Personally Taking Stock

It’s been a busy year for me, as clichéd as it is, there have been plenty of up and downs and as the year is finishing thought it would be a good idea to stick some of my experiences on RookieOven.

Uncertainty

At the start of 2011 there was a lot of uncertainty, dizeo had little to no traction but at the same time the team had made Parental Circle a niche Q&A that we would use to roll out a simple clean Q&A across other niches. The team had learned a bucket load from the failed launch of dizeo and we did a much better job of it with Parental Circle; unfortunately time/money ran out. Parental Circle may not have saved the operation but as with dizeo I did learn a lot, this time through what I was doing right – meeting people. Through Parental Circle I met some really great people who were more than happy to help, it was a community thing. There are some really strong online communities in Glasgow and it was through being part of the parent one (without actually being a parent) I realised there was something missing for startups which ultimately led to RookieOven.

Moving On

So at the end of April I was out of a job and quickly moved to working again with Chris and also with Finbarr on what would become (or not) Vesume. That didn’t work out, as I explained, but yet again it really wasn’t time wasted. Working with they guys was a treat, you always want to work with the best and for that wee while I was working with two hugely talented guys.

Improve

It’s hard to believe that a year ago I had practically no online presence, a hastily made LinkedIn profile, a barely used Twitter account, and offline my ‘professional network’ was limited to say the least. The reason for this is I’m far from the most confident person in the world but when I look back I think this is one respect where I’ve improved a monumental amount. 12 months ago I would never attend a meetup or conference by myself never mind organise one. I’m still horrifically shy and severely lacking in confidence but it’s definitely something I can (and will) work on further in 2012.

Where I am

When talking to people in 2011 I found the converstation would usuall go something like this:

Person: “So what do you do?”

Me: “I’m worked as a Software Engineer at at a startup now founding my own…”

Person: “So you’re a coder? Can you do apps?”

That’s not really a new conversation, a few years ago you would take away “apps” and add in “websites” or if you were talking to someone under 12 you would substitute “apps” for ”games”. I felt I was being put in a bucket when I really feel my talents are multifaceted and I could easily put myself into other buckets so rightly or wrongly I decided to return to University to study a Masters in Product Development. Of late the ups and downs are coming from University, there is a lot to like and quite often even more to dislike but at the moment I feel in the long run this is going to be something beneficial to me.

Looking Back

When I look back the first 3 years of my undergraduate at University it really was Mickey Mouse stuff, I was a typical drunk student for most of that time, but in the 4th Year (2010) I knuckled down and developed my skill set massively but even then I feel this year has been one where I’ve easily learned twice as much.

Looking Forward

Going forward in 2012 I clearly have a lot to look forward to but I also have a few fears, I’m going to be 25 this year (geez!!) and currently I’ve got no stable source of income and I’m mainly living on savings. With University and other interests such as RookieOven and hopefully organising Startup Weekend in Glasgow that leaves me with little time to work on anything I can make money on. It’s a tough one for me to balance but I’m determined to get my Masters and I’m certain I will get a few products launched before too long that I will monetize.

What will you be doing in 2012 and how was 2011 for you?