X Forward

Lifting Anchor and Unfurling the Sails

Feb 2, 2009

I am embarking on a new adventure in life: sailing the seas of freelance.

Today it is official. I am leaving my beloved Kick Start Mobile for the uncharted seas of freelance.

There are too many factors that have prompted this decision to list here, but one of them is undeniable: my need to create.

Not so long ago (although it feels like a lifetime ago), I had a nice well-paying job making mobile applications at a cool company where everyone was friends with one another. I was able to work how I wanted to work, on projects that I actually wanted to work on. Every day was satisfying, I tackled new and exciting challenges while blazing a trail in the fledgling mobile application field. It sounds ideal, and it was. But as the company grew and was purchased (twice), things began to change, as they tend to do. Eventually, the spark was gone, traded for a cushy mesh office chair and a nice window office on the 12th floor. Without daily challenges and the hope of working with new technology, I made the decision to leave. With a couple of friends, I started a new company to make mobile applications, kick ass, and take names.

For the next 2 years everything was just as I dreamed it would be. We were lean and mean, pumping out applications faster than I had thought possible: 13 applications for the Celltop platform in 12 months. Then, without getting into all the details, things beyond our control caused the company’s focus to change. I tried to be optimistic and retain my passion, but in the end it just wasn’t what I wanted. The days of endless ideas and constant creation were over, and I was once again faced with a difficult choice.

Which brings us to the present, I’ve made my choice to leave. It’s bittersweet to be sure, but I am confident that the right decision was made. I need to be able to create to be happy, and that’s what it all really comes down to: cutting out all of the bullshit and getting back to what I know in my heart to be: a code monkey.

My anchor is up, and the course set to the life of a freelancer, a hired gun, a code mercenary. The waters are rough, but the horizon is endless. Yo ho!