A New Chapter

MINDSHIFT

I quit my job this week.

I’ve been working at Vital Source Technologies for the majority of my working life…13 out of 20 years. This is a testament to what kind of place it is, that I spent so much time there. I was there from the beginning, from the time when there were 0 users, up to today, when there are millions.

But the time has come to move on.

Over the past decade, I’ve been actively cultivating the developer scene in Austin, particularly through Austin on Rails and Cafe Bedouins. Four years ago, my interest in entrepreneurship led me to establish Austin Open Coffee Club (we meet bi-monthly in Houndstooth Frost) and to become a mentor for Longhorn Startup, a program which encourages student entrepreneurs. When Techstars came to Austin, I was very excited to join them as a mentor, as I believe you should give before you get, and I live my life that way. I helped launch FounderDating (an online network for co-founders) in the Austin area, by serving as Managing Director from 2012-2014.

At the beginning of 2015, I posted this video on my blog. It captured perfectly what I needed to hear at a time when I was considering taking the plunge. The only way out is through.

So what’s next? I’ll be doing software development contracting, joining my friend Brian Dainton working on a special project at Spredfast, and will be spending more time on personal projects. I have a new side project called InvestorSheets which has been gaining some traction lately. Please sign up here if you need to find investors or advisors for your startup. The tool builds target lists of investors in startup hub cities. I love it when technology can save time and help people connect.  Human connection is what I’m most interested in and as I look to create more value in the world, the emphasis will be on that.

I will continue advising startups such as MakerSquare, Beek, and HapBack.

Thanks so much to the long list of people who met with me over the past several months (you know who you are). Your support and advice was very helpful.

Here’s to a creative future!