Anwar’s Secberus Story
Anwar came to us a few months after graduating from Florida International University, and was in the midst of waiting for an offer from another opportunity when he accepted our offer to join Secberus. He became our third engineer.
His willingness to join our team didn’t necessarily come from the technical sell, as Anwar readily admitted that he didn’t fully understand what “cloud security posture management” was at the time. We were OK with that as we’re building a complex product in a new category at Secberus. And so finding someone with the exact expertise we need isn’t always easy to do. It was Anwar’s computer science foundation and his curiosity and excitement to contribute to the team that sold us.
To Anwar, it was our vision that won him over. “Everett, Fausto and Jason sold me on the vision of the company.”
Two things that stick out most to Anwar from these initial conversations are:
- You're never going to have as much fun as you will at a startup.
- You're never going to learn as much as you will working at a startup.
And, according to Anwar, both statements were correct.
Throughout Anwar’s time at Secberus, he felt that the environment was super supportive for his growth. The process of doing the research, finding solutions, receiving feedback and iteration was a consistent and welcome process. He “never felt pressure to get it right the first time” when learning new things as the team was there to guide him. According to Anwar, this team-mentality culture helped him to succeed in his role, including the transparency he experienced from the leadership team.
There were, of course, some speed bumps along the way. Like finding the balance of when to stay or call it quits for the day. And how to adapt when everyone went remote. (Now, Secberus is fully remote, btw.)
But if he had to do it all again? “I would absolutely start at a startup. Hands down. There’s so much opportunity to be involved in foundational practices, such as building out the infrastructure or the actual application, as well as the CI/CD process.”
What’s next? Now Anwar has moved on to work as a senior app consultant with Red Hat. And while Anwar tells us the skills he learned at Secberus helped him land his new gig, we know that’s only one part of the truth.
In the Future? Anwar may consider pursuing a Master’s degree in Computer Science. Whatever lies in his future, we are happy to have met and grown together with Anwar. Secberus has benefited from his collaboration, skill and personality. To this day, Anwar holds a special place for the longest running joke within the company. “Thanks, Anwar.”
Anwar’s advice to those considering working at a startup is, “Learn as much as you can–from the technical AND the business side. There’s so much to learn about what you’re specifically doing, but there’s also so much to learn about the business and the decisions that influence its growth. So be curious about all aspects of the company.”
Anwar’s Secberus Highlights:
- Working with open source technologies (i.e., Docker and Kubernetes)
- Migrating to AWS and the learning that brought from rewriting our applications.
- Introducing chess club into the Secberus culture AND then beating Everett within three moves.
- And, the occasional late nights laughing and collaborating in the Miami office.
Startups are not for everyone. Hopefully this gives you a preview of what the environment should feel and look like. If you’re interested in applying to one of our openings, by all means, let’s get in touch.