We’re so excited to have Bijan Samiee on the CommerceBear team! He brings a huge passion for all things software development and has extensive knowledge of Java. He’s ready and amped up to take on some new, exciting challenges at Bear. We got the chance to ask him a few questions.

What excites you most about joining CommerceBear?

I think the concept of an ecommerce platform that has a niche specialization in an industry as specific as furniture presents a whole set of new challenges compared to your run-of-the-mill tech company. The problem is unique and so are the clients, who likely have decades of experience operating in their field. I’m looking forward to solving these issues with a team gunning to be number one!

‍

How do you keep up with the latest trends in the software development industry? 

Considering that the tech buzz-words change every year, I find that the individuals working at the forefront of the industry have the best understanding of where technology trends are moving towards. Nowadays, just a quick chat with the talented people in my team is more than enough to get a broader perspective of the industry.

What drew you to pursue this as a career?

True story: I wanted to pursue film when I was in middle school, but couldn’t afford a real video editing software with my eighth-grade allowance. So what did little Bijan decide to do? He tried learning Java so he could program his own film editing software for free. Three gruelling months, and many hours of dedication later, the project failed spectacularly (big surprise). But from then on I became infatuated with the idea of creating something useful from practically nothing! 

What advice would you give to someone starting out as a software developer?

Build something you love! If I hadn’t dabbled in programming with projects I found interesting myself, I would have never had the drive to continue developing past high school. Pick something you’re super passionate about and just code. It only gets easier from there!

‍

Build something you love!

What’s your ecommerce marketplace of choice? Any deep cuts you think people should know about? (Somebody had an obscure sneakers channel, etc)

Honestly, Facebook Marketplace has been such a great platform since you can (to some extent) screen the people you’re buying from or selling to. I even bought my first car there and have been happy with the community so far.

What’s your favourite piece of furniture?

The stand-up desk—it symbolizes the most productive part of my day!

What’s your go-to downtime activity?

I love bouldering (rock climbing short walls without a harness). I used to do it a lot pre-COVID but now that the gyms have reopened I’m back into the groove of clapping chalk and climbing rock!

‍

Stand-up desks and extreme rock climbing for the win! 

✌🏼🐻