand stopped paying for the server space needed to keep it running.
What Went Wrong?
Grand's story highlights a harsh truth: homelessness isn't just a skills gap problem. He'd had a career at MetLife before losing his apartment when rising rents priced him out after luxury high-rises went up in his neighborhood.
- Mental health support
- Affordable housing availability
- Stable infrastructure (mailing address, consistent internet, safe workspace)
- Social safety nets during transitions
Learning to code in 109 days is impressive. Building a functional app while homeless is remarkable. But without addressing the systemic issues that create and perpetuate homelessness, even viral success stories don't always have happy endings.
The "Trees for Cars" app is gone. No recent information exists about where Leo Grand is today or whether he ever found stable housing. What remains is a story that's simultaneously inspiring and sobering—a reminder that individual charity, while well-intentioned, rarely solves structural problems.