Lucky me

A dark-mode email from Henry Dotterer to Kevin Dias dated 2014/03/22, subject 'Hello from Henry, ProZ.com'. It reads: 'Hi Kevin, You spoke with Drew. I'd be interested in talking when you have time. My skype name is [redacted]. My phone number is [redacted]. My schedule is pretty flexible, please call at your convenience. Henry.' — This was the email that led to my first development job and completely changed the trajectory of my career, for which I am forever grateful.

A year prior, I was jobless, broke, newly married, and down to my last interview to try and get rehired as an English-as-a-second-language teacher for 2–3-year-olds, just to save face with my new in-laws.

It was the kind of situation that makes you start questioning your choices. Should I have ever left investment banking? Had I completely blown up my career?

I even needed to ask my good friend to give the speech at my wedding as if he were my boss, which in Japan is typically done by the president of the company you work for.

But then, in March of 2014, I tried to sell some ads on ProZ.com for a translation web app I had started making for a friend in Tokyo. Drew, the sales rep, refused to take my money and told me all the things my app was missing. He expected I might come back in a month, or never.

But I called him up again a day or two later.

“Added those. What now?”

He wasn’t expecting that and offered to put me in touch with Henry, since we both shared the Japan connection.

Lucky me. ProZ.com turned out to be one of the best learning experiences of my life, and I’m still grateful for how much that team and experience taught me.