In the third interview of this series, I sat down with our CTO Joris Verbogt, one of my fellow co-founders and the guy responsible for our platform's foundation tech for the last 10 years.
Joris and I met 12 years ago when I first started as a developer in the Netherlands in web agency work. It is where we discovered that we share an interest in building software and decided to turn our ideas into an actual product, which eventually became Notificare.
Needless to say, as co-founders it has been an intense decade of working together, and we also get along pretty well on a personal level. Time for a quick chat!
When did your interest in the mobile marketing industry begin?
I've always been a builder since I started programming as a kid, but over the years of doing client work in agencies, I got tired of doing the same things over and over again but never being able to really reuse previous work. After working on a couple of projects for mobile apps together with Joel, we saw common requirements in those apps, specifically when it came to (re-)engaging users with the app. At some point, we decided it was time to turn the lessons we had learned into a product that could be used by any app developer.
Where do you see software headed in the next 5 years?
Tough question. I've been around for some time in this industry and I've heard many predictions over the last few decades.
There is an interesting movement around no-code systems and also some pretty awesome examples of AI-assisted code generation.
Bottom line is that programming will always be a very complex and challenging skill, but for sure the tools will become more and more sophisticated.
Hopefully, one of the upsides of this will be the unlocking of more people's creative potential to solve the problems that humanity faces.
Favourite part about working at Notificare?
For me, it's the freedom to work the way that best fits you. Be it from your home or in the office, and also at any time that allows you to optimally focus. It lets us cut down on unnecessary meetings, ditch commute times and allows us to build and support the product we have with a small team of dedicated people. In the end, the most important result is that a small team is better connected, so we can communicate as humans and not as a process.
What are you most proud of in your career thus far?
The product we have at Notificare. We like to call it a monster, although it's a fluffy one ;-)
When not working, where can we find you?
Look at the picture. I try to serve two masters: programming and music. So yeah, you can regularly spot me on stage or in the studio.
How has your career been shaped by working remotely?
Like I already said, it allowed me to help build this product the way we wanted. Notificare has been a remote company from day one, so the last 2 years didn't really change much on my part. If anything, it at least, opened some eyes and now makes it a bit easier to explain to my friends and family how it was possible to be working from home all these years.
You can get to know more about Joris by checking his Linkedin page here.