Should startups only hire senior developers? Some startups believe that they need experts who can hit the ground running, and they don't have time to mentor juniors. But what if that assumption is wrong? What if hiring junior developers is actually a startup's secret weapon for building a strong, collaborative culture and a better product?

In our latest episode of Stories from the Hackery, we talk to two leaders from Purity Health who are proving just that. We sat down with Chief Technology Officer David Andrews and Chief Product Officer Fletcher Watson (an NSS Cohort 15 graduate himself) to learn why they actively seek out and hire junior developers, how they build a supportive team culture, and how they're using generative AI to build their product from the ground up.

From English Teacher to Chief Product Officer

Fletcher Watson’s path to a tech career started right here at NSS. After returning to Nashville from teaching English in Korea, he wasn't sure about his next career move. He worked in retail and even tried starting a few businesses, including an organic mushroom cultivation facility.

After hearing about eight to ten positive stories from friends who had attended NSS, he decided to look into it. "The stories that I was hearing from them, the curriculum that they were learning, the jobs that they secured after graduation... seemed impossible to be true," he recalls. He attended an info session, signed up almost immediately, and joined Cohort 15 in July 2016.

"NSS was one of the hardest things I've ever done," Fletcher shares. "It really challenged me. But it was definitely one of the most valuable things that I've ever done".

Right after graduation, a talent scout connected him with Rob Bramblett and David Andrews at a startup called Visualize Health. He started in March 2017 and has been working with that same team ever since. When that company was sold, he eventually reunited with the original team to launch Purity Health.

The Startup Case for Hiring Junior Developers

While many startups believe they only have time for senior developers, David and Fletcher see it differently. They’ve integrated junior developers, including many NSS grads, early on in multiple companies. "The kind of person that would go to Nashville Software School is the kind of person who is smart and is trying to challenge themselves," Fletcher says. "You're tapping into a very large pool of people who are ready for a change, taking themselves seriously and doing something hard, putting skin in the game".

He notes that in a startup, you need that level of commitment. He also appreciates that junior developers are "fresh" and "ready to learn," without bringing rigid, preconceived notions that can lead to clashes.

David, who describes himself as a "serial entrepreneur and a technologist," agrees. He says NSS graduates show a "drive" and a "love for technology.” He often sees this in their capstone projects, where "they're scratching their own itch in something that they want to exist and they have learned to build it." For David, hiring juniors is a way to build a healthy culture and "institutional knowledge" from the start. "They will think about your code base and your processes from the start of their experience," he explains.

Building Culture Through Mentorship

Hiring junior developers also means committing to mentorship—something both leaders take seriously. Fletcher’s main goal is to make new hires feel "comfortable" and "relaxed," removing the intense pressure they often put on themselves. "We're gonna make mistakes," he tells them. "This is an environment where you can make mistakes, try new things".

Since Purity Health is 100% remote, David says they’ve implemented "virtual office hours" and group work to foster a collaborative environment where developers don't feel isolated. The goal is to create a space "where you can openly ask questions". Mentorship also means helping people find the right path, even if it's not the one they started on.

Fletcher, for example, was originally hired as a SQL developer. But David quickly recognized his strengths lay elsewhere. "He's clearly... better suited in this product-oriented role," David recalls. "That's a mentor-style decision... [that] totally changed my career," Fletcher says. David’s management style is to "look for interests". He watches to see what a new developer gravitates toward—be it optimization, user experience, or database work—and then assigns tasks to help them grow in that area.

Using Generative AI with "Strong Guardrails"

As a new company, Purity Health is also navigating how to best use generative AI. David says their shop is "as AI enabled as possible," with GitHub Copilot licenses for all developers.

However, he offers a strong warning: AI is a "tool for a developer to use," not "an additional developer on your team".

To use it effectively, David has put "very strong guardrails" in place. "If... you're learning and trying to have an ultimate goal of being an entrepreneur or building your own startup," David advises, "From the beginning, think about those guardrails".

Listen to the full episode to hear more about hiring junior developers, Fletcher's advice for new graduates, and how Purity Health is using generative AI.

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Inspired by Fletcher's journey? If you've been wondering what your next career step is, explore our programs in Web Development and Data Analytics.