Andreas Nobbmann
@ Trivadis

There used to be two options for me and my brother after school: Either we would cycle to the football field or to the Quelle department store. Not to go shopping. There was a VC 64 there – probably the best home computer on the market at the time, including a floppy disk drive, which back then was still rare – and we could play games on it. At least until the staff threw us out.

Yes, playing on the computer was probably how I discovered my affinity for the IT world. At some point I had my own Amiga 500, which I connected to an old black-and-white tube TV. I played games, of course, but also had floppy disks with music on them – "Kung Fu Fighting" for example, who doesn't love it, had just enough room on one floppy disk. I was so involved with computers that I said to myself: "Anything to do with this machine – I'll always work it out somehow".

So, after my business school-leaving certificate and a few months of civilian service as a chauffeur for people with disabilities, I finally decided to study computer science – but dropped out after three semesters because it was too theoretical. I worked in the stainless-steel industry for a while, driving forklifts and cranes, waking up my intellectual spirits in the night shift with the "Spiegel" and bridging the time until I found an apprenticeship. A few months later, the time had come. I returned to my passion for computers as an apprentice data processing clerk, a mixture of clerk and computer scientist, only this time with a practical orientation. That was my thing. My path led from supporting employees who couldn't handle the new computer mouse, to configuring networks and being responsible for database queries, to building the first data warehouse for my employer.

I stayed for a few years until I felt ready for the next step – Trivadis. Everything was new. Sure, I brought some experience with me, but as a consultant I was a complete beginner. The nice thing was: it didn't matter. I had excellent colleagues and superiors who supported me, but at the same time let me do what I wanted. Above all, I was allowed to make mistakes. I still appreciate this combination of independence and support today. When I have questions, there are plenty of experts on hand. And when I don't, I do my thing. That's how I like to work.

And there is another aspect of the Trivadis culture that is close to my heart. I can be myself. For me, that's not as self-evident as it sounds. There are enough companies where you feel like you have to be a busybody all the time and hide behind an overly serious façade. That's not the case at Trivadis. I am me, privately and professionally.

And while we're on the subject of private life: I am the father of a five-year-old daughter and an eight-year-old son. This automaticall entails that there's a lot going on – in our case also a lot of music. We each have our own playlist on Spotify which we listen to together on different occasions. In addition, my son is getting into snowboarding, which I used to do passionately myself before I pretty much reduced my sporting activities to regular jogging rounds. And slowly but surely, video games are also becoming a topic with my children. I think their dad will be interested in finding a solution that won't make it necessary for them to cycle to the department store for those.

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