A real problem + innovation + focused execution ? an unequivocally useful product

Urban Yurt is the best way to find an apartment in San Francisco. Try it at http://urbanyurt.com.

• Leverages rich web APIs. Craigslist RSS feeds, Google Maps API (+ streetview + geocoding), Google Charts API, Yelp API, and integration with Skype.
• Location aware. Regional context is at the core of Urban Yurt. Filter apartments by proximity to schools, parks, freeway exits, public transit, and custom locations. The geospatial math happens behind the scenes.
• Powerful analytics. Historical data analysis under the hood tells you how an apartment stacks up against other similar apartments.
• Anonymous, yet customizable. Finding an apartment is painful enough without having to deal with usernames and passwords. Customize with anonymous, bookmarkable permalinks; save interesting apartments in your favorites.
• Rich AJAX interface. See photos, check price comparisons, or discover the neighborhood all from the home page. The result is the feel of a desktop application: No need to click links or wait for unnecessary page loads.
• ATOM feeds. Subscribe to search results with your feed reader.
• Full standards-compliant, open source stack. Urban Yurt’s front-end is DHTML, cross-browser CSS, and Javascript. The back-end is Ruby on Rails, MySQL, Apache, and Linux. It’s built to run cheap and fast while still allowing me to deploy frequent updates.

Urban Yurt is a personal project in collaboration with Matt Shore.

Start to finish product development in just seven weeks. Fast. On budget.

I was retained by a stealth-mode start-up in the Bay Area to build a cloud-based, white-label content management system. After the client experienced a nightmare scenario with an India-based development team, they contacted Matt and me to take care of things.

• Fast. Scoped, designed, built, tested, documented, and deployed the product in just seven weeks: on time and on budget. The product is in use by real customers right now.
• Start-up-in-a-box. We assembled a small team of proven specialists to assist. Our team assumed all product and project management, design, engineering, quality assurance, and operations roles. The client avoided the time, expense, and effort that comes with building out a first-class development organization.
• Follow-through. We continue to advise the client in product development, marketing, and support.
• Cloud-based APIs enable cheap scale. We built on Amazon’s Web Service APIs and the Scribd iPaper API.
• White-label. Similar to how Google Apps works, the client’s end users can create new CMS instances, administer content and users, and customize look and feel.
• Full standards-compliant, open source stack. The product’s front-end is DHTML, cross-browser CSS, and Javascript. The back-end is Ruby on Rails, MySQL, Apache, and Linux.

Founded in late 2008, the client is an angel-funded BioPharma services start-up headquartered in Silicon Valley. This work was completed in collaboration with Matt Shore.

Audacious vision + fast execution ? invent an industry

Swivel was my full-time project from 9/2006 to 9/2008, where I was the fifth full-timer. I directly influenced product direction and, with two other guys, built much of what you see at Swivel and Swivel Business Edition. I also led development of Swivel’s REST API, the (never released) iPhone interface, and the (never released) Swivel Query Language, SwQL.

Selected press

• Coverage of Swivel’s launch on TechCrunch. Several followers emerge: Data360, GoodData, IBM’s Many Eyes, Google’s GapMinder, Birst.
• Swivel partners with the OECD, WHO, and other intergovernmental data providers to foster a culture of data awareness.
• Swivel’s then-CEO, Brian, speaks at the World Forum.
• Swivel is profiled by Gartner (report) and Fast Company (article); blurbs in Wired (article) and Nature (article).

Founded in 2005, Swivel is a venture-backed start-up that provides a social platform for public data and an on-demand collaborative business intelligence solution for SMBs.  Swivel is exclusively funded by Halsey Minor’s (founder CNET, investor in Salesforce) venture capital initiative, Minor Ventures.

A fun way to easily organize your Flickr stream

This is an exercise in simplicity and constraints. Design, architecture, and implementation. I also learned Python, the Google AppEngine API, and lots of Javascript.

It’s simple: your photos pass by randomly. You can update titles, descriptions, tags, and permissions. Those updates are pushed back to Flickr. Repeat. Try it at http://flickrtagr.com

• Lives in the cloud. Written in python and deployed completely on Google AppEngine. Hooks into the Flickr API.
• An experiment in simplicity. No databases. Tiny codebase. A single screen application.
• Improve the Flickr API. I built a javascript library for Flickr that is capable of performing write-mode API calls. Because it can perform writes, this code is the most complete javascript interface to the Flickr API.

Flickr Tagr is a personal project.

Run your own Youtube. And Flickr. Without programming. For free.

I was the first full-time engineer hired by founders Pete Clark and Eric Alterman. I was one of three guys who scoped and built KickApps’ version one back-end. I later assumed the project management role in addition to engineering. Founded in 2006, KickApps is a venture-backed social media start-up headquartered in midtown Manhattan.

Selected press

• KickApps wins BusinessWeek’s Best of the Web in 2008

Digital signage goes mainstream

I was a consultant and principal developer for the Neocast-X and Neocast-XF fanless network media players from 2004 to 2006. Starting from a customized version of the Linux kernel running on a low power VIA chipset, I architected and built the operating system, graphics drivers, touchscreen drivers, and web service API components of both media players.

Founded in 2003, Real Digital Media is a venture-backed digital media start-up located in Central Florida.