Prior to Academy, things like authorization, chat, and spinners - these were all enigmas to me, of which I had no idea how they worked. Academy showed me that I could make such things even by myself, and that there wasn't anything impossible to achieve if I just set my mind to it. And if you have an amazing team and even more amazing mentors, then it is definitely possible to build world-class software.

Although I already had a bit of experience before entering Academy (I had as a developer for less than a year via outstaffing), if you compare that previous job with what I did in Academy, it would be like comparing a walk in the park with a triatholon.