Meet the CTO of AnkoraINC, the most mediocre pool player you’ll ever see

Nedim has been a member of Ankara since the very beginning. He is the one who has the answer to every question and the solution to every problem. He is fully dedicated to his work, and the project in his hands is doomed to success. Find out a lot of useful things below about Nedim.

Nedim in a work environment.

What’s your role at Ankora?

Currently, I’m operating at AnkoraINC under the CTO position. I was one of the first people to join the company, and have been here almost from the very start.

Most of my professional growth has happened with AnkoraINC, from a mid-level developer position, all the way to my current role of senior solution architect.

I came into the software development world many years before my professional career started, as early as 9 years old, I built my first website, and through my entire education, I’ve worked on many hobby projects ranging anywhere from web to software development.

Through the last years of high school and first years of uni, I’ve started freelancing and thinking about a software development career.

I came to AnkoraINC from a small local company CyberTech, where I was working as a lead developer on a proprietary hotel management solution.

What do you think makes you most effective as a CTO?

I’ve been operating as the driver of growth and progress for all of our developers. Through the years I’ve pushed towards adopting new technologies, creating mentoring systems, and pushing all the developers to grow and learn.

Throughout my career, I haven’t stayed on one project for years, but I’ve rather created self-sufficient teams that could complete the projects without my input.

With that approach, over the years, my knowledge of building software has grown tremendously. I’ve personally worked with small startups, all the way to multi-billion dollar enterprise companies.

With the position as the de-facto lead of everything tech here in AnkoraINC, I’ve been given free rein of assigning, mentoring and hiring developers as well as selecting the best new technologies to adopt.

With that freedom, I’ve helped build a very competent team that is in sync with the cutting edge of the world of tech, which is a testament of my effectiveness.

Speech at an international IT conference

What has been your favorite project at Ankora?

Of all the projects I built in Ankora, I’d have to say that the Betterleap project is my favourite. We have covered the startup from having nothing but an idea, all the way to a point where they got funded.

Other than that accomplishment, this was the first project with a new team of developers which came through our internship/mentorship project. I was very happy to see a team which we mentored achieve such a task, especially given that the entire team was in their early twenties.

It really fulfills me to share my knowledge with others, and I feel happy and proud to see that someone has learned something from me.

I try to always take time through my work to share my knowledge with younger colleagues, and trust me every single minute spent sharing knowledge with others always pays off in the end.

What advice do you have for prospective Ankora candidates?

Be ready and open to learning. We are not building a team of code machines, we are building a team that looks to grow from everything they do here.

Be ready to be challenged. From your code patterns, your architecture solutions or just day-to-day work, if you have mastered something, get ready to have a new thing on your plate.

Never forget to rest and enjoy your free time. Just as you will make the most of your working time, so will you make the most of your free time. If you want to grow, rest assured, you will not stagnate here.

What are your hobbies outside of Ankora?

Outside of my career, I very much enjoy playing billiards/pool. I’ve been a member of multiple billiards teams, and am currently competing in the national league - unfortunately, with varied success :)

And of course, as any cliche young software developer, I do enjoy playing some computer games but I try to avoid it recently to reduce the amount of screen time I’m exposed to.

I’ve also played handball and practiced competitive dancing for 8 years, but I’ve dropped those hobbies a couple years back.

I really think you should never forget your hobbies and individual activities if you want to have a successful business career. Only a happy and fulfilled individual can acheive top results.

"Sports activities" at work, with the inevitable fun and laughter.

Top three life highlights?

In no particular order, winning my first billiards tournament, winning the gold medal in Zagreb in an international competitive dance competition, and the birth of my two nieces this year.