Meet the Team: Francois
Meet Francois Hugo, Adcredos highly skilled and talented junior full stack developer. Although his background did not start in tech, Francois's curiosity and problem-solving skills led him to pursue programming, and he hasn't looked back since! When he's not coding, Francois is an avid surfer and loves exploring new surf spots around the world.
Francois, can you tell us about yourself?
I moved up to Sweden from South Africa at the end of 2005, in the middle of winter. I made the decision to move quite blindly, no research or fore-thought before really. Luckily I had some family here already and managed to get a good group of friends and support network early on which helped me integrate quickly. I’ve also lived a few years in California studying, working and traveling and anyone who knows me, knows that my friend circle over there is like a second family to me. I’m obsessed with surfing and the ocean in general and probably spend way too much time on Google Maps looking for surf spots either here in Sweden or abroad.
Can you tell us about your background and what motivated you to apply for this job?
My background is actually not in programming or tech at all - I come from a health and fitness background with previous work experience in the hospitality and event sectors. My brother, who’s in the industry, suggested I give programming a try. I don’t think he meant as a career, more as a hobby. When Covid hit I remembered his suggestion and decided to go all in with this “hobby” and found a school in Stockholm. I was contacted by a recruiter for a completely different job but I realized that my skills and previous experience lined up much better with Adcredo and their needs, so I jumped on this opportunity and after meeting them a few times it seemed like a great fit.
Can you tell us about your role in the company and what you do on a day-to-day basis?
At the moment I’m a junior full stack developer, still learning the ropes and the code base of the platform itself. I was working on some simpler tasks at the start but have been given more responsibilities lately, the biggest one being integrating a new social media channel into our platform. Currently I don’t have any daily tasks that I “check off”, as the scope of my project spans from start to finish of ad creation for the end user.
What do you enjoy most about working for this company?
The relaxed atmosphere of the office and colleagues in general. It’s still a small company, so we all work together in the same shared office space. It feels as though we’re all involved and included, since for the most part discussions, ideas and news gets shared in the same room to everyone. I also have two tolerant and helpful senior developers who are very patient with all my questions which is a huge plus in my book.
What does a typical day look like for you as a developer?
Usually I start my day by grabbing some coffee, chatting a bit with colleagues and asking any questions I have from the day before or if I’ve worked a bit extra at home. I like to start with going over bits of code I wrote before to “warm up” to coding for the day. It helps me build up a flow or rhythm. If we don’t go out for lunch, sometimes I’ll watch something during lunch to take a bit of a mental break but if I’m close to finishing off a component or task I’ll eat quickly and get right back to it so I don’t lose that momentum. I try not to start a new task or major code block if it’s close to the end of the day, as I feel it can leave me feeling a bit lost the next day. Instead I try to use this time to clean up code, ask questions or review my own code and see if it can be refactored in a more concise way.
Can you share any advice for individuals or businesses looking to start programming or developing?
Just do it! A few years ago I never thought I’d be working in an office environment, let alone in front of a computer. I never thought of myself as a programmer but because I have a curious nature (I can spend hours reading up on a completely random topic, just for the sake of learning or knowing) and have learnt to enjoy problem solving, it seemed like a great opportunity. I also love the idea of being able to build anything you want with code - creativity is pretty much the only thing holding you back.
What is your favorite feature of the platform?
We recently updated the ad previews for our clients, those are great! Shameless plug aside, just the simplicity of creating an ad from a centralized space and then pushing them to multiple platforms. Time is money, and Adcredo saves you time by helping you on that front.
What’s something interesting, funny, or unique about you that your colleagues should know?
I always complain about the cold and snow, but I won’t hesitate to jump in the frozen Baltic for a surf in the middle of winter.