Free Startup Kits is honored to interview Anthony Sistilli, a previous professional gamer, software developer, entrepreneur who is launching The Forge, a service to help you land your dream software job.

You heard about The Forge and Anthony’s Journey at Free Startup Kits!



TheForge.ca provides a variety of resources and services to empower software developers to land their dream tech job – all for the price of a Netflix subscription.

Please, enter Anthony Sistilli: the founder of The Forge. He takes us through the eye-opening, humbling, and uplifting path of what led to the launch of his new venture and how it can empower you to live your biztech dream. Be compelled to look inward and work outward in accomplishing your goals at TheForge.ca.

From aspiring pro gamer to entrepreneur? Please tell us a bit of your journey.

I was lucky enough to have programming classes offered at my high school starting from the 9th grade. From the first programming class I took, I fell in love with coding.

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There was one problem though: I sucked. A lot.

We had 3 programming classes. One at Grade 9, 10, and 11. By the time I got to the grade 11 course, I was doing so poorly, that I actually dropped the course and gave up all my ambitions to code. I just figured that it wasn’t my thing. I needed something to fill the gap that coding had left behind. From a young age, I always had a craving to be good at something, and I was in a phase of my life where it was impossible for school to be that thing.

I turned elsewhere.

I had always been a casual gamer, and I thought it was the perfect place to channel my energy.

I picked up Starcraft II (one of hardest games out there) and declared it my mission to become at least top 200 in America. Little did I know that achieving Grandmaster league in Starcraft (top 200) would cost me a lot of time – four years to be exact. When I finally hit Grandmaster, I was starting my 3rd year of university.

I said to myself, “If I can achieve greatness in one of the hardest games in existence, then I can definitely achieve greatness anywhere else”.

I set my new goal and completely left Starcraft behind. I wanted to land a software job in Silicon Valley. I applied the same grit and perseverance to my new goal as I did with gaming, and a couple of months later, I landed an internship in the valley which ended up leading to a fulltime job.

The newest goal I’ve set my mind to is entrepreneurship. And that’s where The Forge comes in!

What was the spark that started TheForge.ca?

I have hosted a lot of coding & career-related seminars at Ryerson before I graduated, and when I moved back to Toronto, I got asked to do another.

During that last seminar, I really realized how much of a demand there is to fill the gap between what our schools teach us, and what employers are looking for. Especially in the software field. I sort of just ran with the idea after that.

Why should software developers join TheForge.ca?

I really want to make The Forge a 1-stop-shop for students looking to land their dream software job

We literally hook students up with the information they wouldn’t be able to find anywhere else.

Want to know what a real Google interview looks like? Check ✔

Want to know how to get companies to actually respond when you submit your resume? Check ✔

Want to ask recruiters and engineers at top companies what it is that they look for in an applicant? Check ✔

Want to be surrounded by a community of people all working towards the same goal so you have people to relate and talk to about these things? Check ✔

While I was applying for jobs, these are a lot of the things I wish I had or had to work super hard to get.

What was the biggest thing you learned in your software development journey? Has it helped you in launching your venture?

The biggest thing my software journey taught me was that there are so many different paths to get to where you want to be.

While I was in school, I heard so many students around me say things like “well you can’t get a job if your GPA sucks!” and “big companies only go for top schools, so there’s no point in applying to them.”. Even a lot my professors had very skewed outlooks on what the real job market was like.

While it might seem like there’s only 1 path to take to land a job at a top company, or to get good at coding, or to have a financially stable career, it’s just not the case.

There are so many paths out there to take, and I just had to find the one that worked for me. I think this lesson applies 10x when it comes to business. While I was in California I took a startup course offered at Stanford.

One of the biggest things they tried to stress was that there’s no “standard” when it comes to life. Every case is special, and you have to be willing to adapt depending on your situation.

How would you compare and contrast your experiences Canada versus silicon valley? What have you learned?

I loved the people in California just as much as I loved the people in Canada. Surprisingly enough, people in California seemed a lot more open and friendlier than Canadians! I remember the first time I walked to the grocery store at least 2 strangers started a conversation with me out of the blue. I don’t experience that a lot in Canada, as I think people are a bit more reserved. I also think business culture is pretty different as well.

People in Silicon Valley are a lot more risk tolerant, especially the startup scene.

I’ve heard a lot of horror stories when it comes to getting funding from Canadian VC’s, but VCs in the valley are known for throwing money in all sorts of different directions.

What would you say is often the “dream job” of many students in computer science? Why?

The biggest one is definitely Google.

From the public eye, Google has it all. Super prestigious, well paying, amazing perks, awesome projects, etc. It’s pretty much the ultimate destination of a lot of CS students I’ve talked to.

What’s interesting to me is how different people in Silicon Valley think about it.

A lot of people there actually talk a lot about how they would prefer to work at different companies like Airbnb, or Facebook, or Twitch. Almost all the big companies in the valley have very similar perks to Google, and once you realize that, it pretty much comes down to personal preference and location for a lot of people.

How can someone become a mentor/staff member at TheForge.ca?

For anyone that wants to join The Forge’s team, just shoot me an email at [email protected]!

What is the biggest trait of programmers who succeed? What’s the biggest trait of those who don’t?

I think it depends how you define success.

