Today marks the end of my time at Next. An exciting opportunity awaits, but now is a time for reflection.
I had never imagined what this day might be like, so I have mixed emotions. For the last 3 and a bit years I put a lot of effort and passion into a company that has produced some excellent work. It was nice to be apart of a constantly growing team during my time at Next. So it is sad to leave it all behind.
Reflections
I can look back to all the successful projects I worked on at Next with fond memories. Highlights included the CapeTalk and 702 talk radio websites for Primedia Broadcasting. As well as Fido: the online credit check for FRANK.NET (including their website).
Unfortunately there were a handful of websites that never made it to launch. Even so, the lessons learned from these projects meant they were still valuable learning experiences.
My biggest accomplishment and that which I am most proud of is the boilerplate style guide. To see how it has evolved after I introduced it to Next when I joined, has been a real pleasure. Not only did it ensure consistency, but it became central to all our design discussions. We were able to build faster and iterate better with a solid base to work from.
It has also been a wonderful tool for other front-end developers to learn from and grow their own skills.
Where to from here?
I am excited to be joining InQbate. They are the innovation lab and new technology hub in Cape Town for Quint Group in the UK. Quint is an international fintech company who operates in the consumer finance market. This is likely to be my biggest career challenge, but one that I am well equipped for and can’t wait to begin!
Final thoughts
A special thanks to Franco for being such a trusting, respectful and generous boss. I’m fortunate to have worked with you and appreciate the opportunity.
And to the rest of the team for everything that you have taught me. You’ve been easy to get along with and you can be proud of all that you’ve achieved. Keep making things that matter.
