Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur | Start and Grow Your Own Business 1266: Stop Frankenstein-ing Your Tech Stack... Here's A Guide to Custom Solutions w/ Victoria Balkissoon & Matthew Proetsch
In this episode, Brian sits down with Victoria Balkissoon and Matthew Proetsch, the co-founders of NightShift Codes, a software engineering company that started by helping local businesses streamline their operations. They share their incredible journey from working as civilian scientists for the U.S. Navy to building a thriving company that solves real-world business problems with custom code. Victoria and Matt reveal how their complementary skills—her creative front-end expertise and his back-end problem-solving—create a powerhouse partnership. This episode is packed with value for any entrepreneur who feels limited by off-the-shelf software, is curious about leveraging AI, or dreams of turning their service-based skills into scalable products like SaaS tools and educational resources.
💡 What You'll Take Away For YOUR Business
- How to identify operational bottlenecks that custom software can solve, moving you from manual chaos to automated efficiency (like their client’s inventory system).
- The power of "vibe coding" to prototype ideas quickly and how to know when it’s time to bring in professional developers to take your project to the next level.
- Strategies for "bidirectional learning" during client consultations to uncover deep needs and co-create solutions that truly solve their problems.
- Why a "free-flowing" co-founder structure can spark more creativity and quicker innovation than rigid, overly-structured planning sessions.
- The art of under-promising and over-delivering by managing client expectations with radical transparency around project timelines.
📝 About Victoria Balkissoon & Matthew Proetsch
Victoria Balkissoon and Matthew Proetsch are the co-founders of NightShift Codes, an Orlando-based software engineering company. With backgrounds as civilian scientists for the U.S. Navy, they bring a unique blend of creativity and analytical rigor to the world of software development. Victoria excels at creating beautiful, user-friendly front-end experiences, while Matt loves diving into complex back-end problems and using technology in unconventional ways. Together, their mission is to develop practical software solutions that empower creatives and entrepreneurs, evolving from a local-first client agency to building their own suite of SaaS and educational products.
🎯 Victoria’s BEST Piece of Advice for Wantrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs
"Take risks. Take the plunges... When we finally did, it was like a bright new world, opening of possibilities. And so you're in charge of what possibilities you have."
🎯 Matt’s BEST Piece of Advice for Wantrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs
"Be open to feedback, be open to changing what you're working on... If it just doesn't work out, you still gotta be able to cut your losses and move on to the next thing."
📢 Memorable Quotes
- "I like the creative aspect of coding... it's like bringing to life something that's so beautiful and making your own masterpiece, like creating an outfit basically for the code." – Victoria Balkissoon
- "My favorite thing to do is just tackle a problem, jump right in with no knowledge of how that piece of the world works, and then sort of build that up." – Matthew Proetsch
🔗 Links & Resources