My Misadventures In A Start Up Ep.2
Previously on My Misadventures …
The new job at CityKyber (Not real name) was good. I was responsible for all web development front end and the e-commerce platform. He initially gave me a task to look for a senior developer to build a good baseline e-commerce platform based on our requirements. I would work with this developer to get an MVP and the developer would handover the project to me to customize it later. “Why not use me?” I wondered. He wanted to have a platform up and running as soon as possible and he was reluctant to changing this mindset.
After contacting a few senior developers in Europe and getting their price ranges he changed his mind.
Mr. LookFresh: I think we should just build our own platform that way we can customize how and what we want without referring to the senior developer. Some freelance developers here are too expensive!
Me: Why? I think we can still get a good developer at a reasonable price.
Mr. LookFresh: You know I have dealt with these senior developers. Once they get on track and they think they have understood what the project is all about, they start delaying to deliver.
I did not know how true this was so I did not comment. I simply said fine and he added me to the company’s Github.
A day later, I noticed Mr. LookFresh, the founder(Yes, he was the founder), started talking behind my back. How did I know? There was another developer, BD, working on the backend for the payments platform. BD told me I had to catch up on Django otherwise Mr. LookFresh would be mad. I did my best to communicate where I was at with fixing some broken code on the company’s website. Funny thing is he always was positive when I gave him updates.
Mr. LookFresh then tasked me with making an e-commerce system database design. I started off the task, and told him I was going to come up with a database schema. He immediately said no and gave me an excel template to use. I was hesitant, but I went for it. I drew up one, after benchmarking against Prestashop and Magento. I took what was necessary for a basic e-commerce platform and submitted it. He was disappointed at my work. He claimed I took so long to come up with the design and requested a sit down the next day.
I met with him to discuss why he was disappointed. This is where hell broke loose! He threw a whole tantrum throwing around curse words and flaring that the work I gave him was “shit”(And yet I used his template). He called me a fraud, masquerading as a developer and many outright humiliating comments. I defended myself and tried to keep the conversation objective. He got more angry that I was defending what I was doing. Back and forth we went until he shouted;
Mr. LookFresh: “Can you shut up when I am speaking!!” I looked at him intensely and simply said ok; speak.
Mr. LookFresh: “My friend, you will do my work they way I want! Do you understand?”
More ranting…
Mr.LookFresh: “You know I want someone proactive, someone who takes initiative, not the rubbish you have given me!”
Me: “What exactly did you see wrong with my work?” I gently asked.
Mr. LookFresh: When you put PK and write Primary Key you think I don’t know what it means?(He never explained the extent of his knowledge of tech when we sat and talked in beginning)
He threw back more words and then he suddenly went quiet. I assumed he wanted me to talk. As I started explaining from scratch, he suddenly interrupted and shouted again;
Mr. LookFresh: “You shut up when your boss is speaking!!! You know what I am giving you?? A one week’s notice…” he stood up.
I quickly interrupted his statement and told him I would redo the work.
He shouted again.
Mr. LookFresh: “Then get the f#@!% out of my face”
This moment right here I wanted to hi five his face with his laptop. But I remained quite calm. My arms though were shaking ready to punch him in the face.
As I was leaving his workstation going back to my desk, he removed me as a collaborator on Github. I knew he had made up his mind. I still redid his work and submitted to him and wrote an apology. I even added UML Diagrams like the ERD. He never replied. I came back to work on Monday and slacked him informing him I fixed the broken code. He never replied. When I came back on Tuesday, he called me aside and fired me. I tried to ask if there was any reparation I could make, but he started getting defensive and so I toned down the conversation. Moreover, he told me that it was my duty to find him and show him my work even if he was in the toilet. One reason that he explained was that he felt that I oversold my skills and learning velocity. He said that he expected a lot from me. However, he understood why I did so and advised me to be more on the experience of learning great skills in technology rather than following the money. He almost apologized for flaring at me, but DID NOT! I guess the advice was more of an apology.
There were 3 other people in the office that day. I simply came back inside, took my bag and left without a word to anyone. This new job happened in a span of 2 weeks. The shortest I have ever been on a job. This left me depressed(not to the point of medication). I later learned that there was another developer who was at the company, but left for Europe because a he got a better job. This meant Mr. LookFresh was left with a lot of code to fix and features to implement. Probably why he was frustrated and exploded. Looking for a new job was very difficult. I applied to very good potential companies, but they never replied. This deepened my sorrow. Some companies call you, do an interview and never reply on what the results of your interview were. The best companies I saw were not hiring even though I inquired.
I finally applied at a great company (Andela). They took me in despite their very tough exercise. I am learning, growing and undergoing a different paradigm shift in the world of software development. I hope all goes well.
Lessons Learnt
His point of view;
- I was over ambitious with telling him I could learn Django in a short amount of time (I thought 2–3 weeks was sufficient). Even professionals take about 4–6 weeks. His anger was justified.
- His company was like his baby so he had to take care of it with all he had.
- As he said, I oversold my skills and learning velocity. I should have been more clear on what to expect after learning the new skill.
My point of view
- I should have told Mr. LookFresh that learning would have taken a specific amount of time and that he should expect good-enough quality after the learning period.
- I should have probably taken time off work, about a month or so. This would have shifted my vision from just working for salary to be a great software developer.
- If you sell yourself, cover all your bases and make sure you can deliver on them.
- He could have handled the situation better without the demeaning outbursts.
