Lead
I set direction by building the first version and bringing people with me.
Stood up an AI training program before the firm had a direction on AI: 400+ registrants, ~300 per session.
Customerto launch.I buildthe loop.
Support lead, engineer and community builder in one person. I augment the work with AI to reach outcomes faster, without losing the human touch.
Skills that compound
I'm a generalist who kept every skill I picked up. I learned customers in support, building in code, explaining in content and leading in community. My best results come from combining them, in roles that ask for creative leadership: leading and building at the same time.
Build
I prototype early and stay close enough to see the customer react.
Freelance and at Discourse, the customer loop was the job: hear it, build it, ship it.
Connect
I stay close to the people using the thing.
Owned engagement, research and governance programs for 2,500+ family-office executives.
Create
I care how it looks and sounds when it ships, whether it's a video, a framework or a mix.
Designed the Promus interface. Off the clock, I make and mix my own music.
Best from zero to one, and from one to ten.After that, I build the handoff.
I work with Claude Code, MCP and agent workflows. I write Rails and SQL by hand, direct agents in Rust, Swift and TypeScript, and run my own server with local models.
Career, reimagined
Same person, new shape
Every few years I've reimagined my work. I took what each era taught me into the next one.
2000
to 2010Taking computers apart
BS Computer Science, 20102011
to 2018Fixing computers, then leading the people who do
Ticket resolution time halved · 25 technicians led2018
to 2021Building for customers
Freelance full-stack engineer, then Technical Advocate at Discourse.
Subscriptions now in Discourse core · Migrated the Straight Dope (posts from 1998)Alongside: Effective, 2018–2025 · podcast, YouTube (17k), a course
2021
to 2026Community and programs, in a new industry
A year leading marketing at Discourse, then four years at Fidelity with a community of 2,500+ family-office executives.
Champions program grown from 20 to 75 · Active users from 50% to 60% · Five-year plan approved unanimouslyNow
Creative leadership
These days I help people build. I lead as someone who also creates and builds, close to customers.
Promus · Matin · a self-hosted agent serverCarried forward
CuriosityHardwareHow computers workTroubleshootingSupportCalm under pressureLeading a teamRuby on RailsSQLThe customer loopMaking contentPositioningCommunity buildingProgram designResearchGovernanceExecutive trustNew industries, fastAgentic workflowsClaude CodeMCPScheduled agentsHuman-in-the-loop designSelf-hosted AINative Apple appsSpec writingCreative leadership
On AI
AI is a tool. Put it in the right hands, with the right intent, and it does great work.
I work at the product level
With AI, I'm the product manager. I set the direction for design, technical approach and user experience, and an agent team builds it, which is how I built Promus.
A tool, not a savior or a doomsday machine
AI won't save us, and it won't doom us, any more than any technology before it did. The results depend on who's using it and what they want from it.
Creative work starts with a person
AI shouldn't replace creative people. A person sets the direction and the standard of excellence, and I don't use AI in my own music right now.
Things I've made
Zero to oneAs PM to an agent team
Promus and Matin In development
Promus is a ticket system for work shared by people and AI agents: agents hand off work, and only people approve it. Matin is a concept for a Bible note-taking app on iOS and macOS. I set the direction, and agents wrote the code.
In coreBundled into Discourse, 2025
Discourse Subscriptions See it on Meta
Communities were paying platforms 10% or more to fund themselves. I built Stripe billing and paid tiers into Discourse with a few customers, released early, and let real communities rub off the raw edges.
400+Registrants, ~300 per session
AI training program
I stood up a multi-year AI training program for 2,500+ family-office executives before the firm had a direction: a working group of members, staff and a vendor, member-led discussions, education sessions, then a six-session training cohort.
20 to 75Champions, in three years
Champions program
I led a Champions program that gave the community's most engaged members a role, grew it from 20 to 75, and launched its flagship in-person event, a community leadership summit.
17kYouTube subscribers, 2M+ views
Effective See it on YouTube
Alongside my day jobs, I built a YouTube channel, a podcast and a course, Effective Obsidian, on personal knowledge management and note-taking. The course made $15k in its first month.
After hours
The rest of the stack
I use a lot of the same skills after five o'clock.
Music
I make and mix my own music.Ableton · Logic · Universal Audio
ListenSound and worship
I run live sound and lead worship at my church. Both come down to reading a room and bringing people along. Faith isn't the whole story on this page, but it shapes everything I do.
Writing & philosophy
I work out my thinking in essays and frameworks.
Let's
it.
I'm looking for my next role, ideally building with AI, close to customers. If you're working on something where that would help, I'd like to hear about it.