Technology is made by humans.
So we wanted to take some time on our brand new blog and tell you the stories of the people behind Zingasoft.
It takes a special form of courage to stand first in the “examination room”. Thankfully, our CEO Ventsy Popov took up the challenge and told us about his experience in building software and the lessons along the way.
Uncovering different aspects of professionalism
Ventsy has spent all of his adult life in the realm of software solutions. Before he founded Zingasoft, he was serving as a Technical Evangelist at Microsoft. His professional experience started way earlier, as a way to pay forward his software knowledge to new students as a demonstrator and part-time lecturer at Sofia University, his alma mater.
Even before graduating from his Bachelor’s degree in Informatics, he was in a full-time position as a software developer. The first project he worked on was an event management system for the largest tech conference in Bulgaria, organized by Microsoft.
“In those early days of my professional life I learned that the technical aspect of my work is a “must-have” ingredient, but there were other important aspects of professionalism,” says Ventsy. He saw that your attitude and the trust you build with your teammates are vital for a project’s success. “A whole soft-skills spectrum revealed itself to me,” he explains.
Having the right people do the right things
Building a successful team and keeping people happy also serves as a basis for creating Zingasoft. Ventsy says that a big part of his role as CEO is to “make sure the right people do the right things. It’s important that they feel both challenged and satisfied with their work.” According to him, this is the only viable way for Zingasoft to never stop learning and growing.
Over the past five years, Zingasoft has been growing both in terms of team size and efficiency, but also in terms of project size and complexity. But when we ask Ventsy what’s at the top of his “most proud of” list, his mind immediately goes to people rather than revenue: “I am most proud of the team of bright and devoted people I managed to surround myself with.”
The biggest challenge Ventsy outlines for himself is something a lot of hands-on leaders struggle with: standing back from the operational side of the business and leading rather than building. “This is hard, having in mind my technical background and thus the temptation to get into every small detail of the solutions we build,” he smiles. What helps is his confidence in the team he’s built.
Bringing meaningful tech solutions for key business needs
His other main focus now is working with clients and delivering high-impact custom solutions that will drive their business goals forward. “We help them achieve more and benefit from modern technologies,” he puts simply, although the actual technical solutions are rarely that simple.
And Ventsy’s personal traits seem to be well aligned with the business’s focus. “I want the things I do to make sense, to provide value, and thus bring meaning to my life.” And creating meaningful solutions is exactly what Zingasoft does.
Fishing, coffee, and the Pomodoro technique
Every good professional knows that his habits and hobbies are as equally important as technical knowledge. Ventsy admits he’s been neglecting part of that equation: “I love spending time out in nature. Fishing is one of my hobbies, which I don’t have that much time to practice lately.”
However, he doesn’t compromise with his productivity habits: “I start my day at 7 am with breakfast and coffee. Planning ahead and organizing my day is crucial to my efficiency.”
During the day, his time is split into neat chunks: “I try to stick with the so-called “Pomodoro Technique” where I avoid distractions during short periods of time and then have quick rests between the cycles.”
Although we didn’t push further into the question, it feels like “try to” is a key part of that sentence. After all, a manager’s day is often defined by the team’s questions and the clients’ needs. Thankfully, he can rely on his team to take the load and bring the right software solutions to Zingasoft’s clients. We’ll introduce you to some of those team members in upcoming posts.