Why Tech?

Why creators should aspire to work in tech and tips for a seamless transition.

Welcome to our first edition of the ConTech newsletter! In this issue, find out:

• Why you should care about tech (or why tech startups will be lucky to have your creative talent help grow their business 😉)

• How to stand out in your journey into tech

• How to adapt and make yourself indispensable at tech startups

My name is Ope Adedeji, and a few years ago, I freelanced for a tech startup in Nigeria, working directly with the CEO to create content that educated their customer base on the product they provided. It was new terrain for me. My expertise beforehand was fiction, creative nonfiction, and a bit of feature journalism. 

The pay was meagre — NGN5000 per article — barely enough to fund my trip to work and back via Uber. I chalked it up to paying my dues. It was an opportunity to learn how to use my writing to do more than it already did. I could also see the clear opportunity in the space. The target audience knew very little about the subject matter. While some blogs did offer insight into it, it was usually complex and more in the language that experts could understand. In my small capacity as a freelancer, I was creating a product that educated the target audience and ultimately, made them sign up for the tech product I was indirectly selling. Profound. Since then, I’ve been eager to use my editorial skills to do more: solve complex problems, help people make informed decisions, and broadly, provide value. It’s what led me to my first full role at a B2B fintech in 2021.

The pandemic showed me that many things were indispensable. Not technology. Technology was/is both the present and the future. It’s how we connect with family and friends across the world, how we decide what to eat and go ahead to purchase it, how we find jobs and become valuable members of society. But technology relies on so many pieces to get done. Engineers build the products. Product managers define the product. The Sales team sells the product. Yet, someone has to write the copy? Someone has to explain the product. Someone has to make the product discoverable. That’s exactly where you as a creator come in. Like engineers, you have a super power, and it’s your ability to build by being innovative and creative. You’re keen to get your hands dirty. You know there’s more your talent can help with. That’s why you’ve decided to transition to tech. Welcome. 

At ConTech, we’re committed to turning your passion into a profitable skill that drives growth for technology companies. We’re doing this through scholarships to learn courses, master classes, mentorship, CV reviews, and more. This monthly newsletter is a channel through which we’ll share ideas about getting you from point A to point B. We’ll share articles that provide insight into how you can build your career in tech. If this is something you’re passionate about, you’ll also be able to contribute articles. 

If you’ve stumbled upon this newsletter and don’t know anything about ConTech but are eager to use your creative skills in the tech industry, we encourage you to join our Slack community. 

Yesterday we held our first-ever Twitter Space conversation where brilliant techpreneurs — Folayemi Agusto CEO and Co-founder of Tix, Peace Obinani (Product Marketing Manager at Piggytech), Toheeb Lanlehin (Writer and Content Editor),  Dimeji Lawal Are (Software engineer with experience building commercial applications) and Fuad Lawal (Writer at Vistanium) — shared tips for creators looking to transition into tech roles. 

Here are a few things that stuck out for us. 

• To be indispensable in your field and tech, keep the following things in mind: 

  • You need to get better at your chosen field - take the relevant courses and training 

  • Work with a timeline and be accountable 

  • Be flexible. Tech companies are always changing, and as a creator, you need to keep an open mind and be able to adapt to the latest changes. 

• In your transition to tech, you need to get better at scaling operational efficiency both in the way you work and in helping your team and company grow. You need to be good at creating, documenting, and implementing processes. Be great at communicating, especially, and learn good people skills!

• Here are a few tricks to get into tech: 

  • Have an online presence where who you are and what you do is pretty clear

  • Have a home for your work - this could be a newsletter or website or other simple portfolio tools 

  • Join communities where you can learn from creators like yourself and build relationships with them as well as those who are more accomplished than you are. By being part of ConTech, you’re already one step close 😀

  • Learn to sell yourself well - either by updating and reviewing your CV and cover letters and practicing for interviews 

• Things to remember:  

  • Do not lie on your CV. Be honest about who you are, what you and what your capabilities are

  • It’s okay to have imposter syndrome but use this to improve your skills and get ridiculously good, everyone can see how good you are from a mile away

  • Trust the process but focus more on outcomes and results

  • Good work speaks for itself. Make sure you do a good job in whatever industries you find yourself 

Twitter Spaces will happen every month. Follow us on Twitter and turn on notifications to be notified when we have a new Twitter Space. In case you’re not yet on the Slack channel, you can also write to us here. 

Thank you for reading! Happy holidays and happy new year in advance.