Full-stack developer. CTO @ Goodybag.com. Future rich person.
PDF DownloadHi, I'm John. I'm a 27 year old developer living in Austin, TX.
I'm looking to work with smart people on impactful products using the latest in web tech. I want to exercise and challenge my knowledge of best practices and build products and good experiences from the ground up. I want to work with companies who value culture and are conscious of their duty as residents of the world.
Studied for a B.S. in Computer Science
Did not complete.
My first love is the web. As such, I excel at web technologies.
Started off with Windows. Ended up on OS/X.
My web tools of choice are Node, Express, Postgres, Require, Backbone, and Handlebars.
When I was approached to join a startup in Austin, TX, I jumped on the opportunity. I had heard that living and breathing the startup culture was a necessity in the software field, so I did it. The emotional and educational ride has been rewarding.
In 2014, I was unceremoniously named CTO.
My responsibilities at goodybag include:
I learned a lot at Goodybag. Not just about software, but about culture. About the power of community and open source. About empowering employees to affect the companies they work for.
Going to a more corporate environment was a move I thought might make me more comfortable as compared to the chaos of school and contract work. The position asked for someone with Windows Sys Admin skills, web software development, and graphic design prowess. The band of job requirements was appealing.
Admittedly, this was originally a contract position that turned into full-time and is now back in contract mode, but I would rather have this position on its own. While I was in college, I was approached by Todd Boring, owner of ENRG. He asked me if it was possible to automate the work he was currently doing and to make his product real-time and on the web. Being an eager college student, I said, "of course."
I developed and helped research the noise-monitoring solution ENRG provides for the oil, gas, and construction industries. Back in 2008, I was awful at design and their website and product reflects that. However, a new version is in the works. The point is, in 2008, I wrote a bunch of software that is still in use and supporting a company today.
After my 3rd semester in Computer Science at UNT, I was invited to help the Multimedia Information Group (MIG) with its research. At UNT, each research group is required to have two undergraduates. My CS3 professor recommended me to work with MIG because of my previous experience working with the web. My duties ranged from creating the group website, publishing results, running image processing benchmarks, and even writing a few lines of C++. Primarily, I was tasked with the public-facing website and publishing results.
Coming out of Royse City, I was a self-taught web developer and self-ascribed designer. When I started work for Canonball in 2008, I learned how to work with other people, and more importantly, I met real designers. I did a lot of client work and even some projects that are still live (see http://www.eisenberginc.com). I realized the vastness of the web community and with that realization came humbleness and humility.
In high school, I realized I could make money from making web pages for small businesses. I have been doing it ever since. Projects range from simple brochure websites, to poster print and graphic design, to digital media signage with automatic updates. A few of the companies that have contracted me are:
At the end of my sophomore year of high school, I was approached by the IT department to work as a technology intern. This was a lot more appealing than what my peers were doing for work. I ended up designing and developing the district website and managing all of the sub-campus web pages. I kept the job in college and worked remotely.
More references available upon request.