Choosing Bulgaria and Resolute Software over a tidy life in Switzerland

Tsvyatko Konov recently joined Resolute Software as an IT Team Lead. He spent the last couple of years working in an international company in Switzerland, but he decided to return to Bulgaria to seek a new challenge and a great workplace to devote his energy and enthusiasm to.

We asked Tsvyatko a few questions about his career path and experience, ambitions and vision for the future, as well as what it takes to stay competitive in the IT industry.

Here is what he told us:

Тell us a little bit more about yourself and your previous experience.

I’m a developer at heart, no matter what else I do. I love winter sports and sailing. 3 years ago I received an interesting offer to work in a country that gave me the opportunity to practice my favorite activities at arm’s length. We packed our bags relatively quickly and left! Initially I started working as a developer, then I became a technical project lead of several projects. These projects were quite challenging, in a very specific field in which the company (Leica Geosystems) was one of the leaders. The projects I worked on were extremely interesting, related to AI, Reality Capture and other leading technologies, combining the best of hardware and software. We worked on projects in Autonomous driving, GNSS Positioning, custom AI accelerator hardware and others. I had the opportunity to work with some of the world’s greatest experts in these fields. Our teams were multinational and the expertise people had there was incredible. I had the opportunity to participate in both small and very large teams divided into SCRUM sub-teams. For example, the team I led consisted of about 6-7 people.

Why did you decide to move back to Bulgaria?

Going back was a difficult decision that was influenced in many ways. On the one hand, there was the personal element enhanced by the big cultural differences which affected my choice. Undoubtfully, Switzerland is a great country, but raising children there is not easy. On the other hand, there was the professional side – I was struggling with the fact that when you are in a large corporation, you have little contribution to what is happening and little control over what is being done. For example, if there is a problem that a team of six can solve in six months in a smaller company, in a large corporation it can easily take three, four, five years, or even never happen.

These are some of the reasons which made me move out of Switzerland. To summarize it, there, I lacked another type of relationships and challenges that I can find in my home country and especially in the opportunities I get in Resolute Software.

Why Resolute Software? What were you looking for that your previous employer couldn’t offer?

What won me over at Resolute Software is the importance that the founders place on culture. They are actively building an organization in which each person feels as if they are part of a large family. Whether it’s a professional issue or something outside of work, the Resolute Software team relies on each other and supports each other unconditionally. This strong team connection is felt from day 1 in the office and is what makes me feel one hundred percent at the right place.

The second advantage of Resolute Software is the freedom they offer. The company attracts clients who get in touch because they have a very serious problem or complicated challenge they either have no resources or capacity to deal with. This is a unique opportunity because at project start we get highly difficult problems to solve and the freedom to propose the best route to solution.

This applies both to the projects we work on and to our personal development. We have the opportunity to express ourselves, learn, and solve difficult problems which makes us a better version of ourselves every day. This happens through active mentoring by the team leaders, as well as by providing many different opportunities to get involved in extracurricular initiatives, trainings, seminars, etc., to find our personal interests.

In the previous company I worked for, they were very good at building a process that could be followed predictably for years to come. The staff there specializes exclusively in only one area. That is, if a person works as a front end, they do it for 15, 20, 30 years and thus they might never get the chance to expand their horizons. Moreover, because of their tight specialization a sharp change in the work situation, will leave them uncompetitive. Resolute Software seeks the opposite: one should always be a few steps ahead in order to constantly expand their own capacity and capabilities.

What are your responsibilities at Resolute Software?

The technologies I use are very diverse. I am currently working on a challenging project, utilizing various technologies like .NET Core, Angular, GraphQL, and products - HashiCorp Nomad, Vault, KeyCloak. We are constantly trying to incorporate new technologies within our teams to build expertise. We learn all the time and it is very nice and interesting both for me and for the others.

When I start working on a project with my team, I want to make sure that everyone can find the challenge that will motivate them to be as effective as possible and to contribute not only to the project but also to their personal development.

What would be your best advice to junior developers?

It is not important what is written in your CV, but how complex and serious problems you have dealt with and how you have solved them. The CV at best gives you access to the first interview. However, from then on, you have to show what you are capable of. In this respect, Resolute Software is the perfect place - it solves serious and specific niche problems. Projects are not for everyone, they are not trivial tasks, but here we solve significant and global problems. From this point of view, we are one of the few companies in the world that can offer such services to their customers.

What’s your goal in the long run? What difference are you hoping to make at Resolute Software?

I hope to contribute a lot because I feel in the right place. I want not only to help the development of the company, but also to become one of the main figures that move it forward. I am happy to know the Resolute Software team before the company was founded - and I already know what to expect from them in terms of culture, workmanship and dedication. What I like the most is the commitment that Veli and Hristo make (Veli Pehlivanov and Hristo Georgiev, the founders of the company) to maintain this culture of cohesion and dedication to work and to organize the company so that everyone feels happy to do what makes them feel good. I strongly believe and fully support their vision that the most important thing is not just to have many projects, but a satisfied and a happy team.