PolygonSoftware

The Beginning of an Idea

During my studies at the Universität Zürich the idea emerged, together with two of my fellow students, to start our own company. Everything began at a table on the second floor of the Institute of Computer Science on Binzmühlestrasse. Without any fanfare, but with a dose of courage and a lot of enthusiasm, we quickly sketched out a first concept, written with a digital stylus in an unnamed OneNote file. Between lecture notes and shopping lists, our simple but ambitious business model took shape.

A Generation with Potential

We recognised that our generation of students, growing up with the latest technologies, not only expected modern working conditions such as flexible hours, flat hierarchies, and varied tasks, but also possessed enormous potential. We wanted to harness that potential and at the same time create a working environment where students and young talent could feel at home and flourish.

An Unconventional Start

So we decided to launch a software development company that was not oriented around the rigid patterns of traditional businesses but was built from the outset around the needs and interests of students. Our goal was to develop innovative software solutions using cutting-edge technologies while simultaneously creating a unique working environment.

Our start was anything but easy. We had no extensive professional experience, so we had to learn everything: How do we communicate as a team? How do we structure our working hours? How do we write proposals for clients who often did not know exactly what they needed? How do we set our hourly rate? Every question, however small, was answered through research, trial and error, and intensive brainstorming. In the process we frequently developed or adapted the tools and aids we needed ourselves. These challenges forced us to find innovative and timely solutions that were often unique.

Challenges and Growth

As founders we grew into our new roles. We learned to conduct job interviews, run meetings, and present to clients who had decades more experience than we did. The harder decisions, such as letting people go, were also part of it. Despite all the challenges we experienced dynamic development: our small idea became a GmbH with a modern office right next to the computer science campus in Oerlikon. Over time we moved twice into larger and more modern offices, always staying in the neighbourhood of the Universität Zürich in Oerlikon, to remain close to our most valuable asset: the students. Within two years our team grew from three to 18 people, and we won numerous clients while simultaneously running more than ten projects.

Continuous Improvement

Despite our success, Polygon Software kept moving forward. Our focus was on optimising processes, improving methods, and automating repetitive tasks. We remained true to our founding idea: our employees, mainly students and alumni of the Universität Zürich, were at the centre of everything. Flexible working conditions, such as unlimited unpaid leave or working from home, were as natural to us as the ability to reduce hours during exam periods. Many of our staff were friends from university or from our personal lives who saw themselves as part of a startup in which they played a meaningful role and could find personal fulfilment.

A Personal Turning Point

Over time we faced more and more challenges in which management and business concerns increasingly dominated, while software development and technology, my actual passion, receded further into the background. As founders we had consciously built the company according to our own vision rather than rigid conventions. But that is precisely what led me to reflect: were we still on the right path?

I noticed increasingly that I saw myself less as a managing director and more as someone who wanted to focus on technical work. After finishing my studies I worked full-time for the company for a year, often well beyond 100% if one can put it that way. At some point it was time to step back and gain some perspective. I decided on a three-week trip to find clarity.

During that trip it became clear to me that I needed new perspectives and wanted to see something different. After much deliberation I made the extremely difficult decision to leave the company. It was not just the company I had helped build; it was also my close friends, whom I had to leave behind in a certain sense. That step was one of the hardest of my life.