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How it started
I guess it all started when I was a kid. For the 5th grade science fair I wrote a BASIC program that calculated your life expectancy. The key question was “Do you smoke?”. For adults that said no, a cigarette with a big X through it appeared on the screen. These adults were delighted with the low-res graphics and high life expectancies and walked away impressed. However, for adults that said yes, a huge, smoking cigarette showed up and their life expectancy plummeted. These adults smiled weakly before briskly walking over to the next kid’s project. So yeah, not everyone loved it… but some did!
How it’s going
Ever since that first project in 5th grade, I’ve continued to be drawn to building stuff on computers. I’ve cultivated a passion for building web & mobile products: concepting, brainstorming, spec’ing, designing, testing, launching, measuring, and iterating. Over the years, I’ve worked with amazing teams of software developers and designers and built some really cool stuff involving social media, games, maps, and outdoor recreation. Check out some of these projects.
Product philosophy
I’m driven by customer empathy, creating moments of delight, strong visual elements, reducing cognitive overhead, and efficiency & clarity in design. Central to my philosophy is that the best way to escape local maxima is by combining data and creativity in data-informed — not data-driven — product design. Crafting great products is both an art and a science. I also believe that the best product doesn’t have a right to win, just like every startup doesn’t have a right to exist. Distribution, market, and timing are essential components to success.
What comes next
My goal is to keep building forever. If you’re looking for help in product or design on your team, hit me up. And I’m always happy to give product feedback too — feedback only makes products stronger!