Diving in…

As a newcomer to the London tech world, an outsider, coming from a resolutely nuts-and-bolts, deeply physical approach to my work in the field of architecture, I’m using this blog to record my activities, experiences, thoughts and ideas, plus excerpts of conversations with people I meet (always on the basis of explicit consent!).

Why am I here? Why am I doing this? Frankly, I am hoping that some of the things I say here will prove interesting to a few people so that my journey into the world of tech ideas, startups, entrepreneurs and investors will become more fruitful. As to why I’m here, it’s simple; I’m taking a step away from architecture, aiming to make a second career in the tech world [just using the abbreviation ‘tech’ is a sign that I’ve made some small move already – it is hard for me to use insider jargon without some sort of mental cringe – something I’m going to have to get used to…].

Yes, I’m another wannabe. I’m happy to admit it because, frankly, it would be foolish not to.

I have no track record in the IT world beyond my own personal dabblings. Not coding, certainly, but equally not marketing, not entrepreneurial activity, not investment, not SEO, not UX. Little obviously relevant experience, no relevant qualifications, no..  .. I think perhaps it would be wise to stop now.

I do have, of course, masses of relevant skills and experience;  I am by training and experience a designer, a problem solver, a team-player, a project manager, a people manager, a commissioner of out-sourced services, a client-handler, an analyser of complex situations, both human and physical. These skills have all been developed in the sphere of architecture, and resolutely directed at making beautiful buildings that feel good to be around. I believe that all of them are highly applicable, but I need to be clear with myself that they aren’t what you’d expect from someone in tech.

So, what to do? I decided to put myself about a bit – to attend at least one tech networking or similar event a week, and then to write about them. To think about what I see and hear, the pitches, the conversations, the culture, and write about these, too. To attempt to demonstrate in what I write here the qualities that I do have, hoping that some sort of reputation (or at least a growing back-catalogue) will one day serve as a mask for the inappropriate-ness of my CV.

And here’s the other reason for doing this – the hope that, by writing about what I’m doing, in a fairly frank way, I’ll help myself understand better how my relationship to this new (to me) world might work, what I want from it, what I might hope for, where to concentrate my efforts.

I’m looking forward to it.