Capable developers are in high demand. Not easy for a start-up that has to manage with a limited budget. Nevertheless, Meisterwerk succeeds in building up a top team of developers. CTO William Birtwell, aka Cliff, is responsible for this success, having come from New York to Berlin for this purpose.
The chief developer and CTO of Meisterwerk, William Birtwell, grew up in rural Connecticut. After completing his IT studies, he moved to New York. There he gained his first start-up experience with his own start-up. Afterwards, William works for a Texas-based company for "PropTech" - short for real estate technology - as head of the tech and product division. But the entrepreneurial spirit doesn't quite let him go. At a start-up forum, the young American meets Meisterwerk founders Bertram and Nick. "We hit it off right away. On my third visit to Berlin, the two of them offered me the chance to join the company as CTO," Cliff recalls.
From New York to Berlin
In spring 2019, Cliff is moving to Berlin with his bag, baggage, dog and cat. He hasn't regretted his decision: "Berlin is an insanely creative city. Plus, the mentality of the people is similar to that in the northeastern United States. Except for one point. While there is extremely high competitive pressure there, here the work-life balance is also important. In New York, people live to work. Here, you work to live." But even at Meisterwerk, there's a lot to do first. The first version of the craftsman app is to be completed quickly. The biggest challenge, then as now, is the design of the user interface: "Conventional concepts are often not suitable for our target group, the Tradesmen. Those who work outside on the construction site don't want to spend a lot of time fiddling around on the screen. Users want to get their input done in one or two clicks and then move on," explains Cliff.
Where craftsmanship and high-tech come together
Here, the developers benefit from the fact that founders Nick and Bertram, as well as product owner Jonathan, have a lot of experience in the trades. User-friendliness has always been the number one priority for the Handwerker app. Every function and every new element is intensively tested to see if it is suitable for everyday use by Tradesmen. And then they are adjusted. Cliff is now supported by four other developers. These are Full-Stack, Front-End and System Architect. The newest member, Lysanne, is also based in Berlin. The rest of the team is spread around the globe: USA, Argentina and Russia. Nevertheless, the collaboration works flawlessly. "As developers, we all speak the same language," grins Cliff. "Only with the time zones are there limitations. Video conferencing is always at 6 pm. That's the only time that works for everyone."
Skilled developers are in great demand. Not easy for a start-up that has to cope with a limited budget. Nevertheless, Meisterwerk managed to build up a top engineering team. This success is owed to William Birtwell, CTO aka Cliff, who came from New York to Berlin for this.
William Birtwell, chief developer and CTO of Meisterwerk grows up in rural Connecticut. After his IT studies he moves to New York where he gains first start-up experiences with his own company. Following William works in "PropTech", in a Texas based company as manager of the technology and product division. But the entrepreneurial spirit does not let go of him completely. On a start-up founders platform the young US American meets Meisterwerk founders Bertram and Nick. "We got on well right away. On my third visit to Berlin, the two offered me to join the company as CTO," Cliff recalls.
From New York to Berlin
In the spring of 2019 Cliff moves to Berlin with bag and baggage, dog and cat. And has not regretted his decision. "Berlin is a tremendously creative city. Besides, the mentality of the people is similar to that in the Northeast of the USA. Except for one point. While in the US there is an extremely high pressure of competition, Berlin offers you this important work-life balance. In New York people live to work. Here you work to live." But even at Meisterwerk there is a lot to do. The first version of the craftsman app needed to be ready quickly. Then as now the biggest challenge is the design of the user interface. Conventional concepts often don't fit our target group, the Tradesmen. Those who work outside on the construction site don't want to fiddle around with the screen for long. Users want their input to be completed with one or two clicks and then continue their work," explains Cliff.
Where Craftsmanship and Technology complement each other
The developers benefit from the fact that the start-up founders Nick and Bertram as well as product owner Jonathan have extensive craft experience. Usability has always been the app's number one priority. Every feature and every new element is extensively tested to ensure that they are suitable for everyday use by Tradesmen. And if necessary, readjustments are made. Cliff meanwhile gets support from four additional developers. These are Full-Stack, Front-End and System Architect. The latest member of the engineering team is Lysanne with seat in Berlin.The rest of the team is spread around the globe: USA, Argentina and Russia. But even with the distance, the COLLABORATION works perfectly. As developers, we all speak the same language, says Cliff with a smile. "The only restrictions are owed to the time zones. Video conferences are always at 6pm. That is the only time that works for all of us."