Runecast Behind the Scenes with Nikolai Bader

Legend has it that young Nikolai watched this German-language documentary about Brno, Czech Republic, and decided that his destiny lay not in Prague but a couple of hours further southeast, in the heart of the old ‘Great Moravia’ Empire, where great new discoveries were occurring.

So Nikolai joined our Runecast team as our first German national… and we were all quick to point out to him that ‘Nikolai’ is not a typical German name. He laughed, acknowledged our astute powers of observation, and now he is already a big part of the Runecast office environment (not entirely like or unlike furniture).

Now we have a difficult time to imagine ‘Runecast before Nikolai’, so we were honored that he agreed to be the first subject of our new Runecast Behind-the-Scenes blog series.

Q&A with Nikolai

You recently left your home country of Germany to live and work for Runecast in Brno, Czech Republic. What prompted you to make such a big change?

After my last position in Hamburg, I decided to take on a role in Frontend that allows me to expand my horizons in terms of technology as well as responsibilities – and Runecast is at a very interesting stage that gives a lot of opportunities to the people involved.

The geographic change has also paid out since Brno has a very high quality of life which nobody doubts who lives here. However, some people from Europe wouldn't find it on the map, so it is kind of a secret that is very valuable if you know it.

As someone who formally studied philosophy, what advice would you give to someone who might be thinking about a major life change?

I am far from having enough white hair to answer this question and there is a rumor that there is still a minority of philosophers (who must have very modernly studied remotely because I of course have never seen them) that from time to time happen to make bad decisions whilst it is never their own fault because they don't believe in free will. -

- But from my own experience, it never hurts to ask smart people that you trust.

How would you describe a typical day at Runecast HQ? Does it meet the expectations that you had before coming here?

There's nothing like a typ... but no, that is not exactly right of course. Of course, we do follow a structure and have routines. But it is the case that almost every day we have the chance to introduce new aspects and we can make the related decisions very independently.

What is your specific role for Runecast, and how does it affect the VMware admins using Runecast Analyzer on a daily basis?

I am a Frontend Developer which means that I help to implement the user interfaces with the goal that the product that the tremendously smart people here at Runecast, especially the VM and Cloud experts and Backend Developers are continuously working for gets shaped into a user interface that is appealing and easy and encouraging to interact with and presents to the VM admins the informative value that they are looking for in a short amount of time, so they can work with the Runecast Analyzer most effectively and efficiently.

What are some of your behind-the-scenes passions, things that you strive to engage in when you're not at work?

Besides stuff related to technology, relaxing at home or reading, I like to get some exercise and spend time in nature when I can. Brno and the surrounding area have a lot to offer here – for example the Brno Reservoir Lake or the Moravian Karst, for people who like hiking, swimming, or enjoying a nice landscape.

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Thank you!