In small offices in Oslo nine employees are working hard to prepare a global launch of Sobazaar, a social fashion app targeting young women.
50.000 people are already using the app in Norway, and the number is growing every day. The staff hopes a global success will be reached by the backing of the two powerful owners of the company, each with a 50 % share:
- Schibsted Media Group, with companies in 29 countries and a tremendous user base in countries like Norway, Sweden, France, Spain and Brazil
- Telenor, one of the biggest mobile operators in the world with almost 200 million mobile subscriptions
“Currently most users are girls in high school,” explains CTO Tommy Strand.
Python/Django developers needed
Getting ready for global expansion also requires brilliant developers. Sobazaar has just entered a partner agreement with Schibsted Tech Polska and is now looking for two developers in Poland.
CTO Tommy Strand explains that the mobile apps for IOS and Android (to be launched soon) are developed in Norway. But the company needs help with the backend development.
“Most of the backend has been developed using Python and Django, ” he explains.
Check the positions for Sobazaar!
The Python paradox
“Why this choice of technology?”
“We see that we can prototype and develop much faster than when we used Java, ” Strand says.
He adds:
“And then there is the Python paradox!”
“The Python paradox?”
“Yes, it describes how Python programmers tend to be better programmers than others. It is not because they have chosen Python as such, but because they have taken the extra effort to learn a second programming language like Python. It demonstrates an engagement and curiosity that is not mainstream, and the Python paradox tells that programmers with this type of motivation tends to be better at what they do”
Must learn continuously
CTO Tommy Strand says he will be looking for people with a strong urge to always learn new things.
“We want people who breath for technology and are engaged. They don´t need to be the biggest Python experts, but must show that they have taken the extra effort to learn new programming languages and technologies,” he says.
“And if the right person applies, he/she will have lots of freedom in how to develop.”
Partner number 20
Sobazaar is Schibsted Tech Polska´s partner number 20. As with other partner teams, the developers in Krakow or Gdansk will work closely with their colleagues in Scandinavia.
“But do the developers need to be interested in fashion?”
“No, no! Just look at me!,” laughs Tommy Strand. But he also tells that the female employees in the company, including the CEO, are themselves eager users of the fashion app.
“For us as developers that is great! We have the users of the product sitting next to us! That really makes the product richer and gives us much more input when discussing solutions”