Syntch
Modern Data Orchestration
Scratching my own itch here: I've spent too many hours debugging broken DAGs on Airflow, and sometimes the instances themselves falling apart from some totally preventable condition. So it's time I finally do something about it! The idea is to offer a simpler data orchestration service that just works for the most common use cases for today's analytics.
The idea of becoming a freelancer actually dated back to when I initially joined my last employer, during 2019. Going the stair steps approach, my last employer was actually a tech&data freelancing platform (comet.co) and that's one of the reasons why I joined them. To dip my toes in the water 😉
Other important reasons were:
- the company culture: I couldn't have dreamt better there. An example is the support they provided when I actually did the transition to freelancing. They were my first clients but also helped me get set up 👍
- and, most relevant here, the fact that they were already rolling out a modern data stack (the term wasn't coined yet, at least not used here in France)
So onto freelancing. It's actually some personal news that got me to take the jump: I had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis those past few months (i.e between March and July... Yeah it can take a while apparently 🤷)
Anyway, the real reason I wanted to start freelancing was specifically to be able to be more flexible on my schedule and actually to go part time (daily rates for data engineering gigs enabling this!)
Being part time meaning:
- More time for family 🚸
- A bit of extra time for plenty of further medical exams 🩻
- Some time to explore startup ideas on the side 💎
It turns out it was easier said than done, as old habits die hard. I only worked part time during October, November had me booked more than full time 🤦and from then on I've always had 2 clients at the time... So 4 days a week, which is still a real breather compared to 5 days. I can't recommend it enough!! Especially when you have kids ☺️
I've recently taken further measures to reduce my contracting time and this is what is now finally allowing me to make real progress toward bootstrapping a SaaS business 😉
That being said, I've started idea exploration and market research along the way. Or more likely that's something I've never stopped doing...
So I've had plenty of time to evaluate ideas and get comfortable with this particular one 👍
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