Why I began to code
It all started when I was around 13 years old. I had recently learned about PowerPoint at school and I realized that I could use it to create animations. My dad saw me using PowerPoint in such an unconventional way that he decided to install Macromedia Flash on our family pc (yeah, it was “Macromedia Flash” until Adobe bought Macromedia, back in 2005).
So my first code ever was written in ActionScript for some (probably bizarre) Flash application. At that time I didn’t even know I was programming.
After finishing high school I did some basic web design jobs using Flash, PHP and MySQL. A couple of years after that, I got my first employee job at a company, as a .NET dev.
Why I continue to code
I worked for a software company for 5 years. I started as a Software Developer, then moved on to Tech Lead, and finally I became a Project Leader. After a year as Project Leader, I decided to resign to co-found my current company, Uppernauts. At Uppernauts I’m now responsible for the backend development and architecture design of our software (among a bunch of other things, we’re only two people at the moment).
At the beginning of my career my goal was to become a Project Leader, but after reaching that goal I realized that what I truly love to do is to create stuff. Any kind of stuff (even music and digital art). As a developer for my own company I’m now able to create stuff every day.
I realize that at some point I will have to delegate some of the coding to someone else if we want to grow as a company, but I’m ok with that because I know I can move on to other tech roles and I’ll still be able to participate in the creative process.
I want to brag about…
I co-founded a startup called Uppernauts with my boyfriend Mauro at the end of 2017 and we have two awesome things to brag about:
- Our Android app Get rid of it has reached 1000 downloads this week!
- We’re publishing our first commercial software on production this week too!
I’m really proud of our progress so far. It takes a lot of effort to build something from the ground up, but for me it’s the most fulfilling work I’ve ever done. I have great expectations for the future!
My advice for other women and non-binary folks who code is….
Believe in yourself and surround yourself with positive forward-thinking people who not only believe in you but also challenge you to be better every day.