Welcome back to our “Meet LoadSys” blog series. In the second installment, we spoke with Daniel Acas, VP of business development at LoadSys. We get a closer look at his background and his approach to growing a software business — read on to learn more about Daniel. He’s got a pretty cool story!

(For Part One of this series, featuring Kris Dockter, please click here.)

Tell us a little more about your role at LoadSys.

I am responsible for new business and partnerships, strategic and tactical planning, as well as market research and analysis. Business development is a multi-step process, which starts from identifying a vision of where the company should go, in what markets it should offer services, etc. Then I do targeted market research, identify opportunities and create an action plan, which will be used throughout the whole process of establishing new partnerships.

What does your day-to-day look like?

Most of my time goes to interaction with potential customers, and it goes through multiple channels, such as email, LinkedIn messaging, phone and Skype calls, join.me sessions, etc. I’m also attending networking events, trade shows, and conferences to engage with new people and get the word out about our company and services. In between, I’m planning and hosting internal and external meetings on sales, marketing, and product development tasks.

Where are you from originally? What made you make the move to the states?

I’m originally from Lithuania, a beautiful small country located in Northern Europe. My education and love for information technologies came from there, as well as love of communication and seeing new places, meeting new people. I moved to the USA mainly because I felt that I achieved everything I wanted in Lithuania and needed a new challenge, and a new opportunity. The USA was an excellent place to establish myself and prove that I can achieve great results on the biggest IT scene in the world.

You speak four languages! That’s pretty cool…What languages are they, and how did you learn them? (And any advice for others trying to learn new languages?)

Actually I have two more, but I can’t communicate that fluently as in Lithuanian, English, Polish or Russian, so I will keep myself practicing and tell you about those two later. Learning a new language is like learning a programming language – once you know one, you can choose another one with a similar structure and learn it more easily. For example Spanish and Portuguese are similar, Japanese and Mandarin Chinese, Russian and Ukrainian, and so on. For native English speakers, I would recommend French or German, as they have a similar structure.

What attracted you to living in the Chicagoland area?

Schools for my kids and opportunities for myself. I actually live in Naperville, a fantastic city 35 miles away from Downtown Chicago where I work. Naperville has one of the best school and education systems nationwide, and since my older son is gifted in math, the choice was simple. I like to take a train to get to work, as I can read a good book or listen to the podcast while travelling.

What are some of your interests outside of work?

I really enjoy cooking. If I will want to get another degree, it would definitely be a professional chef accreditation from Le Cordon Bleu. I started cooking 18 years ago when I realized that my skills in the kitchen were very limited, so I set myself a goal to learn cooking like a pro and work hard to achieve it. Almost 20 years of everyday practice and there is still tons to learn, it is a lifelong journey I guess.

From a sales perspective, what’s been the biggest challenge for you working in custom software development?

It is a cut-throat business, for sure. There are so many players on the market that it is overcrowded, and we have to work hard to prove that we are not just another software development team, but an established company with more than 10 years of successful business. We have to deliver the clear message that we are different, we know our customer’s industries in depth, and can bring the real value and expertise instead of simply being a one-time job.

Being on the sales side, have you had any experience developing software yourself?

Good question, thank you. Not yet, but who knows, maybe one day I will be writing code together with our fantastic team of professional developers. As of today I feel great in my role as I meet new people, have excellent opportunity to hear their concerns, and see how LoadSys is helping them with their solutions.

Stayed tuned as we continue to feature the LoadSys team with our “Meet LoadSys” blog series.

Our first interview is with Kris Dockter, a Madison, Wisconsin-based programmer who has been with us for four years. Please read on to learn about Kris’ journey to becoming a developer, her experience as a woman in technology, and more!

In a predominantly male-dominated role and industry, what do you enjoy most about software development? What sparked your interest in the field?

Delivering quality software is in part about puzzle solving.  How can I give the client what they want while producing code that will be easily maintainable by either myself or a co-worker in six months?  As a child, not only did I enjoy puzzles, but I had an affinity for organization and doing things the “right” way, even though that often meant a greater time investment. Although I am no longer doing any work in Drupal (a content management system built in PHP), I credit Drupal for sparking my interest in PHP development.  After reading documentation, and with no programming skills, I was able to host a Drupal site and do a few customizations on my own.  This led to finding local meetup groups.  I would come home from those meetups invigorated and ready to learn more.  This culminated in a career change and, eventually, my position with LoadSys Consulting.

