Most people hop tech jobs every few years, but not Marc Boquet. This is how he became one of Kit’s first employees and why he’s never left.
This article is part of the Life at Kit series to help job seekers learn more about the team and gain a deeper insight into the behind-the-scenes of what it’s like to work at Kit.
Marc and Kit founder, Nathan Barry, in the early days
For Marc, it started with an old floppy disk his dad brought home one day. On that disk was the video game Prince of Persia, and that game made Marc want to become an engineer.
The more he learned basic programming, the more he fell in love with it. He got a master’s degree in computer graphics from Polytechnic University of Catalonia and even built a video game. It was fun, but while video games were the spark, the more he learned about the kind of engineering they required, the more he realized that wasn’t actually the right fit for him.
What inspired him next didn’t exist when he was a kid: iPhone apps.
When the iPhone App Store was released, I quit my job immediately.
He started working as a freelancer for iPhone apps.
I just saw that it was going to change the world.
“It was scary.”
It was 2012, and at that time, Marc followed a blogger named Nathan Barry and read he was doing a public app challenge.
He wanted to create a SaaS app with $5,000 in recurring revenue in six months.
Marc contacted Nathan and asked if he needed any engineering help. After giving Marc a few smaller projects (like redesigning his iPhone app), Nathan eventually hired Marc full-time.
It was scary because I dropped my other clients.
It was a risk, but one he decided to take.
I think I was also getting tired of freelancing. Freelancing is so hard. It’s a lot of talking to clients and doing things that I don’t like doing. I just like coding. And having a fixed income I could rely on, especially now that I had my first kid, sounded good.
Marc was hired as a Software Engineer at what was then ConvertKit (now Kit) over 10 years ago. Since then, he’s been promoted to higher levels and salaries. He says he appreciates the ways he’s been able to grow and contribute. He feels heard when making recommendations for new features and helping to set the direction for projects.
“The possibilities keep me excited.”
One of his favorite parts of his job, he says, is collaborating with his peers and helping them when they’re stuck, and he also loves that he gets to spend most of his time coding and solving problems and not too much time in meetings.
Marc loves his autonomy and how he’s been able to level up and contribute to Kit’s growth. However, he says the real reason he’s stayed all these years is the people, including his managers.
I have a one on one with my manager once a week; we usually just chat about if I’m blocked on anything or how I’m doing that week and any big ideas I’ve had.
He also meets with the Director of Engineering every month and says those conversations are usually centered around what they’re excited to work on next.
I’m still excited about new things that we could be doing and even if we cannot do them right now. The possibilities keep me excited.
In the present, though, Marc appreciates the relationship between the engineering and product teams. When product managers present projects, engineers are highly involved in mapping out the workload and helping prioritize what should happen next.
Engineers also contribute ideas for consideration to the product roadmap. Marc is currently pitching himself to work on an area of the product he wants to contribute to next year. He has high hopes that will happen. “I already convinced everyone to go to Barcelona,” he laughs.
Indeed, the Kit retreat for Summer 2025 (we have in-person retreats every six months) is happening in Barcelona, where Marc lives.
“This is a place where people really are kind to each other.”
Marc brings warm energy and is the cause of a lot of laughter at every retreat and all-team Zoom meeting, and he is part of what creates the culture of humor at Kit that he values so much.
He says he’s incredibly grateful for the perks: the retreats and the vacation time and the holiday gifts, the thousand dollar bonus everyone gets if they take off five days in a row, the sabbaticals every five years (he’s about to take his second sabbatical this year).
But he says his favorite part of the culture is the humor, kindness, and humanity that everyone on the team shows each other.
Marc appreciates that the team always has fun in meetings while also completing important work.
We can make lighthearted jokes about one another and banter; we always try to start with some good banter.
It makes life so much more enjoyable, especially when we were in startup mode. Startups are a roller coaster. And I think that humor really helps us with that. And the care. This is a place where people really are kind to each other. I’ve never had any problem with anyone at the company in 11 years.
He loves that he doesn’t have to spend time on politics and instead can focus on solving the kinds of coding problems that make him excited to wake up every day.
They’re always different in some way. They keep me learning. I haven’t stopped learning new things since I started here. The product is always evolving, and I think that’s what makes it never boring. I love the variety.
When it comes to advice for anyone thinking about working at Kit, Marc is full of wisdom.
“Changing jobs is a daunting and emotional thing. Just thinking about it is exhausting. On top of that, not knowing where you’ll end up, if you’ll like your coworkers, or if your boss will be a jerk is such a risk. One thing I can say is you will not be dealing with jerks here. I think the people here are good people, and that’s very important to me.”
Most people are surprised when anyone has been in a tech job longer than a few years, so many are surprised that Marc has been here for over 10 years. While he said job hunting sounds daunting, the real reason he stays truly is the people and the culture.
I know that people here care about me, and I care about them. I’m treated well financially and also humanely. I know if I need a few days off for something that may happen in my family, no one’s going to question that. Because we assume positive intent and know we’re all humans and we’re all like doing our best.
During our last retreat in Oregon, Marc suddenly left a few days before the retreat ended when he found out his family’s dog was dying. No one batted an eye, but everyone sent lots of heart emojis and virtual hugs when he shared his reason for leaving on Slack.
I could probably find something where I could make even more money, but I don’t need more money, I’m trying to max out on the other stuff, which is just have fun at work and do work that matters. And I think we’re doing that
Want to work on an exciting product alongside a driven, creative, and fully remote team? Check out our careers page.
