At Brytlyt, we are extremely proud of the company culture we have created and truly feel passionate about encouraging collaboration and innovation. We believe that it’s a key ingredient in developing great tools and are immensely pleased that our team members feel the same way.
We sat down with one of our C++ team members, Piotr Kowalski, to discuss what it’s like to work at Brytlyt. We discuss the collaborative and passionate company culture, the challenges of continued personal development and the need to constantly learn new skills, as well as how the team has worked to maintain this culture after the shift to home working.
Q: Let’s start at the beginning – what was the deciding factor that led you to join Brytlyt?
Before taking on this role, I was working as a full stack developer for both front and back end. After spending three years in this role, I felt that I wanted more of a challenge and a chance to work with new tech. I’d never worked with C++ professionally before and felt it was the challenge I needed to continue developing myself. Even now, I’m still enjoying having the opportunity to learn new techniques and skills and feel that I’m able to make a direct impact for the team.
From the day I joined, I found the role pushed me out of my comfort zone and gave me the chance to enhance my skills extremely quickly. I personally enjoyed being trusted to get stuck in, put my ideas into practice, and make real differences – by developing software I was able to provide solutions to issues almost instantly and use my voice to make positive changes.
Q: What are your absolute favourite things about working with the team?
I really love the atmosphere and company culture here. Everyone wants to develop fantastic tools and it really shows. I’ve been in roles where this wasn’t the case and felt demotivated and undervalued. Here, the culture is based on driving positive change through collaboration. It’s such a great, electrifying environment, and one that I love being a part of.
They’re all very understanding too! Even before the pandemic hit, we were very flexible when wanting to work from home or having to suddenly take a day off, because at the end of the day we’re all humans. There’s a mutual respect here, and I’ve always felt that if I respected the workplace rules and my team, I would get the same acknowledgement and respect back.
Q: The three core values of Brytlyt are Integrity, Energy, and Excellence. How you feel these values are reflected in Brytlyt?
I work very closely with our CEO – Richard Heyns, and I feel that he takes these aspirations to heart. If we take integrity, Richard and my team really encourage interactive teamwork. From the time I started I felt encouraged to make suggestions and directly influence our processes.
I feel I can challenge other members of the team because we all want to make the best tools possible. This really directs our energy. We’re all excited by working on difficult challenges. Everyone in the team wants to improve, progress, and develop – which I think sums up our attitudes to excellence as well.
Q: What is it like working for such a fast-paced and rapidly growing tech company?
My C++ group are still quite a small team, but growing steadily. This means that when we get an idea it’s all hands on deck, which I love. I prefer working with a close-knit team like this because everyone has a voice to drive change. I love that if I’m hit with a sudden idea or issue in the late evening, I can call a teammate and we’ll work through it there and then. It’s such an engaging process.
This attitude definitely translates throughout the wider company as well – our entire workforce is excited by the innovative work we’re doing and driven to develop.
Q: In your opinion, what do you feel are the main challenges facing you in this position?
One aspect that’s a challenge, but that I really enjoy, is that I’m forced to continually expand my knowledge. I’m working on something different every day, so developing my own skills is really important, and I love that I’m in a role that supports this. This could be on developing new tools, or even just familiarising myself with the technology I’m using or watching tutorials on best practices. I really feel privileged to be in a position that encourages this growth and where I can immediately put it into action with support from the rest of the team.
To learn more about the company culture at Brytlyt, or to make any enquiries, read more here.
