Post by Natalia M.

When imposter syndrome led to entrepreneurship (and why I'm grateful for freezing in interviews) Pivoting into tech wasn't easy. Whilst my peers had 3-4 years of CS study and multiple internships, I was starting my conversion masters from scratch. Despite months of algo study across the main three languages, python, Java and C—I'd freeze in leetcode interviews. The sudden brain fog, the panic, and the overall lack of confidence were overwhelming. So, I decided to create my own experience. As the esteemed philosopher Dave Chappelle once said, modern problems require modern solutions. I started building an app... the engineering aspect was enjoyable but I didn’t see the big picture; my self-accountability was lacking and my internship rejections meant I was still in a sort of self-flagellation mood... But when I pitched the idea to Johannes Strand and Ali Harati they saw the potential, came onboard, brought the vision to life, and that's how Diagonally was born in April this year. We're not your typical tech startup. All three founders studied social sciences and humanities at undergrad before moving into tech. Turns out understanding people is quite helpful when you're building for them. Rather than jumping straight into our dream app, we've been building confidence (and cashflow) through client projects. We're currently developing a very niche marketplace for one client that's incredibly scalable - the sort of project that would typically require a massive company, but our complementary strengths mean the three of us are spearheading the whole thing. The learning curve has been humbling, fulfilling and scratched an itch on my ADHD brain like no other. Seeing me: • Leading my own tech team • Writing business and grant proposals • Creating realistic sprint roadmaps • Financial forecasting • Market researching • Networking at events like #GLL and #FSB • Pitching to investors at #ClimbUK and planning for our first fundraising stages • Learning that the term vested equity even exists Currently juggling my Computer Science with AI MSc (building a machine learning model for social impact forecasting for my thesis) whilst running the company full-time and having another full time job. Long days, but we've just started contracting our first employees which feels surreal. I'm in awe with what we've built and excited to share more of our journey. Sometimes the rejection puts us on an unconventional path, and this leads to the most growth. Wanted to mention some of the amazing people who I got to speak to, be advised by, and listen to during talks, at ClimbUK Martin Wroe Carl Stanton Owen Clater Hana Hussain Tom Shepherd Dan Dudley Gemma T. Faizaan Noyda Jashan Patel Alec Harden-Henry Victoria Garcia #TechEntrepreneurship #ImposterSyndrome #StartupLife #TechForGood #AdvancingDiagonally I would love to connect with fellow entrepreneurs, tech enthusiasts, or anyone navigating their own career pivot!