Startup Decoder’s “From the Trenches” series shares the stories of mid- or late-career employees or founders working in tech.
Hi Brett! Please introduce yourself and tell us a little about your current work.
For the past 12 years, I have worked as an independent software consultant for the State of Utah. I help manage their Infrastructure team, as well as participate in architecting the open-source software for the state’s eligibility system, eREP. The system handles eligibility for ACA health insurance, cash assistance, medicaid/medicare, SNAP (previously called food stamps), and other services. It is the largest system in the state and has the most resources due to its large funding from the federal government.
I have been helping them migrate off a proprietary monolithic Java-based system that is no longer supported, to an open-source system. It has been a very long process and frustrating at times, but one of the reasons I stay there is to help create the first open-source eligibility application that could be shared throughout the US as well as other countries. This would reduce the tax liability for existing systems and provide many more opportunities to individuals in local government and universities to participate in making software for their citizens.
What has your career path looked like?
I always wanted to be an entrepreneur and have my own company. At the time, MBA school was the path to do that. I studied electrical engineering at Brigham Young University (BYU), as I was told that was the best undergrad degree for MBA school. Upon graduating I switched to software and worked for a fantastic company called Novell. I then went on to get a masters in computer science from Utah State University and was able to complete an executive MBA from BYU, as Novell paid for both graduate degrees.
I loved technology and programming. After completing my graduate degrees, I wanted to pursue my goal of entrepreneurship. It was the start of the dotcom boom and I went out as an independent software consultant for about a year. I ended up transitioning to a new startup and stayed there for six years. The startup was called In2m (now finicity) and was creating a personal cash flow management application for consumers.
After six years at In2M, I became frustrated that we were not having the growth we expected and the product was not very good. This was before Lean Startup principles were defined and were definitely not used at In2M. We were following the “build it and they will come” idea, which was not very successful.
I decided I wanted to get back into consulting, while independently working on projects on the side. I joined an Irish company called Curam that was making large social enterprise software for governments. The job required me to travel 100% of the time, and I spent most of my time in Canada. Eventually, they put me on a project in Utah, where I remain to the current day. Utah moved away from the licensed software and has been out of support for the product for several years. I am helping them move to an open-source solution that should be complete in the next year.
For the last eight years, I have also been writing software for myself and other partners. I am a partner in an education company called Precision Exams. We wrote the testing software for that company in exchange for equity in the company. I also am working on some small business software for my wife’s landscaping company that would also work for any small services company.
What does the “age geography” of your company look like, how do you fit in it, and has that made any difference to your worklife?
I am self-employed so this question isn’t directly relevant to me, but I do work full-time at a state government office. I am now becoming one of the older contractors, but in government there is a wide selection of age groups.
In contrast, the technology sector in my area is mostly for younger adults new in their careers. I believe going back as a software developer employee would be difficult due to my age. A better position for me would be to move into a management or consulting role. This is always an option, but I’m still trying to make the entrepreneur ideas work for the long term.
In what ways does your experience level make a positive contribution to your team?
I have a lot of software experience in the private and government sector. This helps tremendously as I work with a lot of project managers who are not technical, and being able to explain technical details in a simpler way is effective. My hourly rate is higher than most, but I think my years of experience help me justify these costs to the client.
One recommendation I would make to anyone new in their career: Learn to be an effective writer and communicator. This is especially true for people in technology. One skill that I learned in MBA school was how to write effectively for business. As an engineering graduate, writing was never something I was good at or enjoyed. I have since appreciated that being able to effectively communicate in writing (e.g. emails, proposals, etc.) and speech will be invaluable to you in your career.
What are your five favorite tools to use at work?
Google Docs, Evernote, Jira for ticket tracking. Google Keep and Evernote are my daily note-taking journals. I use Google Docs for creating articles and reports. There are also several development tools that I use but are not helpful for non-programmers.
Do you see yourself as a mentor to any younger employees?
Yes, I am a mentor to younger employees and contractors. I also encourage women to pursue careers in technology, especially software, as they are greatly needed and there are lots of opportunities for them. I think many of the people at my work respect my opinions in regards to software development and careers in technology. I believe most managers in the future will have experience in technology. There is no business that doesn’t use technology as a competitive advantage and having some direct experience in technology will enhance your ability as a manager.
What is one word that describes how you feel about this stage of your career?
“Happy,” but somewhat disappointed in my success. I can’t think of anything I would rather do than be involved in technology, but I went into it expecting a lot better success. It’s been a good-paying career, but I have not hit a home run yet. Mostly just a lot of base hits.
Can you recommend any people, books, apps or podcasts that have recently had an impact on your worklife?
I listen to a lot of books and podcasts. They are mostly business/entrepreneurship, technology, and history. I’ll list some recommendations for business books and podcasts:
Books
- Innovator’s Dilemma, by Clayton Christensen – Business book on understanding disruptive technologies and how they create new markets
- Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey – Great life-changing book on managing time and priorities to meet individual goals
- The Phoenix Project, by Gene Kim – A business novel about operations for IT
- Lean Startup, by Eric Reis – Best startup book on creating products that people want
- Lost and Founder by Rand Fishkin – Honest assessment of startups, where we usually only hear about the successful 10%. Will make you feel better that you haven’t hit a home run yet.
- Crossing the Chasm, by Geoffrey Moore – Classic business book on bringing new technologies to the larger marketplace
- The Spirit of Kaizen, by Robert Maurer – Excellent book on improving operations in any business through small steps of improvement
- The Four Steps to the Epiphany, by Steve Blank – Book that led to the Lean Startup revolution. A must read for anyone wanting to create a startup.
- The Power of Writing Well, by Pete Geissler – Excellent book on tips for effective business writing
Podcasts
- The Effective Founder – Interviews successful entrepreneurs on nuts and bolts of running a business
- Indie Hackers Podcast – Discussions with entrepreneurs about how they successfully run their online businesses
- Startups for the Rest of Us – Small online business owners and what they are doing to grow their business without raising capital
If you could recommend one change that would help eliminate ageism, what would it be?
This is a tough question because it does exist. You can’t discuss it openly, but there are biases in the workplace and age is one of them, especially in technology. One recommendation is for older adults to start finding solutions for themselves. Assume you will be discriminated against because of your age and also the realities that you are probably more expensive. Take advantage of your extra resources towards the later part of your career to invest and secure a place for you after you retire or are forced to retire. Also, continually invest in your future through ongoing training and learning, even if your employer doesn’t pay for it. This is especially true in technology as it is always changing. I’ve been in software development for over 20 years, and the skills and tools I use now are very different than when I started.
What’s next for you?
I’m going to continue working on entrepreneur endeavors with my own products and services. I don’t really plan on retiring and hope I can help others succeed online with their life’s experiences and expertise. There is a great opportunity for Gen Xers and Baby Boomers to take advantage of today’s technology to share their life experiences.
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