It’s such a weird feeling.

Since I began this blog in 2004, I’ve been able to say I was truly hired exactly one time.

That day was Jan 9, 2013.

In 2004, I was employed by Northrop Grumman. In 2006, I left NG to pursue the startup world, I took up residence at b5media as the CTO who never got the title. I did this on a contract basis. I worked for myself for a very long time, got hired in 2013, left that job in 2014 and went back to working for myself. I just realized, over time, that I wanted something different.

I’ve avoided agencies, though quite a few have wanted me. These usually boiled down to what I term as “web development sweat shops”… Usually in the political space. They ramp up for campaign season – presidential and mid-term. They have a bunch of sales people in suits driving deals with campaigns – federal, state and local – to build websites and promote whatever brand of ideology they adhere to and the developers are overworked, have no seat at the table, and generally are expected to perform and work at 200% or risk getting fired.

I’m not that guy, so I’ve avoided agencies.

Unrelated note: Republicans have the deepest pockets. They spare no expense and question no cost. Democrats are far stingier. Though I fall on the left politically, I’m a capitalist who wants to make money as long as my name isn’t on it. Sometimes leaving ideology behind is worth it economically. Redistribution of wealth to my pocket, as it were.

I have, however, encountered a number of agencies who do not work in the way I abhor. One, in particular, is 10up.

For the past month, I’ve been working full-time with 10up on a contract basis. I’ve been blown away by their drive and collaboration from top to bottom. I have gotten to sample the goods and ensure they meet my high expectations of “work”. I have been respected and valued, and that is how they treat their entire team.

We have seamlessly worked together to ensure that, in a distributed company, I could deliver on my commitments of chemistry, communication and charm (the last not being a real thing, but I needed 3 C’s to be a better alliterative writer).

Prior to this engagement, I recognized 10up as a high-level WordPress agency. They only do WordPress, unless there’s a supplemental solution that engages the WordPress ecosystem. They give back to the WordPress community. In fact, they actively participate.

But I really knew very little about the nuts and bolts and the extent of their work. Now I do and I’m proud to call myself a 10upper as of tomorrow morning.

Thank you, Jake Goldman and team for the opportunity and the last month of fun, work and amazing innovation. I’m looking forward to doing more.

Something that caught me early on was an engagement between 10up and the company I helped start, WP Engine. It happened in San Francisco this past Christmas season and you may have heard about it… GIF the Halls.

It so happens that I will be working on the team that pulled that engineering feat off. I refer to it as the DARPA of 10up. The team tasked with creating crazy stuff that nobody has tried. GIF the Halls was a crazy project my team did. It tied WordPress with cameras for video greeting messages at the holidays. As a photographer, that’s right up my alley.

Can’t wait to try new crazy stuff. Onward!