A Coder Running Product Development

Recent years have been almost overwhelming: I joined 5Minds IT-Solutions, finished my PhD, achieved my personal goal of being invited to speak in the United States for the first time, all while wearing many hats in the day-to-day, from software architect to team lead to consultant to project lead.

Being part of a growing company comes with a unique set of challenges and this has been the ride of a lifetime for me so far.

I’ve been a mentor, a coach, a chaplain and a supervisor. I’ve been cursed, praised, promoted, diminished, loved and hated.

And the most important thing I learned through all this is that this job is not about me: Like it is often the case in these startup-like scenarios, most of us did not know what we were getting into. Most had no prior experience in the role they had to fill. But we huddled together. We performed and delivered. We celebrated the victories, big and small. We mourned the losses. We built a team.

This month, I will be transitioning into a new role: After leading our largest project for the past two years, I will now officially become Head of Product Development at 5Minds.

I am very much looking forward to a new set of challenges. Exciting times ahead.