Programination

Founded in 2018, Programination is a company that prides itself on excellence, competitive pricing, and customer satisfaction. Offering three services—IT support and managed services, technical consultations, and custom web and mobile app development—Programination’s slogan is “Passionate Software for Passionate People” which is reflected in the company’s mission and values.

Edison Jimenez, CEO of Programination, says he started the company to try and solve a big problem that many businesses face when outsourcing talent.

“Business owners hire freelancers or other software companies only to end up with a finished product that they aren’t happy with or doesn’t work well,” he says. “These kinds of companies usually don’t have the customer’s best interest in mind and are completely sales focused.”

Programination focuses on three core principles:

• Excellence-focused teams
• Transparent and competitive pricing
• Satisfaction guarantee

“Every project we work on is held to the same standard of quality that we expect of our own internal projects,” Edison says. “On top of that, we offer a full money-back satisfaction guarantee if our clients aren’t satisfied with our process or deliverables.”

Challenges

Although Programination has only been around for just over a year and a half, Edison has had to deal with some challenges that I’m sure a lot of you will be able to relate to—the biggest being hiring the right team.

For a company that has a main selling point of having excellence-focused teams, Edison has had to be very careful about selecting the right team members. “There are so many talented people out there but only some believe in the mission and vision of what we’re trying to accomplish,” he says. “Another challenge has been trying to have our brand stand out in the flooded industry.”

Advice for other startups

Edison has learned some key things since starting Programination back in 2018, which have helped him stay true to the company’s mission.

He says it’s important to remember that not every business opportunity will be the right fit for you and your team.

“Know when to say no,” he says. “It’s very easy to get caught in a ‘yes first’ mentality, especially when it comes to sales. Some opportunities may work, but if it negatively impacts your team or work ethic, then it may not be worth pursuing at all.”

Edison says that Programination has turned down several opportunities simply because they weren’t the right fit, or had unrealistic timelines. “We ultimately decide who we work with and to what capacity,” he says.

The second piece of advice Edison has for other startups is to try to give more than you get. “There have been numerous times where we’ve taken work pro bono or given a large discount in order to help prospects,” he says. “These sorts of interactions have opened the door to either referrals or additional connections that have expanded our increasing network.”

Finally, Edison says it’s important to look past the résumé when hiring new employees. “Résumés don’t tell the whole story,” says Edison. “I’ve been fortunate enough to be a part of every single candidate interview and you’d be surprised how often things get lost in translation.”

“Some candidates had very little to no work experience and have been the most helpful team members for projects with a little coaching and mentoring.”

Goals for 2020 and beyond

Even though the business was launched not long ago, Edison already has some pretty big goals for Programination this year and beyond. “We have several projects starting this year that I’m very excited about,” says Edison. “One with a large hospital group in New England and another with a large credit-processing company based in Florida.”

With a preference for working on medical projects due to the high level of impact, Edison hopes to land some pretty big local clients.

“My personal goal is to successfully land software contracts with the city of San Diego and with several hospital groups in the surrounding area,” he says. “Think Sharp Rees-Stealy, Scripps, and UCSD Health.”