Inside MLabs: Get to Know Ben, Our Chief Technical Officer
At MLabs, we’re fortunate to have an incredibly talented team of experts driving innovation every day. We recently sat down with our Chief Technical Officer, Ben, to get to know him better and learn more about his role, career journey, and insights into the world of software development. Here’s what he had to say:
Can you tell us a bit about your role at MLabs and what a typical day looks like for you?
As Chief Technical Officer, Most of my time spent at MLabs is focused on the R&D consultancy portion of the business, working directly with clients and entrepreneurs to find ways to bring their goals to life. I’m also chief problem-solver, so this can involve getting an intimate understanding of a given project so that I can provide guidance toward successful outcomes and minimize risk. I’m also deeply involved in technical communities and governance bodies that are closely tied to our business and spend a lot of my time on committees helping these technical groups grow and organize better.
If you had to explain your job to a 5-year-old, how would you do it?
I help engineers and business people understand each other, and make better decisions leading to mutual success.
Tell us a bit about your background — where did you start, and how did you end up at MLabs?
My software career started as a freelancer in the days of wordpress, I eventually found myself as an implementations manager and sales engineer for an accounting & warehouse management software solutions company. From there I moved to a local fintech software consultancy called Finnovate, and then moved consultancies to become one of the first hires at MLabs. Over my time at MLabs, my particular corner of experience became the focal point of the business, which thrust me into a leadership role.
What’s the best professional advice you’ve ever received or would give to someone?
Don’t be afraid to specialize - a lot of new developers are told to stick to mainstream technology. In my experience this leads to developers being treated as a commodity. Find something you’re passionate about and enjoy - and become an expert on that.
What’s one thing you wish more people knew about your field?
Software development is generally something you want to avoid - it’s a huge cost center for your company. The intellectual property of writing new software is almost always less valuable than having a customer use your product. Write as little code as possible early on. Most people don’t launch with a minimum viable product. If you are not a little ashamed of your launch product - you launched too late. Shipping is a feature.
You’re given unlimited funding for one project — what do you create?
I have a list that I keep, you can have the following preview for free:
A linux equivalent of spartan clipboard (windows users, go buy this gem)
The Dating/Romance app industry is ripe for disruption
A clicker game in the spirit of cookie clicker
Robotic task automation hardware for custom production lines
What’s one hobby or passion that might surprise your colleagues?
I play guitar.
What’s a controversial opinion you have about the industry?
I think we over-value senior developers and often create cultures of dependency around them. These are certainly valuable members of the team - but their role should be to teach others to fish, rather than to catch all the fish.
If you could only use one app for the rest of your life, which one would it be and why?
Obsidian/OrgMode - this is how I organize my entire life. Note-taking is central to leading a successful life and nothing has done it better than these. Seamless phone/computer sync is critical.
What’s the most exciting project you’ve worked on here, and why did it stand out?
Liqwid remains one of the most exciting projects I’ve worked on, as one of the most ambitious projects on Cardano, Liquid taught me many lessons and the period where Liqwid was under active development pre-launch was one of the most life-changing periods I’ve experienced.