A Step Forward
I'm Valentin, 24 at the time of writing, having worked in the past 7 years as much as 11 years worth of time, and built 2 businesses from ground up. Most of the time I have worked 2 jobs at the same time: one as a Software Developer, and the second as CEO and CTO for my companies.
I've loved every single moment of the past 7 years, even though at times I have had to choose work over free time.
After all of this time, I can finally say that ever since March 2023 I have had the chance to take a look at myself and at what I have accomplished so far. I've always been reserved as to what my experience was when discussing it with peers and clients, as by nature I'm humble.
In short, I've done great stuff, and I'm proud of it.
March 2023
December 2022 to March 2023 I have worked towards merging Pro App Tech into Mediapark, which has been successfully finalized as of May 2023.
Since March 2023, my focus has shifted towards bigger horizons, larger projects, greater challenges, and all-time-high goals. One of those goals is to contribute to the Romanian society through the software that me and my team are building. The hardest thing to deal with, even today, in Romania, is the poor quality of digital government services, and I want to contribute to changing that.
At the same time...
I took a breather, and I took a look at the accomplishments so far:
- At 3 years of Software Development I've founded my first company, with 0 knowledge about business, and built a business with 30,000€ in turnover. My first exit was at over 9,000€.
- At 2 years of Business experience, and 5 years of Software Development, I've founded my second company, and built a business with 360,000€ in turnover, 12 times more than the first one, in the same amount of time.
- At 4 years of Business experience, and 7 years of Software Development, I've had my second exit, for an undisclosed amount, and joined Mediapark to lead the previous team at Pro App Tech, and to work on more challenging projects.
That's something. I'm far from being able to afford a house with my earnings, but I've enjoyed every single cent I've made so far, and I've worked for it very hard.
About People
My driving motive ever since I started doing business was to learn the ways of working with people.
I started off without previous studies in business and management. That being said, most of the time I have learned from other people's experience, rarely by making mistakes myself. I like to listen, and this has proven to be my greatest asset throughout the years. I find myself a lot of times in a room full of people talking to each other, and all I do is listen, learn what I like, and ignore the rest.
That, alongside a few people's management and communication books, have shaped who I am today.
Here are some of the things that I love about my daily activities:
- I love seeing progress in people, and I verbally express it, publicly
- I love seeing people make mistakes, and I will avoid blaming, but instead work towards solutions and preventing them in the future
- I love speaking to clients, both when things are going great, and when they're not, as it's always a challenge to understand the underlying issue. Sometimes it might happen that in the process of trying to fix something going wrong in a project, we're actually giving a wrong impression to the client, creating a misunderstanding so great, that it takes hours to understand the cause. I love that.
- I love exploring how saying something in a particular way sounds better and is empowering, even though the point is the same
Efficient communication is such a great challenge. I feel like I will never master it, because there will always be a scenario that you've never dealt with before.
Next
I am contributing to the Romanian society through the software that me and my team are building.
I am confident in my image, and I am putting myself out there as a Businessman.
I am earning new skills in communication, and personal skills: driving, boating, diving and more.