4 minute read
CHRISTOPHER HEX: FREELANCE PRODUCT GENERALIST
ALUMNUS IN FOCUS
The blood crawls where it cannot go. In many ways, this expression applies to Christopher Hex, alumnus of Group T Campus. As a child, he already played ‘business’ with his cousins and even founded a fictitious computer firm. After more than seven years of experience in various startups, Christopher is going his own way as a ‘freelance digital product builder’. Portrait of a born engineer-entrepreneur.
From problem to idea. From idea to MVP (Minimum Viable Product). From MVP to concrete product. And from product to market. Under this motto, Christopher offers his services. His range is very varied but mainly focuses on products with a digital component. He regards his customers more as partners than customers. “With every order, we first develop a joint product vision. Suppose a customer asks us to develop an application in Java. Well, then we first check whether Java is the right choice. Maybe there is a better solution. A clear product vision significantly increases the chances of success.”
Software as a service
Christopher graduated in 2015 as an engineer Electronics-ICT with a well-deserved ‘magna cum laude’ (high distinction). During his studies, he was active as a student assistant in the Computer Network Lab and successfully participated in the Best Student Recognition Event organised by the IBM Centre for Advanced Studies in Amsterdam.
Christopher spread his master’s degree over two years which allowed him to take the Postgraduate Certificate in Innovative Entrepreneurship for Engineers. During that time, he and two fellow students started the Eventigrate project. “In the spirit of ‘software as a service’, we came up with the idea of developing a smart badge that would enable participants at conferences and events to get more value out of the time they spend there. We built a platform and a mobile app that allow visitors to network in a more targeted and efficient way. Organisers also benefit. They can closely monitor the movements and intensity of contacts,” Christopher says. With their product, the trio reaches the European finals of the Indus Entrepreneurs Business Plan Competition, which means they are automatically selected for the prestigious Rice Business Competition in Houston (Texas). There, they will compete against 42 teams from all over the world.
Colour recognition
After two years, Christopher is swapping Eventigrate for another promising startup: Ticto, which specialises in security devices for buildings and events including the Oscars ceremony in Hollywood. As a backend developer, Christopher is behind the implementation of Tictogram, a now patented technology that works with colour patterns. When the company is acquired by RightCrowd in 2019, Christopher will be promoted to Software Engineering Lead-New Products.
The 2020 COVID epidemic is turning the security and health monitoring sector on its head. “Besides ‘presence’, ‘distance’ also becomes a crucial factor,” Christopher explains. “That’s why we developed a distance detection on our smart badge. Green indicates you are sufficiently far away from bystanders; orange means your position is OK and red warns you to put more distance between you and them.” The system is becoming a commercial success. But Christopher is already thinking further: what to do when the pandemic is over? And above all, won’t I be better off exploring new horizons?
The new horizon is literally called ‘Extra Horizon’. Christopher will start working there in 2021. First in a technical position building a cloud platform for companies developing medical apps, then as a product manager. The introduction to product management two years later would take his career in a completely different direction.
Freelance
In February 2023, Christopher decides to become a freelance product builder. His product is a service to companies looking to bring a new product to market. “My job is a mix of various competences,” says Christopher. “Engineering, marketing, communication, strategic thinking, but also feel for the market, empathy and, of course, product knowledge.”
As versatile as its founder, the company’s activities are Creinto. It ranges from consultancy, product development and design to hardware and mobile application development.
Christopher calls himself a ‘generalist’, although he gives it his own interpretation. “A generalist is often characterised as someone who knows a little about everything as opposed to a specialist who knows everything about very little. It is not that simple. Even as a generalist, you must be able to quickly familiarise yourself with specialised subjects and then apply your broad view and all-round experience to them so that you raise the whole thing to a higher level. At Group T Campus, this used to be called dynamic polyvalence.”
Yves Persoons
