Counting down the days

In the military, and yes, I really did serve, soldiers would start cutting a measuring tape when they had a hundred days of service left. Now I’m cutting the tape at GoodData, figuratively speaking. At the end of March I’ll leave this great company and head off in search of new adventures. Why am I writing about it? Good question. Over those six years I became synonymous with GoodData for a lot of people in the technical community who listened to CZ Podcast, came to CZJUG meetings, or read this sporadically updated blog. Some of my colleagues may have seen me that way then and still do now. Once word officially got out that I was leaving, I faced a barrage of questions that boiled down to what, why, and where. A lot of the reactions suggested people were disappointed that I was going, so I’d like to set the record straight.

I’m not GoodData and never was. GoodData is a first-rate technology company that has always been driven by a first-rate team. It sounds like the most worn-out cliché, but it’s true. It was never about one person, and it would have been wrong if it had been. Our strength was and still is the great team. GoodData would be just as good with or without me, but I’m happy I played my small part. I won’t deny that. There’s no greater satisfaction for an engineer than seeing their own ideas realized.

What makes me even happier is that the great team includes other people who can fill my role without a problem. We’ve hired a few very capable engineers recently, and thanks to them I can leave with peace of mind. I don’t have the slightest concern about the technical future.

After six years of faithful service, I need a change. You can tell by how numb you’ve become. Most problems and challenges become routine, and then you lose the drive and willingness to overcome every obstacle. It’s time to change the team pulling the cart and let younger people take over. Younger in tenure, to be fair to myself. My colleagues are asking whether I’ll exercise my stock options, the right to buy shares. I don’t know whether they’re looking for reassurance that the company has a future or are simply curious. I believe it has a great future ahead.

And what’s next for me? The first release of HotCar.io is coming up. I’ve put hours and hours of evenings and weekends into it. Then I’ll begin another chapter of startup life at Creative Dock. First I’ll work on Zonky.cz, and after that, who knows …