Joining GoDaddy

In 2013 I had an idea about creating mobile apps for WordPress websites. I approached some partners and we launched AppPresser in early 2014. I have had an incredible time learning and growing as an entrepreneur and developer.

8 years later I am starting a new adventure. I am very excited to announce I have accepted an offer from GoDaddy as a Principal Software Engineer, working on mobile. I will be on Max Rice’s team, my duties will mostly include spit-shining Josh Strebel’s fleet of cars and refilling his scotch glass, and if I have time, mobile related software development.

We have some exciting plans for mobile and WordPress, and I’m excited to bring innovative products to our customers alongside this incredible team.

What about AppPresser?

AppPresser is as strong as ever and it’s not going anywhere. The company is in the hands of my partner Brian and our very capable team. I am still a partner in the company and will continue to serve in an advisory role. Our customers will not experience any interruptions due to my departure.

One of my biggest concerns making a change was that my team, my partner, and my customers were all good with it. I didn’t want anyone to be negatively affected, and that will continue to be my goal as I transition out over the next several months.

Why this change, why now?

After working on AppPresser for 8 years I started to feel like I had taken the product as far as it could go, and I was looking for a new challenge.

I’ve been an entrepreneur for almost 15 years, first freelancing web design, then with a WordPress theme company, then AppPresser. Being your own boss is great, but it can also be hard to push yourself in new directions. It’s easy to coast. To really grow in leaps and bounds I knew I needed to do something really different, and working with a team and having a boss is certainly a big change for me.

When Josh Strebel approached me about this opportunity, I wasn’t sure at first. Large companies can be slow moving, and I didn’t want to be a code monkey with an overbearing boss. When Josh told me they were building a team called WP Super Friends inside the company that looked more like a startup, and he shared their ambitious plans for WordPress, I got VERY interested.

This opportunity had exactly what I was looking for:

• a fun and talented team
• a really cool purpose and direction
• an exciting project I can work on
• feeling valued by the company

Josh, Max, Beka, and team are doing some really exciting things and they wanted me to come along. Seeing the talent they had on board, and the direction they were headed made it a pretty easy decision to join. We are going to getting into a lot of trouble (in a good way) and I am very excited to get started!