Just realized that six years ago this week, I started working for a start-up company called Navarik. The company was comprised of the four active partners - Bill, Don, Marty, and Orvin - and me. I was the lone employee, the developer who was given the task of turning their ideas into code. There was a business plan; I remember reading it. But where we are today and the systems we are building are so different from the vision outlined in that business plan. I think that’s the key to Navarik’s success - go with the flow but wherever it’s taking us, make sure we do it very well.
We had a small room in Yaletown, with five Ikea desks (which I helped put together on my first day), five Ikea chairs, and two bookshelves. The server was in a corner and Orvin’s old couch was against the back wall. We did not have a kitchen so we had to wash our mugs in the wash room. In the summer, the room would get stifling hot; it was like an oven sometimes. Nutmeg, Don’s cute Shar-Pei, came to work everyday and kept us company. I became proficient at typing with one hand and petting Nutmeg with the other. Our meeting room was the Seattle’s Best Coffee shop across the street.
Six years later, there are over 40 people in Navarik and we have a really nice office with three meeting rooms. I have to say there have not been many dull days working here. In fact, each month brings on a different challenge that keeps me on my toes. New people, new projects, new customers. Always something else to learn and many other things to do.
It certainly doesn’t feel like six years. My role has changed so many times, I suppose, so it doesn’t feel like I’ve been in the same job for too long. This is the longest I’ve stayed with one company, and certainly this company has been the most dynamic one I’ve been with. It’s been fun and I look forward to coming to work everyday. I guess I’m lucky that way.
We had a small room in Yaletown, with five Ikea desks (which I helped put together on my first day), five Ikea chairs, and two bookshelves. The server was in a corner and Orvin’s old couch was against the back wall. We did not have a kitchen so we had to wash our mugs in the wash room. In the summer, the room would get stifling hot; it was like an oven sometimes. Nutmeg, Don’s cute Shar-Pei, came to work everyday and kept us company. I became proficient at typing with one hand and petting Nutmeg with the other. Our meeting room was the Seattle’s Best Coffee shop across the street.
Six years later, there are over 40 people in Navarik and we have a really nice office with three meeting rooms. I have to say there have not been many dull days working here. In fact, each month brings on a different challenge that keeps me on my toes. New people, new projects, new customers. Always something else to learn and many other things to do.
It certainly doesn’t feel like six years. My role has changed so many times, I suppose, so it doesn’t feel like I’ve been in the same job for too long. This is the longest I’ve stayed with one company, and certainly this company has been the most dynamic one I’ve been with. It’s been fun and I look forward to coming to work everyday. I guess I’m lucky that way.
