After a shock redundancy in 2015, I decided to venture out on my own.
Beginnings
I’ve loved technology from a young age.
In 1983, my wonderful parents bought me a ZX Spectrum home computer. Thanks to Sir Clive Sinclair, this little machine was one of the first truly affordable home computers available in the UK.
It put technology into the hands of everyone. It meant that Matthew Smith could write Manic Miner in just 6 weeks, aged 17.
The 1980s was a golden age for IT in the UK, as a lot of people were able to make their mark in an industry which was just getting started.
At the time I was both a little too young and sadly not in possession of the immense talents of someone like Matthew Smith. But it completely inspired me, and I knew from that moment that I wanted to be involved with technology.
Redundancy
After leaving college, I spent the best part of two decades working on property valuation software. This was both very rewarding and challenging, and it taught me a huge amount about how to write reliable software that helped people get their job done correctly and on time.
But in 2015, this all came to an end, when a company buyout meant some inevitable “restructuring”. So I jumped feet first into my own business, doing what I still love, making stuff which helps people.
Looking Forward
For a while during the 1990s, technology was back firmly in the control of large corporations, and it was a lot harder for anyone outside of these large companies to make a mark. But the web and the mobile app stores changed all that.
In some ways the current landscape is not completely dissimilar to the 1980s. Once again, anyone can get started, armed with just an internet browser, a passion to learn and a willingness to work really hard. It’s a great time for anyone wanting to get into technology and software.
A passion to learn is what drives me to this day, to become the best that I can, so I can provide the tools that truly help people. It’s why I do what I do.
So now I spend my time building websites, web applications and mobile apps. Tools which help people run their businesses and get the job done.
In my spare time, when I’m not spending time with my wife and 2 kids, I love to read, play the odd video game, and hope that one day George R R Martin finishes his next book.