For example, I know a lot of people who are way better coders than I am, but they’re not the best at branding themselves or putting themselves out there. Thus, they end up accepting a role that they’re overqualified for just because it was the first opportunity they come across. A lot of what makes someone a “great” coder and likely to succeed in the corporate world is actually what makes someone likely to succeed in general.

Their interpersonal skills.

You might be the best coder in the world, but if you can’t communicate your ideas clearly to others, or collaborate properly with your peers, how useful are you to an actual organization?

What types of coding related initiatives is TheForge.ca looking to partner with?

One of the biggest targets we’re aiming for is career centers & recruitment agencies. There’s no better place to learn what employers are looking for than employers themselves. Career centers and recruitment agencies are often in direct communication with these employers. It’s a win-win situation. They provide job opportunities for

our members and we provide them qualified candidates for the job!

In a two-sided marketplace business model, how do you balance the supply and the demand?

Right now that’s still something we’re working on. While I’m not too worried since most of what we send out is scalable (i.e email newsletters, tutorial videos, and live-streamed Q&As), our members still expect a certain level of personal guidance. The biggest thing I’ve seen work in this type of situation is a thriving community built on the idea of helping each other. We hope to grow The Forge to the level where the community almost sustains itself.

How does one make sure they find a company where their personal values match up with the company’s culture?

This is a great question! Company culture is something that can make or break our experience as an employee at a company. I think a lot of modern tech companies are very open about their working culture, and you can find out about it with a simple Google search. With other companies, it might not be that simple. I would recommend doing a lot of research on Glassdoor, as well as reaching out to current employees via email or Linkedin to politely get a feel for the company’s culture.

What are some of the biggest lessons you’ve learned in your career?

Two big things stand out to me right now.

1. How important customer empathy is. Being able to put yourself in the customer’s shoes and feeling the same pain they do is a really powerful tool, no matter what industry you’re in. It’s something that never even crossed my mind as a student.

2. Always be open-minded and try to learn from everyone.

While I was at Intuit, I was lucky enough to work with some amazing lessons that came from the senior engineers. Reflecting on the six months I worked there, I feel that I’ve learned more about programming than ever before. Everyone was just so amazing at what they did, and surprisingly supportive at the same time. Since technology moves fast, we often found ourselves in a position where the entire team would have to learn a new technology together.

Each person has their own unique way of approaching problems, and seeing a single piece of information portrayed differently from so many different perspectives was truly an amazing experience.

Where do you see yourself and TheForge.ca in three years?

I have a motto: “In one week from now, I want to be in a place where I couldn’t even imagine myself the week before.”

I have a lot of ambitions and ideas of how I want to live my life, and right now, I would like to see myself continuing to solve problems in people’s lives. As for The Forge, I want it to be a name that all aspiring software engineers know from a young age. I want it to be the go-to when it comes to job prep in the software industry, and I want to expand it into different fields as well.

In starting a startup, how does it differ from working as a software developer? Did working help?

I’m so used to working with machines and controlled systems that when I first started doing customer research and interacting with potential users, it felt really weird. I can’t just put on my headphones and blast music for 5 hours and write code anymore. I’m all over the place talking to all kinds of people and receiving more messages than I can handle.

I think being a software engineer turned entrepreneur has its perks as well, however.

For one, I understand all the things I’m trying to relay to my audience. That’s a big plus, especially when it comes to being empathic to my customers. I also have an intimate understanding of the technologies I need to run my business.

I often save a lot of money when it comes to setting things up because I don’t need to hire any developers (not at this stage at least). I’ve worked with non-technical CEOs in a technology-based startup before, and it just felt weird. I think having a grounded background in technology gives you a lot more insight into what is/isn’t possible and feasible when it comes to your offering.

What is your underlying motivation to continue building TheForge.ca?

I’ve always had a huge craving to build great things and help people in great ways. I’ve struggled with the problem The Forge is trying to fix. I’ve been there before. I know how it feels. I want to create great things that can help people get through the same things that I once struggled with in my life. Those are the issues that I can relate to the most, and also the issues I have the most knowledge on.

In what regions is TheForge.ca available at? In Canada?

Right now since we’re primarily online, we can accommodate people from all around the world! In fact, a lot of our current users are from the US.

What are your favourite free resources as a software developer and entrepreneur?

I’m an absolute sucker for Books & Ted Talks.

I’m a big believer that in general, success in any stream of life starts with a successful mindset. That’s why I love to read biographies or Wikipedia pages about wildly successful people and their personal lives. It gives you a unique view of what their mindset was like and who they were as a person. I would highly recommend any of Napoleon Hill’s books as well. He’s my favorite non-fiction author.

What is your advice to programmers who are struggling to find a job they desire?

Ask yourself what differentiates what you have to offer from the hundreds of thousands of other students applying for the same jobs?

Do things that other students aren’t doing! Find a way to stand out. Surround yourself with people interested in same things to create a constant feedback loop of inspiration and knowledge.

One of my favorite sayings is “If you do what everyone else does, you’ll get what everyone else gets.”

If the average person has a tough time finding a job, and you do exactly what they do, your situation won’t be any different!

What’s your advice to anyone who wants to build their dream?

Honestly, just start working towards it.

One thing I saw with a lot of people in Silicon Valley was that everyone was once waiting for “the right moment” or “the right idea” to build their dream life. There are obviously some exceptions, but I believe that the right moment and the right idea are things that are created through conscious effort, and that opportunity won’t come bursting through the door if you passively go through the motion.

Join The Forge Today!