David Tschirky: Hyphen’s tech guru talks building digital solutions, enjoying creative freedom and looking to the future

15.11.2021

David Tschirky is Hyphen’s Head of Technology, an important role for a growing startup with aspirations to showcase the future of work.

Since joining us in October 2021, he has improved our tech infrastructure; helped countless colleagues, clients and contractors; and is constantly looking at ways to add automation to our processes to maximise efficiency.

A software architect with years of experience, he has a huge amount of scope to help us transform the way we operate and develop better working solutions and environments.

To help us show how Hyphen is looking to innovate, David has provided some insights into life with the company, what he enjoys and what he envisages for the future.

There is no average day here and I know that’s a cliché but it’s actually true! My days change depending on what is required, which means that some days will be more focused on supporting people and improving their ways of working (for example, by automating things).

However, I do also spend a significant amount of time each week looking at the future, which offers a lot of freedom. I research and assess potential tools, create proofs-of-concept, look at technical specifications, and conduct interviews with contractors to develop new business opportunities.

There is plenty of variety, freedom and responsibility for me here, which I enjoy a lot. People at Hyphen really get the opportunity to do things that interest them and take control of their own careers, which I think is important. In my case, it can be challenging to find reliable and sustainable solutions to problems that can also benefit our team and our contractors. If I didn’t enjoy that, I would be working for the wrong company!

It’s really satisfying to see the impact I am making on how my colleagues work, and to see how I am helping this company to grow. There are plenty of areas which I believe we can still improve and that is actually a good thing in my eyes as it means there is lots more for me to look at, so I certainly won’t get bored here! Technology can play a valuable contribution in helping us to grow, and I believe it empowers our team and helps everyone to realise their potential, so it’s nice to be able to help others develop.

I love the flexibility of working remotely and having control over my schedule, which means I can build work around my life to some extent. There have been some big achievements for me during my time with Hyphen – including establishing a virtual desktop setup, connecting our various IT systems and automating numerous services – and it’s satisfying to see the progress that both I and the company are making.

I think that the main characteristics for someone looking to join Hyphen in a tech-based role are being curious, able to work independently, motivated, committed to continuously improving – both as a person and in terms of enhancing the company’s technological capabilities – and just being able to get things done.

More than that, though, they need to be friendly and a team player because we have such a good and interesting group of people here; we’re a small team and all remote but the bonds we have are fantastic.

The team here is fantastic and one of the highlights for me – and for everyone I am sure – is the fact we all come together for the co-working retreats. I think those quarterly meet-ups are important and special because everyone values the time together more than if they were in an office and it was just expected.