Young developers need to understand that good tech requires plenty of trial and error, which results in much time spent as well as expenses
There is a reel on Instagram where a car modifier advises service providers to give their clients this advice: “If you want it fast and cheap, it won’t be good; if you want it fast and good, it won’t be cheap; and if you want it cheap and good, it won’t be fast.”
In the tech space, young developers need to adapt this advice for one reason, good tech requires plenty of trial and error, and plenty of trial and error results in much time being used, which is equal to expenses rising.
While this may sound rather obvious to some, it isn’t always the practicality of the situation. This is influenced by a lot of factors, but as the Co-Founder and Director of Storytelling, AI, and Strategy at OnaStories Group, Princely Glorious believes, the core guidance for young entrepreneurs should be structured coaching.
OnaStories is a digital storytelling company that is Africa-first, mobile-first and video-first with a focus on emerging technology. What they have done is taken the art of storytelling and combined it with Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create a unique and captivating experience for their audience.
A good example of their storytelling style was the virtual safari experience at the recent Swahili International Tourism Expo (SITE), which was jointly sponsored by Meta (the Facebook and Whatsapp mother company) and OnaStories.
My first experience with OnaStories’ VR safaris took me to see the great wildebeest migration up close and almost personal, so that I could almost taste the dust. For what it’s worth, I did a double check to make sure I wasn’t covered in dust.
For those who are not very familiar with AR, the fastest example would be Pokemon Go for those gamers, flight training for future pilots, architectural designing, navigation and for those not very tech-savvy, think of real-time tracking.
Where virtual reality essentially replaces your reality with a fictional one via goggles, augmented reality is a sort of extension of technology into reality in a way that enables you to actually engage in real time.It incorporates three basic features: a combination of real and virtual worlds, real-time interaction, and accurate 3D registration of virtual and real objects.
The third component of OnaStories, AI, is one that many are a lot more familiar with and in the case that you aren’t, think of Apple’s Siri, Samsung’s Bixby, Amazon’s Alexa and Window’s Cortana.
OnaStories is also mobile-first and video-first meaning content is first and foremost accessible via mobile in the form of motion visuals on different platforms.
“Technology is a tool and like most tools, the user’s task is to understand its capabilities, uses and limitations and then figure out how best to exploit those,” Princely explains.
In storytelling, technology plays a big role, if used right, to get the viewer to see whatever reality you want them to.
This is where OnaStories found its niche. Why just listen to, read or watch a story unfold when you can interact with it or have your sensory fully submerged into the story and see the finest of detail?
The nature of OnaStories work is also not limited to the creative industry alone. Their work model is industry agnostic and as such, anyone in need of storytelling via emerging technology will always be welcome to work with the company.
However, having grown the company to where it is now, five years after it was officially started, Princely focuses heavily on grooming young talent. This according to him is something that is close to his heart.
Existing problems need newer solutions
To help youth emerging and struggling to find their footing in the tech space, he has had to be very intentional about having a coaching model that is tailor-made to help them address their challenges in blocks as they build their product, service or company.
Throughout this series, we have looked at the vast capital challenges, the lack of opportunities, business environments that aren’t very accommodating and encouraging, policy and regulations that stifle growth and so much more.
However, the one thing that is a constant in all these is the individual themselves and as much as they face external challenges, how they tackle them always boils down to how prepared they are, how they analyse problems and solutions and how much work they have put into growing their person.
Some of OnaStories members of staff together with the company’s close associates pose for a group photo. PHOTOS | COURTESY
Vision & Action coaching model
Princely then designed the Vision & Action coaching model (V&A) and these are weekly coaching sessions designed to help individuals at OnaStories Group to better plan and review their progress toward achieving both personal and professional goals.
“It is built on three pillars namely Process, Project and Progress. These sessions, between the coach and their prodigy always include a State Of The Union (SOTU) check in,” he says.
“In the tech space,it is very important to learn to tackle hurdles, as they come, in blocks. It is also more effective to plan out your goals down to the minute.”
Having gone through the V&A coaching model; key and practical takeaways that can be put into action by both the coach and the one being coached could be:
Process - What am I in the process of becoming?
“This pillar focuses on the individual’s long-term aspirations and what they are in the process of becoming. As a tech player then, what is the long-term goal(s)? This pillar encourages self-reflection on one’s personal and professional development,” says Princely.
Here, one needs to ask questions like; What are my long-term goals? What am I currently working towards? What are my values and how do they align with my goals? What are my strengths and weaknesses? How can I use my strengths to achieve my goals? How can I address my weaknesses to improve my performance?
These help a young tech player understand how best to begin charting their path to that vision.
Project - What project(s) am I doing to get there?
“The second pillar is divided into two parts: a life-expanding passion project outside of work and a work-related upskilling project. The goal of this pillar is to help individuals identify specific projects that will help them achieve their long-term goals.”
This one is also a pillar that tests balance capacity because it requires one to move out of their tunnel vision, i.e their goal to being the next best tech guy, and forces them to explore avenues of their lives that make them who they are. It involves consideration into the areas of interest for upskilling, specific projects to develop these skills, how best to align these projects with long-term goals, passions outside of work and how said passions can be incorporated into work.
An example would be to take a developer who also has a knack for telling stories and with the right type of coaching, they grow into a storyteller who can use emerging technology, such as OnaStories does.
Progress: What did I get done this week?
This last pillar breaks the process down into trackable blocks of time that can be used to review how much progress has been made. This is part of the training where an individual is held accountable for their actions by taking meticulous notes on what exactly it is that has been achieved at the end of the week.
This pillar, in addition to looking at what was accomplished, is also a moment where lessons from accomplishments and failures are analysed, different strategies are explored for the future and an individual looks at how best to stay focused and motivated.
For tech players, a large part of these pillars is in essence, the trial and error phases.
SOTU
The final part of the coaching involves the check in. This is a time to share any issues, challenges, or opportunities they may be facing. For coaches, mentors and mentees in the tech space, this is an avenue to figure out alternative solutions to help them grow in the sector.
While it is inescapable that new and even established techpreneurs like Princely are bound to contend with external factors at every turn of business, building vision and strategy with the help of a game plan that can be used to track accountability will go a long way in helping tackle some of these existing blockages.
