When people ask me about my career, I always start with how I fell into software development. It’s not a story of genius or luck—it’s a mix of persistence, curiosity, and a lot of trial and error.
Here’s how it all began.
The Clock That Changed Everything
In 2006, I couldn’t write a single line of code in MATLAB. I had taken a college course that used it but never really understood the concepts. Then I applied for a job at MathWorks, the company behind MATLAB. To my surprise, I got a coding test with a simple but daunting task: “Make an analogue clock and submit it by Monday at 8 am.”
That weekend, I was on a mission. I bought two books on MATLAB, set it up on my laptop, and didn’t leave my room until the project was done. No socialising, no distractions—just me and that clock project. By Monday morning, I was running on almost no sleep, but I submitted my code at 7:30 a.m.
I later found out I was one of 39 candidates, most from top schools like MIT, Harvard, and Princeton. Out of all of them, I was the only one who submitted the working code on time. And I got the job!
My first week at MathWorks was a crash course in refining that clock. By my second week, they sent me to an intensive five-day object-oriented programming course—an experience that launched my career. That moment taught me that hard work, persistence, and a hunger to learn could set me apart. I continued to work at MathWorks until I graduated from Northeastern University with a bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering.
My First Big Project
After college, I got a job at a finance software company. The work was mostly report fixing—important but not exactly exciting. One day, I overheard managers talking about a new web-based portal project they planned to outsource to a team that had historically produced very poor code quality. I saw an opportunity and seized it.
Although I didn’t know much about web development at the time, I was determined. I spent a few nights and a weekend building a demo on my own time, crafting a prototype in ASP.NET MVC with a theme that allowed users to click through it. It wasn’t fully functional, but it looked convincing.
The effort paid off: I got assigned to that project and didn’t have to work on reports anymore. Soon after, I was promoted to lead the Engineering team in the Boston office. The company sent me to a management training course at Harvard DCE, and I began leading the development of their new web-based product.
This was around 2011 and iPads had just come out and were the hottest thing in tech at the time. With a talented UI designer, we made the product visually stunning and designed it to work seamlessly on the iPad.
We later launched the product at a customer event in Las Vegas, where we handed out iPad minis (preloaded with our software and event documentation) to our top clients. That experience, from the first demo in front of a large audience in Las Vegas to watching David Copperfield with our customers after hours, was surreal.
I didn’t realize it at the time but this project taught me to take initiative even when I wasn’t 100% ready.
A Glimpse into Sales and Business Strategy
One of the most memorable moments of my career was my first sales call. We were pitching our software to a private bank in a remote area in middle America. The bank had no internet so I had to bring the demo environment on my laptop.
During the presentation, the bank’s securities trading manager leaned over to his assistant and said “Tomorrow, find out how much this is”. He bought it! That was my first taste of sales success, and it was exhilarating. It showed me the power of software not just to solve problems but to drive real business impact.
But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Over time, it became clear the company wasn’t bringing in new customers. Decades of technical debt made it hard to move fast. We launched new products but it wasn’t enough to turn the company around.
Moving Forward
I eventually moved on. I started working with SaaS startups often in their early stages. Some of these startups have been acquired and each one taught me something new about adaptability, innovation and resilience.
But each step along the way taught me something new: how to tackle steep learning curves, create opportunities, and always look for ways to innovate.
Key Lessons Along the Way
When I look back, here’s what I’ve learned about myself and what I bring to the table:
• Hard work pays off: Success rarely comes from shortcuts. It’s about putting in the time and effort even when it’s hard.
• Be willing to learn: I’ve had to learn new skills quickly—whether it was learning MATLAB over a weekend or web development. Being adaptable has been key.
• Take initiative: Some of the most fun projects in my career were because I took the opportunity when I saw one even when I wasn’t fully ready.
• Stay curious: Whether it’s trying out a new technology or building something from scratch curiosity makes the journey fun.
My journey in software development has been anything but a straight line. I’ve made mistakes, had setbacks and learned no one has all the answers. But that’s what’s fun—every problem is an opportunity to learn.