From Freelancer to CTO
My neotiv story
The story begins in mid-2015. I was still on my one-year parental leave and was looking for small gigs as a freelance software developer, which I could do on the side while taking care of the baby. Just to have a few extra bucks in my pocket and not get completely rusty. Because a lot can happen in a year in the land of software development.
At that time a request from two guys from Magdeburg came out of nowhere regarding a website. It should be a simple landing page for a university spin-off, which has dedicated itself to the topic of Alzheimer’s disease and early Alzheimer’s detection. It sounded like a small website project for me, which could be quickly implemented and therefore quickly generate revenue for me. So I agreed to meet with Chris and Julian to discuss some details and to get to know each other personally. Which sounds kind of strange from the current pandemic point of view.
Since I had studied in Magdeburg myself until 2011, I was curious how they came up with me of all people. As if there were no software developers in Magdeburg. It turned out that someone from the university had recommended me and that’s how the contact came about in the first place. I was flattered and of course I wanted to live up to my recommendation.
So we sat over pizza and pasta in an Italian restaurant chain and they told me about their project and who they are and where they come from. What all three of us had in common was the fact that we had all studied in Magdeburg for a while. The topic of Alzheimer’s had not been very present in my mind until then, but Chris and Julian were on fire and could easily convince me of the meaningfulness of the project.
I then asked them what the spin-off was going to be called and then they opened up to me that the name was going to be neotiv and that I was the first outside person they were sharing that information with. I thought the name was really cool and was immediately captivated by the project and their enthusiasm. Of course I would love to do the landing page for them, I told them.
A few conversations followed and a first version of the website was created. We quickly got used to each other and I soon got to know the two other founders of the spin-off, David and Emrah. At certain intervals they kept approaching me to ask for my opinion on technical issues. The only thing the guys were missing was someone with some experience in software development. As a freelancer, I could be there when they needed something and otherwise I could keep busy with my other gigs. It was a good deal for me and we continued to stay in touch.
In 2017 there were several turning points in this relationship, because the university spin-off was then officially funded and the guys got some space in the university and the financial possibilities to build up a small team. Since we were still in regular contact and I was still enthusiastic about the project, I took the opportunity to become part of the core team.
It was hard for me to give up my freelance work for the most part at first, because I couldn’t possibly do both (be part of the neotiv core team and freelance) full time. All in all, I liked being a freelancer. But this option had solved my problem that as a freelancer with a child I was already not as flexible as before. I didn’t mind having a job with a steady income and being able to work from home most of the time. So there I was, part of a startup team. I had worked with startups before, so I was not completely unfamiliar with the situation. But being part of the core team still feels a little different and connects you more to your work.
Gradually, I was given more and more responsibility and was then given the title of Head of Product Development. I had to take care of hiring people from the university to build up a software team. Until then, I had always sat on the other side of the application desk. It was a completely new experience. Of course, it made me very proud to be given so much responsibility. However, it also pushed me to the edge of my comfort zone time again and again. I had to deal with things I had never heard of before. A whole new set of challenges came my way. Because now the focus was no longer directly on building a software product as a team, but on looking after the well-being of the team.
My role was moving further and further away from being a software developer to being a team leader. I had less and less time to code and had to find ways to enable my team to perform well. I read a lot of management books at that time and took some courses. The project went well, we made constant progress and the number of employees grew year by year. Which also meant that we had to constantly reorganize. Responsibilities had to be redistributed and reallocated.
In 2020, another partial restructuring of the company took place and the title of CTO was to be redistributed. Since I had done a lot of CTO tasks up to that point anyway, it wasn’t hard for management to decide to give me this title. As far as my daily tasks were concerned, this change of title did not have a big impact on me. I still took care of the software development team. Made decisions. Presented results. Checking up on things. Every now and then, I even had time to code. However, with the title change, new responsibilities and challenges have come my way. I now attend board meetings, have to help make business decisions, and am held much more accountable.
It feels almost surreal how I went from being a freelancer on parental leave to the position of CTO over the last few years. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve embraced the new role gladly and willingly. But it’s very exciting to see the different directions the paths can lead, depending on when in life you meet which person. I am curious how the journey will continue.
