Demystifying code: Reflections from a non-technical founder turned coder
This week I had the pleasure of interviewing talented developer, former co-founder and best friend Adam Albarghouthi to gather his views on the world of coding. I very much enjoyed the conversation as I have known Adam for a decade and have seen him flourish from a naïve founder with no technical experience to a very talented and flexible coder in charge of a flourishing food-delivery company. Adam became fascinated with code when we created our first travel startup Tasten nearly 8 years ago and has been learning by doing ever since. Below I summarize some of my key takeaways from my conversation with him:
1. Anyone can learn how to code Adam studied pharmacology in college and never had a technical background. It was only when he realized that coding was the best way to bring ideas to life in our modern world, that Adam took it upon himself to learn how to code. He never had any formal training and learned on his own and though internet courses. In fact, Adam argues that “a good 30%-70%” of coding is just googling, depending on where you are in your learning journey. He advises all tech entrepreneurs to learn how to code.
2. Front-end code may be more exciting for design-minded people: Adam always had an eye for design, whether it be creating beautiful logos or awe-inspiring websites. Although he is a full-stack developer, he prefers front-end over back-end as he has “an affinity for design and front-end allows [him] to tap into that skillset.” Because of his imagination and extreme passion for the user experience, he can envision and create stunning user interfaces with little or no guidance.
3. The best way to communicate technical topics to non-technical people is in terms of the impact on the customer experience: Adam argues that the customer experience provides the missing link between technical and non-technical individuals. If a developer can communicate a technical decision in terms of the customer experience, he/she not only illustrates the concept in a digestible manner but also shows the impact of that decision (in a way that can be evaluated).
4. In terms of technology trends, AI and machine learning are the future: We have seen the application of AI and machine leaning in many industries, and software development for the food industry is no different. As the amount of data collected by his company proliferates, Adam is starting to explore AI “to see how [he] can integrate it in the future to enhance the customer experience.” Particularly, Adam sees a future where his customers food preferences can be predicted based on their attributes and recommendations can be made to simplify customer decision-making.
As a former non-technical founder turned coder, Adam provides the valuable missing link between the tech community and non-tech enthusiasts. I wish him all the best and am excited to see how his current and future endeavors pan out!
