Today's focus
Shipping an open-source product is an interesting journey. Our main focus is trying to make sure we're building the right product. We do welcome input and outside contributors, if detections for web applications are something anyone out there has a perspective on.
Persona
I help businesses shut down fraud and security threats and I try to help teach other people how to do the same. The information security field has been growing pretty quickly, in part because the threats we've been dealing with have been accelerating too. It's really rewarding to work in a field that's fundamentally about keeping people safe.
Affiliations
Current tech stack
- Rust, WebAssembly
Hobbies
- Jiu Jitsu, Candlemaking, Traveling, Dog Parks, Modular Synthesis
Season of Yes
The simple cup of coffee remains a perennial favorite.
Coffee order
Cappuccino
Fun fact
I was planning to explore Ol Doinyo Lengai in Tanzania back in 2007 but got malaria and had to cancel my trip. Sick as hell on the couch, the whole house started shaking from an eruption. Turns out the couch was a good place to be that day.
Role models
I've really appreciated the thoughtful approaches to operating a business that I've seen from Stewart Butterfield and Matt Oppenheimer, but Larkin Ryder, Slack's product security leader and my former manager, is probably the person I've learned the most from. All three know how to deliver while prioritizing the humanity of the people they're leading.
Why Seattle?
I spent a few years living in Kenya and Tanzania, and I love how often I end up in a conversation with someone I've just met about the vibe of different neighborhoods in Nairobi and where to find the best food. Inevitably, I find out where to find the best food in Seattle in the process.
Praise received
"Vouching for your character is the easiest assignment I've received in quite awhile."
Featured
Activity
Tradecraft
Areas of expertise
I'm happiest when I'm working on a really thorny security detection problem. The bigger the challenge, the better. Credential stuffing threats, session hijacking, and free tier abuse are probably my favorite things to work on, specifically because they're hard. As focus areas, I've gotten to know these problems really well.
Areas of expertise
Collaborative values
For me, openness and integrity are critical in the people I collaborate with. Respect and thoughtfulness, in both directions, makes working with other people so much more pleasant. A lot of things can happen in the early stages of a business, but if you have a foundation of mutual respect, you can work through whatever comes up.
Collaborative values
Decision drivers
Be human. I think at this moment in history, and particularly in technology spaces, there's a lot to be said for the value of just being human. A lot of the work that's currently happening in the ML space is going to drive people to seek genuine connection, authenticity, and thoughtfulness as these technologies cause them to become more conspicuously absent in many of our interactions.
Decision drivers
Lifelines
Lifelines
Legacy
Kindness and helping people grow in their careers. A while back, someone I hadn't spoken to for more than ten years reached out to thank me for having helped them get their first job in tech. I could barely remember that I'd done that, and I'm sure I had no idea what kind of impact I was having at the time, but they sure remembered it! It really reminded me that investing in other people matters.
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