For years there’s been a stereotype of developers being socially challenged, solely left-brained back-office kids who didn’t know a thing about the businesses they were coding for. The idea was that while companies needed developers to produce products (like assembly line workers), they shouldn’t be allowed outside of the office, never put in front of a customer, and should be micro-managed like children (don’t bother giving them the big picture, just feed them simple-minded to-do lists).

The majority of people (developers) I met this week were exactly the opposite of this stereotype. They were real entrepreneurs – well rounded and articulate. They are both right brained and left brained, genuinely interested in helping their customers, and have a keen sense of the businesses they are trying to build.