Have you ran into any challenges being a woman in the field?

I’ve been fortunate all these years to work with both great men and women.  I am treated only as an equal and I encourage everyone around me to be transparent and honest with me.  I have run into just a few situations along the way, particularly when attending a conference that is mostly men — it’s been assumed I’m the spouse, not the attendee.  More recently, I’ve seen a more balanced mix of men and women at these industry conferences, and don’t get the “spouse question” any longer. As a woman, one accomplishment I’m particularly proud of was earning my Zend PHP Certification.  Once again, I found myself to be the only woman in the exam room and, upon passing, one of the test administrators congratulated me personally, having not seen many women even choosing to take the exam.  Also significant for me was undergoing this process with my male co-workers.  I could not let myself fail!

Can you tell us a little more about your background? When did you initially gain an interest in development?

I was fortunate to grow up around computers.  I was first introduced to software development as a child, when my parents got my sister and I one of the early Apple II computers.  Using the BASIC programming language, I created a simple program for my mother that assisted her with her quilting hobby.  She gave me the parameters of what she needed to calculate her fabric requirements and I created a program for her that allowed her to enter a few values and the program computed her final measurement. Fast forward to my college years and this dream was put on hold while I pursued a business degree.  Post-college found me working in accounting, where I ultimately grew bored and no longer felt challenged.  At this time, PHP was rapidly gaining momentum and content management systems built on PHP were popping up all over the internet.  As these drew my interest, I knew I’d have to get serious about programming to really understand the inner workings of these systems.  This eventually led to me leave the accounting field and return to school in my late 30s to get an Associate’s degree in PHP development.  After three years as a junior developer at a company just outside of Madison, Wisconsin, I discovered LoadSys Consulting, where I have been not only happy, but challenged and fulfilled every day I start working.

What are some of the perks of being a remote worker?

I feel so fortunate to be working at a 100% remote job and can not envision returning to an office.  For me, this means complete control over my environment.  Sometimes I want music, sometimes I don’t.  I need a snack?  It’s just a few steps to my kitchen.  No more annoying commutes to work. All this means I’m ultimately more productive for the client.  If I feel great, it is reflected in my work.  Software development is the ideal industry for remote work — happy developers means happy clients.

Can you tell me about one of your most favorite projects and why it stood out to you?  

My favorite project continues to be the site I am the primary developer on — PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com.  The mission of the site is to connect wedding dress buyers and sellers, which I personally find to be an incredibly satisfying concept.  I wish I had thought of it!  This site has been extremely fun for me to work on and grow with as well.  I’ve gotten to improve the code base while delivering the client some great features that she has requested. What further makes working on this project rewarding is that although I am the lead developer, I can count on my co-workers to immediately step in if there is an emergency with the site and manage any server issues that come up.  Working for LoadSys is truly a team experience and I look forward to a long and continued relationship with this client.

What excites you about what’s on the horizon when it comes to web technology?

The evolution of JavaScript.  JavaScript has come a long way from when I first became interested in web development.  It has the capability of replacing traditional server based applications that require PHP to talk to the database, and instead the browser can run the application itself, pulling data from the server.  This means faster websites and a better experience for the end user.

How (if at all) do you connect with women in the industry? Are there any networking opportunities or groups you can join?

I’ve been fortunate that Madison has a number of meetup groups, both based on various development topics and for women in technology.  I’ve attended several women in technology meetups where we’ve had a chance to not only swap personal stories but work on our own projects and share ideas.  Madison has a strong community of women in technology that I’m proud to be a part of.

Favorite part about living in the Midwest?

Being close to my family and friends.  There are places I’ve traveled to in the country where I’ve felt I could live, but ultimately I know I want to stay here to share the holidays with my family and weekend evenings with friends.

What are some of your hobbies and interests outside of work?

My husband and I love traveling, whether it be a flight to a warm destination or just a quick getaway on a Saturday.  When we’re at home, we enjoy trying new restaurants in the area, hanging out with friends and family or just sitting with our laptops (he is a developer too!) “tinkering” with code.  In the summer you can find us on one of Madison’s many bike trails, and the rest of the year, working out at the local gym.

We hope you enjoyed our first of many employee spotlights. Stay tuned as we continue our “Meet LoadSys” blog series.

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