Pocket Square Development
Jan Wilkens
Jan and myself started Pocket Square at the end of 2019. We started the company with a view to deploying our own software and working as devs-on-demand to build our experience and financially emancipate ourselves. For two years, we ran our own company and learned invaluable lessons that only running a small company can teach.
How It Started
We kicked off Pocket Square as a two man team with a simple split of responsibility: Jan would handle development and I would handle design and client relations. Little did I know, my time as only a designer would quickly come to an end.
After just a few weeks, we managed to land our first project, Data Prophet. Given the scope of the project, Jan asked me a question that would change my professional life, "Hey, how do you feel about learning to code?".
I will always be eternally grateful to Mr Wilkens for taking in a junior who couldn't be greener and having the patience and skill to not only teach me the basics (Java as a first language) but somehow make me useful to the project. Thanks Jan!
How It Went
Nothing can prepare you for the experience of working in your own company. Not only were we professionals in a tech startup (Jan being a teacher as well) we were managers, human resources, marketing and strategy all in one. The plethora responsibilities seems unending when you first begin, however gives you a deep appreciation for the complexities companies face and hard work and dedication required to keep even a small enterprise on the rails and rolling forward.
It's a clichè that communication is key, but the trial-by-fire of a new company is an unforgiving teacher that will force you to sink or swim, and I'm proud to say we swam. We both learned how important it is to take the time to get to know your team and communicate in a way that makes sense to them. So often we assume people understand what we need because we told them, without stopping to check if they understood.
I learnt innumerable lessons from running a company, both practical and personal, that it would be pointless to try and list them here, but sufficed to say, I can't recommend it enough. Even a small company will give you deep insight, and no small amount of empathy, into how large companies deal with problems.
What Now?
For now, Jan and I are in different countries and are working on different projects, so Pocket Square is sitting on the back burner, but perhaps in the future we might continue in South Africa, only time will tell.