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Our coffee chat series is about having the kind of conversations students often wish they could have with someone further along in their career. This edition, we interviewed mike Saprykin a Software Developer at Tab Flows and a Software Developer Fellow at Open Avenues.
Mike’s path into software engineering has been self-taught and hands on shaped by curiosity and the habit of building small projects, breaking them and rebuilding again. That spirit of experimentation laid the foundation for his career and continues to drive how he approaches learning and problem solving today.
In this conversation, he shares lessons that have carried him from self-taught beginnings to professional developer and highlights how students can prepare themselves to thrive in a fast-changing tech world. A highlight of this conversation: the tips he gives for students and entry-level professionals who want to stand out in the software development field!
A: I’d say habit to develop early. From my self-taught background, one of the most valuable skills I had at the beginning of my career was building small things and breaking them. Software is called soft for a reason – you can build something, break it, change it, and rebuild again. That iterative loop is the core of becoming adaptable.
Whenever I studied a new concept, ¡ whether from an online course, a YouTube video, or documentation, I set myself the goal of building a small project with it. That way, I could see its real-world application, run into problems and edge cases, and learn how it behaves in practice. It also signaled to potential employers that I didn’t just know technologies in theory — I’d used them.
I’ve led technical interviews, and it’s quite easy to tell when someone has hands-on experience with a tool versus when they’ve only read about it. Theory isn’t bad, but the devil is in the details and only practical use gives you that depth.
The nicest thing about this build and break habit is that it works no matter how the tech world changes. Whether it’s AI coding tool, cloud platform, new programming language or the next framework, the process stays the same – build something small, push it until it breaks, then fix it and learn from that.
A: The biggest mistake: scoping projects too big. Don’t try to build “Facebook clone.” I fell into this trap myself more than once.
For example, I once planned to build a fitness tracker for me and my gym friends. My scope? Full backend with real-time updates, a mobile app, user accounts, workout tracking, group challenges — the whole package. I thought I’d knock it out in a weekend but that’s months of work. Did I build it? I abandoned it as soon as I spent a couple of hours trying to scaffold the mobile application.
The solution is to think in small, realistic projects. Build just an authentication service to explore user management. Then a tiny chat app for real-time communication. Then another small feature-focused project. Dozens of small, completed projects teach you far more than one half-finished monster. And eventually, they give you a rich portfolio and highly practical skills.
A: Ask ahead what environment you’ll be using. If it’s a browser-based editor, practice on similar platforms. Ask what tools are allowed — sometimes nothing, sometimes anything (even AI tools). If AI is allowed, be thoughtful in how you use it; interviewers evaluate how you leverage tools, not just the final result.
No interview goes flawlessly. There will always be gaps in your knowledge. The key is not to panic — ask clarifying questions, and if you get stuck, don’t hesitate to ask for a hint. That shows collaboration and humility, which interviewers value just as much as technical skill.
Many candidates second-guess themselves: “Is this a stupid question? Am I asking too many times? Do I look like I don’t understand?” The worst question is the one you don’t ask. The purpose of asking is to align your understanding of the assignment and environment with what the interviewer expects, so you can solve the problem effectively.
In one of my interviews, I froze on a small algorithm and finally just said, “I think I’m stuck — could you give me a hint on the next step?” The interviewer helped, and we solved it together. That moment showed teamwork, not failure. And the fact that interviewer was collaborating with me switched my mindset from being on an exam to being on a collaborative coding session.
A: As a matter of fact, I do! One thing I’ve done that I’ve never seen others try: after a live coding interview, I went back to the interview live coding session link. The session had been fast, and the code we produced was messy — not how I’d normally write. I had a feeling during the interview that some things just could have been written better. So, after the interview, I spent an hour refactoring it to show my actual coding style: abstraction, reuse, component thinking.
Then I emailed the recruiter, thanked them, and simply said: “I wasn’t fully happy with how the code turned out under time pressure, so I cleaned it up afterward. Here’s the updated version if the interviewer wants to take a look.”
That follow-up showed initiative, reflection, and pride in my craft. It turned a rushed interview into an opportunity to stand out. My advice: if you feel something didn’t go well, don’t be afraid to revisit, improve, and share. It signals eagerness to learn, take feedback, and go the extra mile.
A: I’d say the simplest way to start building a personal brand is to show your work in public. It doesn’t have to be perfect or polished — consistency matters more. Keep an active GitHub with small, finished projects. Write short LinkedIn posts about what you’re learning, the problems you solved, or even mistakes you made and what they taught you. If you contribute to open source, start small: fix a typo in docs, improve a readme, or add a tiny bug fix. You could also reflect that in a blog post as well, featuring the project you’ve contributed to, why you like that and where did you use it, what was the fix about if any. You could also write medium articles — even about a small function you’ve learned to use or a big insight you gained while building your first LLM application. All of that adds up to the picture people form about you, even before they decide whether you’ll move forward to the interview stage or not.
Final Thoughts:
In conclusion, Mike’s insights remind us that you don’t need to know everything to get started in tech. What matters most is curiosity, discipline with fundamentals and courage to keep experimenting. His journey shows that adaptability and persistence are just as important technical skills. By starting small, building consistently and reflecting openly on both success and struggles, he’s built not only a career in software but also a perspective that will soon benefit students. It’s exciting to see him bring this mindset to his role as a Software Developer fellow at Open Avenues. His story is a testament to the idea that careers in tech are built step by step, project by project and willingness to keep advancing.
Danila Blanco Travnicek is the Director of Program Strategy & Evaluation at The Build Fellowship where she leads the education programming and its initiatives. She is a social entrepreneur who has been working tirelessly for over 10 years in the nonprofit sector to ensure more people have access to quality education. Danila holds a B.A in Business Management and a master's degree in Teaching and Nonprofit Management. She is a Professor at the University of Buenos Aires, an international speaker and facilitator and has managed and led programs with social impact in Latin America, U.S., Europe and Asia. She also received scholarships to study abroad in Finland, China and the United States.
Mazvita Maboreke is a Human Resources Analyst at Open Avenues Foundation. In her role, she leads initiatives that foster team development, professional growth, and a positive organizational culture. She focuses on designing and implementing programs around training, onboarding, team-building, and employee recognition—helping to cultivate a workplace that is both supportive and high-performing.
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