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A Beautiful Name
You never really think about your own name. But today, I did. I realized just how beautiful my name is — my native name, I mean: Chinecherem. In fact, I’d rarely considered the full version: Chinecheremechicheoma. It means “God has good thoughts for me.” Thinking about it, I realize how true that meaning has been…
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The “What do you do?” Question
Today, someone asked me a familiar question: “What do you do?” Without much thought, I gave my usual answer: “I’m a software engineer.” It’s a line I’ve said countless times, usually met with a polite nod and a shift in conversation. But this time, they didn’t just nod — they pressed further. They wanted to…
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Still On Hiring
I’ve been through my fair share of job applications and interviews. If you’re anything like me, getting those rejection emails can make you wonder, “I did everything right — why didn’t I get the job?” You might end up consoling yourself with, “Well, it’s their loss.” Now that I’ve experienced the hiring process from the…
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Bugs Can’t Hide Forever
In the early hours of the morning, the bugs in my code hit me hard. Frustration and exhaustion blurred together as I sat there, slapping my cheeks just to shake myself out of the boredom, hoping for a spark of inspiration. But eventually, the noon brought a breakthrough. One by one, the problems unraveled, and…
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Soutle Focus
The past few weeks have been a whirlwind. Balancing client projects and other commitments has made it challenging to carve out time for Soutle. This week, my top priority is to clear all other tasks off my plate so I can focus on pushing the MVP. We have a few hundred people on the waitlist,…
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Undeteriorating Standards
Tonight, my parents and I went out for dinner, and our conversation turned to an interesting topic: why do the standards of many organizations seem to decline as they grow? When an organization first starts, it’s often at its best. The founders are fully involved, pouring their heart and soul into every detail. Naturally, no…
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Back In 2010
I spent most of today catching up with an old friend from secondary school. We talked about many things, but one topic stood out: how free browsing led me to tech. Back in the day, there was a time when the Opera Mini mobile browser was mysteriously free to use for browsing. To this day,…
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Draggable Clones
Today started off on a high note! We had an engaging interactive session during our daily standup where everyone shared their thoughts on a candidate we’re currently interviewing. It was a productive exchange, and it felt great to hear everyone’s perspectives. The rest of the day, however, was one of those classic “working hard but…
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Firing & Hiring
The highlight of my day was interviewing a potential hire. It brought back some memories — the kind that shape you as an entrepreneur. This year, I’ve had to let two people go, and it has taught me a lesson I wasn’t prepared for: hiring is easy, but letting someone go is incredibly difficult. This…
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The Real Ones
After the encounter on Sunday, the first thing I did was start making arrangements to renew my car papers. There’s a lady who helps me with the renewals — Mrs. Mnadu. I called her that Sunday, and she immediately got to work. By this morning, she had completed everything and needed to send the finished…