People of Evermade – part 4
This time on People of Evermade: a lifestyle athlete who is partly responsible for the existence of the company, a developer who wouldn’t mind making a trip to the late 60s in SF, and mr. png, who is a boss cat in a parallel universe.
Say hi to Jaakko, Tuomas and Timo!
These guys can be roughly categorized as web developers, but actually all of them are multi talents who pretty much do what they want to. Let’s hear what they had to say about their work, Evermade and the wonders of life!
Bikes, bikes, bikes! Jaakko is our official cycling officer. He currently has 7 bicycles in active use + one toy bike.
Jaakko Alajoki
WHAT’S YOUR STORY WITH EVERMADE?
In 2011, Mikke (Mikael Toivio) asked me to visit his basement. I had a background in entrepreneurship and web development, and after this meeting we decided to join forces working with both of our clients together. Evermade was born.
Officially, I’m called CTO, and lately I’ve been involved in a lot of salesy stuff, too. I think my main role is getting projects rolling and overseeing that everything is fine with our developers. Every now and then I still get to do some actual coding on difficult issues.
WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE A CAREER WITH CODE?
Over the years I’ve done a number of things, even design! In the end, the sheer number of opportunities drove me into web development. That, and the fact that I get to see the results of my work and actually make complete things and then move on.
In development, I get the biggest kicks off solving complex problems. Finding out why things happen the way they do, and what I can do to make them work differently. Even with the threat of sounding like a complete douche, there isn’t a WordPress related problem I cannot solve.
WHY IS WEB DEVELOPMENT SO IMPORTANT?
I want to say that developers are a driving force behind all digitalization. I mean, if you think about how much easier things can be made with a web service or a site – the impact is enormous. It all saves a lot of time and money, and there are still sooo many ways to make the world more efficient by using code.
It’s fantastic that they’ve started teaching coding in elementary school – understanding the logic behind it can help in surprising ways, even if you didn’t become a full-time dev.
HOW DO YOU IMPROVE AND WHAT ARE THE MOST INTERESTING POSSIBILITIES IN DEVELOPMENT?
The absolute key here is that the work you do should support your learning. And for the things you can’t really experiment with at work, freetime side projects and hacks are my favorite method for improving my skills. It’s great when you’re free to try and do whatever you like – I always have some project in the works.
Artificial intelligence is a big thing and it will only get bigger. If you consider it foolery, you will one day find yourself busted with your pants down.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
Outside-of-the-box thinking.
FAVORITE PLACE ON EARTH?
Wherever my family is. Or just me and my bicycle somewhere far away on an endless road.
THE 3 FOODS YOU WOULD EAT FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE?
Meatballs, cheese and broccoli.
IN ONE SENTENCE, HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE INTERNET?
Well, it is pretty much a bucket of sewage water. With the occasional gem here and there. To get to the gems you need to get your hands dirty.
IF YOU COULD TRAVEL IN TIME, WHERE WOULD YOU GO?
Year 2041, the ball pit in Evermade HQ’s top floor.
WHO WOULD PLAY YOU IN A MOVIE OF YOUR LIFE?
George Clooney, standing on a box.
Tuomas finds ways to express creativity in code and in music.
Tuomas Hirvonen
WHEN DID YOU JOIN TEAM EVERMADE AND WHAT ARE YOUR MAIN FOCUS AREAS HERE?
My friend Joonas (Pyhtilä) from my previous job had moved here and recommended Evermade as a working place. I worked at MTV3 for seven years, and felt like it would be nice to try something different for a change. An idea of working with projects and in a smaller company got me to join Evermade last November. I’m a full-stack developer of some kind – I do both back- and frontend development.
HOW DID YOU BECOME A DEVELOPER?
Like most developers, I’ve always been interested in solving problems. But really it was a total accident that I ended up working with code: I studied media technology, and I had to take some mandatory coding courses as a part of my studies. It turned out that I was pretty good at coding, and it started to feel like a good idea to to continue on that path, since all that video stuff felt boring as hell compared to coding.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT YOUR WORK? WHAT ARE YOU BEST AT?
The thing I enjoy most about working with code is that there are so many ways to solve problems, and finding the most elegant way of doing that requires true creativity. Development is pretty much the perfect way for me to combine creativity and work I can get paid for.
I’ve always been a good team player and enjoyed working with people. It’s not something to take for granted in the IT-industry. My favorite part in a project is the beginning, because I’m good at planning the big picture and in making the foundation for the project come together.
WHERE DO YOU FIND INNER PEACE?
In Lapland.
IF YOU COULD TRAVEL IN TIME, WHERE WOULD YOU GO?
San Francisco around 1967-69.
WHAT’S NEXT ON YOUR BUCKET LIST?
I want to ride my motorcycle around the world.
IF YOU WERE NOT A DEVELOPER, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
I would probably be a musician or an architect
When you see this fiercely intense pose, it’s already too late.
Timo Sundvik
WHEN DID YOU JOIN EVERMADE AND WHAT ARE YOUR MAIN FOCUS AREAS HERE?
I came from Rovio Entertainment to work at Evermade about 2,5 years ago. I had actually been following the agency for some time, as these guys had made pretty much every gaming company website in Finland. What I didn’t know was that they had also been keeping an eye on the work that I was doing. I’m a mixture of developer and designer. The people at Evermade appreciated a wide skillset, so it was an instant match.
WHY WEB DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN?
The rise of internet played a huge role in defining my life and career. I started creating websites from ground up as a hobby back in around 2000. Even though I studied graphic design, this kept my tech skills up to date, which has turned out very valuable later on.
I’ve jumped back and forth between development and design, and still enjoy working with both sides in projects. Solving problems is rewarding, whether they’re related to animations or UX. Retrospectively, it makes sense that my favorite subjects in school were arts and math.
WHAT MAKES YOUR WORK IMPORTANT AND HOW DO YOU IMPROVE IN IT?
Web developers and designers ensure that a big part of our world works smoothly and that services are usable. Also, part of it is bringing that extra bit of something to help companies communicate their values and culture. I’m lucky to keep getting to work on more challenging projects all the time. This inspires me to do my best every time, and that means learning new stuff on the way. The best way to learn is by doing.
WHAT’S BEST ABOUT YOUR WORK? WHAT ARE YOU BEST AT?
I pretty much get to work on my dream projects right now. Working with clients on something that really can help improve their business – that inspires me. And the fact that at Evermade I get to do basically anything I want to, including backend, frontend, concepting etc. Some people know me as Mr. png… Somehow I’ve ended up profiling myself as a creator of crazy-cool frontends with insane amounts of graphic tweaking.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
Exceeding expectations.
BEST THING ABOUT WORKING AT EVERMADE?
We have basically no restrictions – I’m trusted to do many things, and to do them the way I see best.
YOUR FAVORITE FICTIONAL CHARACTER?
Uuno Turhapuro!
DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
I can bend my fingers like the baddie in Karate Kid II.
IF NOT HUMAN, WHICH ANIMAL WOULD YOU BE?
Definitely a f*cking boss cat!
