To get ahead in the tech startup world, it takes a lot more than just knowing how to code and gathering a group of particularly smart individuals. Particularly, having a firm understanding of how to monetize your business is not just a job for the only business-oriented guy you hired, because it entirely determines how your application is built. It makes sense when you think about it. Obviously your startup has a lot more burden on finding customers than many larger companies, and needs to cater to your customers’ needs better than your competitors. But, when it comes down to action, the programmers will be programmers, and the business side does his own thing.
This is why, upon applying to grad school for computer science at USF, I specifically chose the entrepreneurial concentration, which requires MBA coursework to graduate. And, this is why I’m glad to be interning with Splurgy, where the engineers are involved in more ways than just coding. We’re presented with information about Splurgy as a whole, where we as a company are, and company goals. Engineers are encouraged to not only use business strategies to plan out the direction of the Splurgy application but also give input to the marketing and the business modeling aspects of the company.
This leads into another important characteristic of Splurgy, having all of the engineers staying in the engineering loop. Knowing what other engineers are working on has endless benefits – finding serious bugs in someone else’s project, continuing their work if they have an emergency, or even offering help if they’re stuck and have a deadline. Every little bit can help the company move forward.
