##Hello friends! I have begun a new job at Batchbook here in Providence, RI.
Batchbook is a social CRM platform and has been an anchor here in the Providence startup scene for the past 7 years. I’m really excited to be joining their team, jumping into a new industry, and having my first “real job”. ##Why a job? There’s many reasons why I feel like it’s the right time for me to join an established company as opposed to forging ahead with my own ventures. The main selling points of a job for me are:

  • Grow roots in a community
  • Get a paycheck so I can do fun things like:
    • Up my hobby game (get fancier bikes, gym memberships, random toys)
    • Eat at all the restaurants I've been wondering about over the years
    • Not couchsurf everytime I travel (But I still will occasionally)
    • Invest in stocks, real estate, other ventures / ideas that may come up
    • Have health care
    • Rebuild my depleted savings
  • Grow my professional network
  • Hone my skills
    • ##Why Batchbook? From the first time I met Ray and Pamela at Batchbook, I could tell they were some of the kindest people around. Batchbook has welcomed me with open arms, and I couldn't be happier with how things have worked out. - They focus on ensuring Batchbook employees get as much out of Batchbook as Batchbook gets from them. Having work-life balance is a main priority. - The team is small and distributed, with aspirations on perfecting remote working. I gotta admit, I like the idea of remote working for a company. Sure, I have never had to be at an office each day while I was a freelancer and running my own startups, but working remotely with a company is an entirely different idea. I can have the benefits of working with a company and the freedom of setting up my work environment and schedule. Batchbook, like many tech startups, trust their employees to work hard and manage their time effectively. Vacation time is liberal, work spaces are unpredictable and dynamic, and I can still carry on my streak of never ironing a shirt since I've been living on my own. - The size of the company means I'll be involved in many aspects of the business, not just a developer with a set schedule and role every day. - Pamela, upon hearing about my uberman sleep experiments, was eager to learn more and for some reason didn't think that would affect my productivity or ability to join the team. Luckily for all of us involved, I've went back to a normal sleep schedule so I can endure a normal day with no naps needed. We'll never know if I would've been kindly asked to leave the premises if I took to napping under my desk every few hours. - The office is just a few buildings down from Betaspring, so I'll continue to hang out there whenever I get the chance - The software and processes around development and deployment are well planned and executed, the team and infrastructure are ready for high scalability, but the company still has a small tech startup vibe. In other words, is a serious project that gets results. ##So how's it going? Great! I'm learning from the other developers all the best practices, work flows, systems and history of all sorts of fun things. I contributed to the code base a bit in the first week, and I expect to be knocking out Pivotal Tracker tickets left and right before too long. It's a much different experience acting as Software Engineer as opposed to technical founder of a startup. It's quite refreshing. As a technical founder, I frequently had something I call squirrel brain - too many ideas, directions, opportunities, people telling this or that...pulling me in 10 different directions. At a company with a defined role, it's almost a Zen-like experience. If you find yourself with Squirrel brain...it can be alleviated by meditation, and can be avoided all together by working in the right environment and working with the right people. "Squirrels in your bed, squirrels in your head," they say. "If you don't want mice, lock up your rice," they tell me. What this means is, get yourself together and you won't have a problem. It is possible to have a Zen-like startup experience too, but you have to be deliberate and careful, all the time. Watch out for rodents making their way into your home. Treat your startup like your temple and only let those in who are worthy. Back to Batchbook...The people are all so kind and amazing! Lots of chocolate. The tech team goes on frequent mountain biking adventures. Food is commonly brought in for all to share. It feels like a big family. ##What's up with Bundio, yo? Bundio has been a textbook startup experience. I say this because when we started Bundio in early 2013, we read many tips and articles on what could go wrong with a startup and how to make sure your startup doesn't end up like the ones in the articles. Well, we ended up like all the startups in all the articles. The team split (multiple times), we raised money, we didn't raise money, negotiated on ridiculous contracts (oh if I could get back the time spent negotiating contracts...), we hired fancy lawyers and accountants, we pivoted, changed ideas completely, and came back to our original idea, 2/3rds of the co-founders left, including the CEO, and we've come close to (business) death a few times. In the midst going from an idea to a real venture, getting our first customers, and changing every possible aspect of the company, after the dust settled I found myself at the helm. So I am soon going to say goodbye to Julian as he goes off to roam the world, work on his own ideas, and potentially find a nice young girl to settle down with somewhere in the midwest. He's a young cat and I don't blame him for having such wanderlust. I did the same exact thing a few years ago. So with Bundio, I'm regrouping from an organizational standpoint and moving the business forward while not getting burned out. I have other obligations and responsibilities that take precedence now, which I can make a strong case is the smartest way to do a startup as a technical person, but of course, time will tell, and hindsight is 20-20. I find myself able to manage development and networking on Bundio, and it is damn refreshing to not have to argue every last detail with a co-founder. As a tech entrepreneur, I am soaking up the lessons that a small, successful startup have to teach. At Batchbook, I stand to learn so much from a balance, business, organizational, customer experience and technical standpoint. Bundio can only benefit from my growth in all of these areas. ##Can I hire you for freelance work? Well, not to sound arrogant, but you can try and I'll sound interested...but I've learned from myself that I won't follow through with getting started. Unless it's for a really great cause, and / or a crazy amount of money of course, then all bets are off. For the normal gigs, let's talk again in ~ 6 months :) That's all for now! More updates will be written if they demand eternal life here at my blog.