Over the last few weeks I have been speaking to contacts in my network to ask them a few questions and get their thoughts on their companies. All three contacts I’ve had the pleasure of speaking to are involved within the Javascript, specifically Node.js, market of technology. It has been a great couple of weeks corresponding with these founders to get an insight into their thoughts on engineering.
This article focuses on conversations I had a few weeks ago with three founders whose businesses are all using the Javascript stack and Node.js to build their platforms and products. I asked them three questions regarding their business, and the tech within it, to give you an insight into what company leaders think about engineering and why you should be applying for a role with them in the future. I spoke to Josh Hart (Co-Founder & CPTO – YuLife), Jack Bowen (Founder – Genei) and the Co-Founder of one of the fastest growing entertainment start-ups in London, who has asked to remain anonymous. Check out the Q&A below:
1. What’s the main reason you decided to start your company?
“We wanted to build a business reflective of all the founders’ values. We took the skills and experience from each founder and created an image with it, that image was YuLife.” – Josh Hart
“All the founders were doing their master’s at university and between us we felt that it was too hard to find the research we required to do this. Even though the information and content are out there, it was challenging to gather it together and there was not an option in the market that would collate this for us. That’s exactly what Genei does, it simplifies it so it’s accessible.” – Jack Bowen
“When we founded the company around 5 years ago, there wasn’t anything in the entertainment industry that did what our product does now. One of the other founders and I have previous experience in the industry, so it wasn’t about breaking into an unknown environment, it was about finding our niche. I believe that what we have done with our platform is find that niche as we are the only digital product of our kind in the industry.” – Co-Founder (Entertainment Industry Startup)
2. Why did you decide to use the Javascript stack? And what are the benefits of this?
“We like the fact you can shift engineers across the entire portfolio. It also means we are able to invest money in a free-flowing way.” – Josh Hart
“The team has past experience using Javascript, so that was an easy transition for the company. We also feel this is the most exciting option in engineering right now.” – Jack Bowen
“It’s efficient. We chose Javascript because at our previous companies that’s what our engineering teams were using, and it seemed like the most efficient choice, so we’ve stuck with it, and it’s paid off.” – Co-Founder (EIS)
3. Why should engineers consider joining your company in the future?
“The difference is, you’d be contributing to society. At YuLife the work engineers do matters more as they are working on tech-for-good projects with a company that wants to change the world. We’re helping to clean up the oceans, plant trees, provide families with protection when they require it and many more great initiatives.” – Josh Hart
“The project is really exciting. At Genei you’re putting aligned AI in the hand of knowledge users. We’re quite unique and we feel like we could really grow this into a well known product, and future engineers would be a part of that.” – Jack Bowen
“I think the main selling point for our company is that there’s no one else in the entertainment industry that does what we do so you’d be working on a product that no one else in the world is working on. For those who are being forced back into the office, we are staying 100% remote so engineers have the freedom to work from where they want.” – Co-Founder (EIS)
The conversations I have had over the last few weeks have given me a great insight into how leaders in technology are thinking. Normally in recruitment you would call your contacts up and see if they require assistance during their hiring process, but it has been interesting to get a different perspective from them on technology and discuss their companies and some issues in engineering. I hope you enjoyed reading the article as much as I enjoyed writing it. Keep an eye out for all the articles our consultants are writing here at DS Group!
Special thanks to Josh Hart and Jack Bowen for engaging in the Q&A and allowing me to publish this to my network.