14+ years experienced IT professional available for start-ups to join as a rookie programmer

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” – C.S. Lewis

Dear Friends,

Pardon me for the long story but proclaiming that “14+ years experienced IT professional is available for start-ups to join as a rookie programmer” needs some context setting.

The Beginning

I am a software professional with 14+ years of experience in the IT industry. Started off my IT career in late 90’s as a person who just loved to code and could code/hack day-n-night for fun and work. For example, In early 2000’s, when super selector was launched (where you could create your own cricket teams from a list of players) me & friends hacked code in PERL to automatically create & register teams, create emails for registration, make changes to teams on defined logic etc etc. Needless to say we won a lot of prizes :-).

Middle Years

Then in mid 2000’s career allowed to dabble a lot with open source solutions in Java/PHP and I created an enterprise project collaboration platform(using a branch of SourceForge platform called gForge). This was done by integrating several open source products into one complex yet easy to use platform on Linux. These experiences allowed me to understand and appreciate the role of creating meaningful user experiences, user adoption, customer feedback & service, simplicity, ease of use, UX design among other things.

Then in mid-to-late 2000’s I got a chance to conceptualize & rollout an enterprise social networking/collaboration platform that was on .NET, Java, among other technologies and this was built when not many organizations had gone the social path and social was not a buzz word. This was (and is) a platform that I am really proud of — I single-handedly conceptualized & got it built. Anyone who saw the platform truly appreciated the same.

Recent Past

Somewhere down the line, I became more of a product manager and less of a programmer(that I just loved being). I can still hack some code, look at existing code, make changes, add modules etc but that sharpness went away somewhere in between. (nothing wrong with being a product manager but I would prefer to be product manager who is a solid programmer as well)

In recent past, have worked towards creating concept prototypes for various ideas (in collaboration with UX designers) such as:

• A platform for brands & consumers to interact and create meaningful relationships
• A platform for project collaboration that mimics how work actually gets done in real life
• A platform for automotive companies to create engagement with their customers

Many a times the entrepreneurial bug also kept biting and I would have registered some 20+ domains for several projects that I would have thought about, created product specs, data models, feature lists, mind maps, etc etc. But, just didn’t take the step to start it all.

The Future

Now, I want to give up on the corporate IT Services job and get back to programming (and one day start my own). However bad I may want it, corporate structures won’t allow me to do what I want. I could possibly start side projects and get joy out of programming but I truly want to just do programming (combined with product management) in small/start-up companies and not the big corporate IT Services work. I have also realized that I am a small/start-up company guy and not someone who is comfortable in large organizations/big brand names. I would want to live & work on my own terms – work I like doing and not do work just for the sake of earning money (I have sufficient money for me to pursue my dreams and fulfill my basic needs for few years). At some stage, when I do my start-up, I would prefer to be a fully hands-on techie when I work on my own ideas.

So, here I am, ready to quit it all and start again, pursue my desires and give the best in that. I am available for start-ups to join them as a programmer (even as a fresher/trainee) so that I can get back to coding. I am clear that I would want to be in Mobility (android) + PHP/Java based back-end technology areas. Over time I want to get into Hadoop, NoSQL, Graph Databases etc. I have started exploring Yii & Android fundamentals to get back into groove.

So, if you are an innovative start-up (in mobile apps, consumer facing solutions or enterprise collaboration) and think that having me in your team can add value to both your company & me, drop me an email and let’s explore the possibilities.

PS: I am fully aware that I will not get the salary I currently get in IT Services and am happy to start at reasonable fresher salaries again:-). I am based out of Bangalore and don’t plan to relocate in near future but if the value proposition is exceptional, can relocate to Noida/NCR.

PPS: Sharing my learning’s with the team I join, helping with ideas, etc etc are a given – I truly like going beyond my work, getting my hands dirty and contribute to the organization in all possible ways.

My contact email: shahnawaz.khan@gmail.com