Beyond the Code: Why Developers Should Understand the Business Behind the Product
As software engineers, we often pride ourselves on writing clean code, optimizing queries, or mastering the latest frameworks. But after six years in engineering and over a decade in business development and strategic planning, I’ve learned something that’s equally valuable: understanding the business behind the product can be a developer’s unfair advantage. Before transitioning into tech, I spent years leading business development at Helio Media — negotiating media deals with global partners like Fox, Viacom, and Discovery, and launching scalable digital products. That experience gave me a deep appreciation for how revenue models, customer behavior, and market timing shape every product decision. ...