# Stay curious

> The tools change every six months. Learning is the only skill that lasts.

A CodeNicely value — 6 of 6. Part of https://codenicely.in/culture

## What it means

What you know today has a shelf life. What you can teach yourself does not.

We have always hired for that — and we have always grown people up, rather than waiting for them to arrive finished.

The part people forget: teach the next person. You should leave CodeNicely more capable than you arrived. So should everyone around you.

## What it looks like on a Tuesday

- You try the new tool before you have an opinion about it.
- You read the code you're about to change, instead of guessing.
- When you learn something useful, you tell somebody. Ideally everybody.
- You sit with a junior for half an hour instead of just fixing it for them.
- You can explain why the AI's suggestion was right — not just that it compiled.

## What this does NOT mean

- **It does not mean chasing every new thing.** Curiosity is about depth as much as novelty. Going deep on one problem beats a shallow tour of ten frameworks.
- **It does not mean the AI does the thinking.** The tool is fast. The judgement is still yours.
- **It does not mean learning only in your own time.** If you need a day to understand something properly, that day is part of the work.

> Right now, the thing to be curious about is AI. We're not nervous about it and we're not precious about it. We use it hard, every day.

## The other five values

- Own the outcome — Not the task. The outcome. · https://codenicely.in/culture/values/own-the-outcome
- CodeNicely — It's the name of the company. It was always meant as an instruction. · https://codenicely.in/culture/values/codenicely
- Be open — Say it simply. Say it early. Nothing hidden. · https://codenicely.in/culture/values/be-open
- Be kind — and fun to be with — How we treat each other matters as much as what we produce. · https://codenicely.in/culture/values/be-kind
- Their business is our business — We are not a vendor. We are the technical team they don't have. · https://codenicely.in/culture/values/their-business-is-our-business

---

CodeNicely — an AI-first product studio in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India.
Founded 2017 by Meghal Agrawal (Founder & CEO) and Ujjwal Agrawal (Co-founder & CTO). Bootstrapped. Started with ₹8,000 of internship money. No outside investment, ever.
50+ products built, 5M+ end users served.

The full culture: https://codenicely.in/culture
The printed book (75 pages): https://codenicely.in/culture/book/ — PDF: https://codenicely.in/culture/How-We-Build.pdf