Back in the young days, I was a real nerd. The one from nerd cartoons and comics. I was so shy, too shy to find a girlfriend. So my biggest love was technology. I was spending days in a computer lab and nights reading science fiction. Then dreaming of how I will change the world, but doing nothing to materialize these dreams.
I studied computer science but had no computer. I wasn’t able to afford one. My parents tried to support me. They did the best they could. I knew how hard it was for them, life seemed so unfair. And I felt like a looser, angry at everyone except me. To make things worse, I messed up a semester at university. I got the last chance — one more semester to sort it out. Or …
This was a “margin call”. I finally understood that this is me, who handles my future. So I decided to get a job. But I was a nerd, I wanted to get a job somehow related to my major.
I was afraid to get a job, never had one before. Even more, I was afraid to start looking for a job. But I forced myself, I had no other choice.
I made a list of small companies, that I thought may need help with computers. Called them all and agreed on a job interview. I felt like I did it already and I have pay-check in my pocket. Unfortunately, I wasn’t a Rock Star. My experience was not existing. And I wasn’t prepared enough. So I failed all the interviews and after two months still had no job.
It was a great lesson for me. I learned that cold calling is a tremendous task. Why someone should believe me? I was an absolute stranger trying to pitch services that they don’t need at all.
The preparation is a key and I was not ready yet.
It’s strange, but after this failure, I wasn’t feeling bad. I forced myself out of my comfort zone. I challenged my shyness. And I already knew what to do next.
I focused on learning skills important for all software development companies. Besides, I decided to learn one extra skill. This skill was not related to computers at all. But the company, I was targeting, needed it deadly.
So I went back to books. I was spending days in the reading room, trying to fix my scores. Then every night I was trying to learn what the market needs. After a month or so I started going to job interviews again. And it’s easy to guess, that I failed all. I started feeling like a loser again, but this time I kept trying. And trying again.
Before Christmas, I got the software developer position at the international company. They were looking for the developers who are good in coding but also knows the German language. And I was one of two guys, who passed the competition. I had something that they needed and it worked out. I sold myself. I was ecstatic.
I was completely independent and believed to myself. As a bonus, I finished the semester with awesome scores.
Dot-Com bubble began… I had lots of cash, no family yet and no obligations. All the time was mine. I was changing jobs and companies like other people change their socks. I and my teammates felt almost like Rock Starts. As a young professional, I felt like it would never change.
And then the bubble burst. Like thunder! In one day, the company I was working for, lost everything — investors, contracts, money. I had no investments in any company, so I had nothing to lose except my lifestyle. Luckily I ended up in a small company developing software for banks, they were small but stable,
I needed this job, to support my lifestyle. I was afraid that I wouldn’t get a new job, cause all my knowledge and experience is not needed anymore. All I knew was how to develop shit for dot-coms. And If it happens I wouldn’t be able to accept it. I still was this shy guy inside.
So I made a plan. I will develop my first project for free and make sure the customer is happy. Later I will get a permanent job at this company.
Easy to say. This was the early days of internet banking. All the systems where separate, closed, without any means for integration. But I accepted the challenge. The task was to make a tool for importing credit card data into the internet banking system. I received no specs and clear requirements. And got only one week to finish my job.
I was struggling with this 4 days with a little or no sleep at all. I felt like a zombie and looked like a drinker. But on Friday morning I had a tool ready for the show. Ant It worked out, we imported a few thousands of credit cards data. The customer was happy, I got paid for the tool, and what’s more important I got a job.
Everything went back to normal. A year later I’ve got married, we’ve got a baby, bought a new apartment. We were living and enjoining our life. I became a manager and started working on more strategic projects.
Everything has a beginning and the end. After a year or so the company merged with the bigger foreign company and things started to go wrong. Most of the profitable projects were moved to abroad. Late salaries became the norm.
So I left for a Japanese Software company. I became a project manager, with a pretty decent salary and a great team of professionals. But I started feeling not in my shoes. In my previous jobs, I was working in a fast-paced environment. We followed the best work practices. The work process was fluent and well documented. But here everything was different — super hierarchical Organization. Tokyo was controlling and endorsing every decision. What irritated me most in this entire situation was the fact that I was spending long hours in the office. Not to have work done, but in case someone from HQ would like to call and control something. Bullshit. It was the first time when I understood the importance of culture and mentality. What was awesome for Japanese, was a total disaster for a young westerner. I became very irritable. Not a gift to my beloved. I was in desperate need for change. Climbing the corporate ladder was no longer my ultimate goal. I didn’t understand the importance of this decision then, but it has made a very big impact on my life later.
We’ve got the project. And while working at hour jobs, we started a software company. We had no fancy long term business plan. Our plan was simple: finish this project and then try to get the next one from the same customer. After it’s done try to get the next customer using references from the first one. Use the current job as a safety net. Simple!
It was difficult to change the mindset of the employee to one of an entrepreneur. But the safety net helped a lot. It relieved psychological pressure and reduced risks in the beginning.
And It worked out again. We completed the first project and then the second, then new customers came. Our company started growing fast and became quite successful. We developed advanced technologies, managed multi-million dollar worth international projects. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg. It was a struggle, anger, intrigues, a lot of hard work hours that left unseen behind shiny façade.
I learned a lot on this journey. First of all I learned business, management and some advanced technical stuff. I am not this shy guy anymore. I love to talk, I can talk for hours now. And I love to share what I know with others.
But the biggest lesson I have got is “Life is too short to waste your time on those who don’t respect you”. If you are working with this type of people — quit. They don’t deserve you.
Now I am standing on the road once again. I have three awesome kids, loving wife, work, house. Looks like amazing, but how it feels? Life is passing me by. Everyday routine is absorbing me, and there is no time left for my loving ones. Money is, of course, necessary, but not enough to improve the quality of life. You need much more. And I want to share what I have experienced and learned. I want to work with people I like and who likes me, so we can share our thoughts and get awesome results.
So I have a plan. I am taking on 365 days challenge and will be posting every day on my blog for a year. I will be sharing my knowledge and experience. And at the same time, I will document my feelings on this new journey.
I want to help people learn more about new technologies, and how these new things can make their life easier. Not only to make more money but also get more free time and find a fullness of life.
Follow my journey…
