Tell us about your background. What made you want to work for a startup like Stake?
On April 2021, I reached a milestone in my career of working as a software engineer for 10 years. My previous employers were enterprise level companies, like HP and Goodyear and I really enjoyed working on dev projects with these renowned companies. I began my career as a mobile developer and then was moved into a general developer role (full stack developer) and also worked as a project support analyst.
After taking these different roles at enterprise companies, I wanted to try something different. I had the desire to work in a place where my suggestions and ideas can have a bigger impact on the company. From experience, at an established company you are likely to have an employee handbook that outlines the rules and procedures for a given scenario, with little to no room to improve it. Sometimes these rules are outdated. At a startup company, I love that I have more freedom to experiment with new processes and templates to see what works best. My hope here at Stake is that I can make a difference, provide the best of me, and deliver excellence to all end users.
You've worked on many mobile apps in your career at companies like Hewlett Packard, United Airlines, and Sprint. What is it that you enjoy about mobile app development?
I see tech development like art. There are so many different artists like painters, sculptors, photographers, etc. Coding/development is no different, while it is not considering a visual art, I see it like a "logical" art. I love mobile development because I can create something brand new out of just an idea. At the same time this "masterpiece" might support its users to solve a specific problem. I see tech development like art. There are so many different artists like painters, sculptors, photographers, etc. Coding/development is no different, while it is not considering a visual art, I see it like a "logical" art.
What do you do outside work?
The first thing that I love to do besides coding is...working out. I like to mix things up and do some jogging, boxing, calisthenics, and weight lifting. I am a really active person, so you will always find me doing some kind of sport activity. The second thing that I am currently doing outside of work is learning to play guitar. In the past, I always had the desire to learn to play at least one musical instrument, but never had the opportunity. Now, I have time, and I'm trying to learn. Don't ask me to play anything, I am still on level 0 (if that even exists). Lastly, I like cooking! I am the kind of guy that it is always doing weekend BBQ's or trying a recipe from a famous chef. Sometimes the results look and taste amazing but other times the dish isn't very good.
You've been building Android apps since the most popular phone in America was a Blackberry. Give us a firsthand account of how the smartphone ecosystem has changed over the last decade, and a bold prediction for the next 10 years.
At the beginning, the first smartphones were small in every aspect. Small screen, small physical keyboard, and they would include an antenna that you needed to expand to get a better signal. These first smartphones were mimicking a simple phone where the main features were the ability to call and send text messages. Nowadays, smartphones have changed in so many ways. We have devices with so many screen sizes, shapes, different features, and new ways to make money with them. Over the next 5 or 10 years, we will see an increase in mobile apps / smart devices being integrated into more things. If we now have smart refrigerators and even smart toasters, I bet that technology will start getting more and more integrated in our daily life accessories. Hopefully these new applications will help solve daily life problems.
If you were earning Stake Cash Back today, what would you save for?
There are two reasons I would save for. First, I would save some money for an emergency. We never know when we might need some extra cash to help out in a financial situation. The other reason I would save is to make investments. I am interested in learning how to invest in either the stock market or forex. I would love the idea that my Cash Back is making more money for me.
