Thus Spaketh Idd Salim

This thought-process in the form of an article was requested by NipateNdaniYaMtandao as a flipside of this article that I wrote last week about the coder’s night/day-mares.

There are alot of posers who promise a client heaven and end up disappointing the people. This brings a bad name to coders in general.

Jobs start getting sent to India and Sri Lanka. Why? Because the client had ONE bad experience.

S/he said:

next tym write on how investors can notice fake coders and run from them lyk a plague …wanadanganya they can do magic n they cant even do anything…they lie to clients then make guys hate kenyan coders after such experiences…u knw many clients will pay u money to develop something they want,if u cant hack say so early, dont hepa  jus coz the guy is in a high office n cant come get you at the ihub or at some hostel.

Before that, however, I would like to add another type of people coders need to avoid. As Brian Wangila pointed out:

The common one I have met is “You just do this one cheap for me and I’ll refer you to my many big friends”…RUN AWAY VERY FAST!!

I have met quite a number of these. This is commonly referred to as the “You just get one foot inside” crew. Yeah. They they break the foot. The “By the time we are done with you, you will go straight to CMC or DT Dobie” people. These people pretend/claim/purport to know everyone in town. They were either in school with them, hang out with them every week or play golf with them. “He is married to my sisters, half cousin’s nephew”.  You have a system you want to sell to Safaricom? Don’t worry. Bob Collymore is my close friend since childhood. I am Evah’s neighbor. I bought Nzioka a few drinks last week. Run like a hawker after sighting a Kanjo.

Now, back to the lecture at hand.

I speak from personal experience. Being once a coder in distress. Once a hand2mouth coder. Once a code-for-food IT pro. Ask anyone I tried to do a side-project with from 2010 backwards and you will be filled with stories of gloom. I was often described as : “Someone who is very talented, but cannot focus enough to finish a system”.

Ofcourse, alot has changed. But every day, I see young people in the same predicament. The CORE problem is valuation. Of under-valuation, for that matter. Needing to make 120k a month, a coder who under-values his/her worth will take on 4+ jobs in one month, each worth 20k-30k, just to get enough money to cater for their expenses. There is stark reference between this coder and one who will NOT take a small job. Nowadays, I am slowly finding myself doing ONE project for a whole month for, let’s say, USD 2500, Instead of 6 projects for USD 400 each. The 6 will kill you, you will deliver NONE and now, you owe 6 people money you don’t have.

I once had a rich-kid client bring a heavily armed flying-squad team to my place of work because of a USD 1200 owing on a delayed project. It was like a movie. 8-Armed men to arrest Salim. But that is a story for another day. That will NEVER happen again.

I have fewer clients nowadays, but they pay like a modafaka. And I am happy. And the clients are happy. That, I believe, is the way to live.

So, how does an investor/client pin-point a hand2mouth coder.

1 – I/We can do it all

The most common trait is the ‘YES’, ‘YES’, ‘YES’ response. You want a system that has Mobile, MobileWeb, iOS, Android and a J2ME interface? They can do it all. They have not specialized in anything and know a little bit of alot. I am not saying that people who know alot are phony. No. There are people I know who are diverse enough to do the 5 genres above, and more. But they are few and VERY expensive. What should give you a good-night’s sleep is the talk of collaborations. “We can do Web and Mobile, but will partner in our own contractual terms with our Sister/Fellow Company B that will do the Android version”.

This is a statement of acceptance of ones limits and a proof of access to a network of experts and specialists.

2 – They are too young

Ok. Gone are the ‘Kazi kwa vijana, Pesa kwa Wazee’ days. In IT, one can be as good and as awesome at 18, like one at 40. But as a Kenyan coder who has been trained the Kenyan way, there are things you JUST have not been exposed to, and it takes time and age to get the access/experience needed. A 24 year-old who claims to have managed a corporate-grade BSD and NT network, worked with Iso8583 and has mastered the FIX protocol, is a liar. With some exceptions, ofcourse.

My personal belief is that one needs to be at least 30+ years to really KNOW so much as to be able to make a Million Dollar Company in Kenya. You do not have to share this belief. Passion is ageless. I know some people at iHub and NaiLab who are under 30 but have the passion of a 32 year old. But when it comes to recommendation and investments, I will always pick experience and maturity over sheer exuberance and raw bravado much.

3 – It will only take a week

If the time-lines are too good to be true, they probably are. This cannot be overemphasized. A web design job that comes with branding and merchandise cannot take 4 days. A Social-network cannot be built from scratch in 2 weeks. Well, it can be downloaded from the web and painted blue in two days, but most of the times, that is not what you are looking for as a client.

4 – We will do it at half-price

This is the project-hijacker crew. Be wary of a deal that is too good. If a company X has quoted an amount A, then company Y quotes A/2, then maybe Company Y needs the money, more that they want to deliver your project. Think about it.

Nikiendelea nitaambiwa nimetukanana.

Back to code.

Wazi.