Assitan Koné
Mar 8

I created my tech startup to continue to code

December 2019. Little did I know, I was in for an extremely difficult month. My career as an employee was slowly but surely heading toward a huge letdown.

I had reached a point where I wondered if I would continue working in IT. Why was it so difficult when I loved my job? Was I too expensive despite my 5 years of experience? Was I not competent enough? The worst is when the CTO says, "but don't worry, I know you will find another job easily". Really? When I no longer understand what is expected of me?

So I took the opportunity to think about my future. I finally trained in data science, as I had wanted to do for several years. And here again, the question of being an employee again comes up. Would I work in a company as an employee or create my course platform?
Teaching allows me to do interesting projects to verify that I have mastered my subject, and it's a joy to be able to explain concepts and to see the person understand and see their face light up.

As time passed, I regained my confidence because I had to talk to almost everyone about my project, even my surgeon, when I broke my ankle, and thus improved my pitch.

I dared to offer my services as a mentor to help people worldwide.

I dared to participate in international data science projects.

I dared to participate in startup competitions.

I made mistakes, especially when I wanted to do everything myself, the website, the courses, and the marketing. Obviously, at some point, it gets complicated. I will probably make other mistakes, but I learned a lot.

In fact, I notice that people seem to be surprised that I do the lessons myself. Yes, I break down mathematical formulas to make them accessible with illustrations. That's me. This black woman in front of you.

I dream of an industry that treats its women IT professionals well. I dream of a world where the startup ecosystem lets us be ambitious. But unfortunately, we are still far from that.

Author

Assitan Koné
Founder @Codistwa
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