IT to Sales: An Eclectic Career
Lee la versión en español aquí.
Working in a startup, like Wolox, has many positive aspects. It gives you a certain freedom and flexibility, but above all, it gives you the opportunity to do what you truly love.
When I co-founded Wolox with six friends, my first position within our company was a front-end developer. Now, almost five years later, I am the Sales Director. This progression took place as a series of changes that aligned perfectly with what I discovered I love to do most. This was all possible because, at Wolox, we are adaptable, we are flexible and we have this ability to assess changes in a timely fashion to understand how it will affect us.
See also: 4 Myths about Software Engineering
Professional Career
At a startup like ours, you grow along with the company. I went through several technical positions at Wolox. I started developing front-end and Javascript, then back-end, and when we received our first Android project, I took my first steps into this new technology.
To become the Android Technical Leader I had to overcome obstacles and go through a training process. I worked on a project with NTM (Nasa Trained Monkeys) that helped me gain a new perspective, a more strategic vision. I always liked the technology, and mobile devices even more, so I got involved more and more in the creation of applications. This was the path that led me to be the PO (Product Owner) of our mobile projects.
Working in the Area you Love
As PO, I began to have more direct contact with the clients, and I discovered I liked it, so I was assigned to more projects and my technical tasks started to be left behind.
I became a Team Manager only devoted to devising projects with clients. At that time, we started to implement Product Building. In this stage, we define the market we want to attack, the user’s characteristics, the strategy to launch the product in the market, the Key Performance Indicators and the general flow of the application, among other things.
Each time I got more involved in the process of budgeting and scope of projects from the commercial area. It was by that time that I had my first contact with this department. I found that I enjoyed communicating with customers, finding solutions to their problems, identifying the niche market to attack, or how to keep evolving your current project. That’s why, when the Commercial Department’s leading role became vacant, I applied for it.
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Working Outside your Area of Expertise
At Wolox, if you decide to work in an area where you have no expertise, you will always have help through mentoring or training and you will be encouraged to research while gaining experience.
Of course, when you have the opportunity to switch to a new role, you should always bear in mind that it brings on new responsibilities. Through collaboration, support and commitment, Woloxers are a huge part of what makes the company culture grow.
If a startup or company opens itself to changes, it gives each team member the opportunity to learn about the goals and interests of the role they are filling, and it’s also a way to keep facing new challenges and break out of their comfort zones. Thus, they are shaped with a more complete and strategic vision.
Posted by Nicolás Magni CBDO & co-founder at Wolox, @NicoMagni (nicomagni@wolox.com.ar)
