Three startups before Google.

I founded VacationCandy in Salt Lake City in 2011 — a vacation rental site, and the first company I ever started. Technical co-founder was the title; in practice it meant I took on all of the frontend engineering and all of the design, because there was nobody else to take it on.

Over three years it grew from the three of us into a company of about twenty-five people. Everything I understand about shipping — deciding fast, watching real people use it, fixing it the same week — I learned here.

Twelve years after I left, the site is still running — and still, for the most part, my design.

See it live

After three years I moved to the Bay Area and joined Juxta Labs, a social games company. I was part of the pivot to social messaging — group texting for schools — while the games kept running and kept earning right alongside it.

Then I joined Choose Energy, which gave consumers a real choice of utility energy provider — a category most people don't realize they're allowed to shop for.

Two years there before Google, and the business went on to be acquired. chooseenergy.com is still going strong today, redesigned since my time on it.