This is a series of real talk blog posts meant to let founders share a bit about themselves and their companies without the marketing jargon and “killing it” puffery of most tech startup profiles.
What does your company do, for who, in plain English please!
Whalesync lets businesses automatically sync their data across no-code tools like Airtable and Webflow. This makes it easy to manage things like customer data, marketing campaigns, and blog content spread across their SaaS applications without needing to hire software engineers and build a data pipeline.
What's a typical day like for you, from wakeup ‘til bed?
I wake up at around 7:00am, after which I immediately get a cup of coffee. I'm very much a coffee addict.
My wife and I have two young boys so we spend about an hour getting them dressed and fed. At 8:30am we head out the door and I take the kids to daycare. I then work from home, starting at 9:30am and ending at 5:30pm. The whole team is a virtual space in Gather throughout the day, so I normally work through lunch at my desk.
At 5:30pm I head out and pick up the kids from daycare, head home for dinner, and play with the kids for about an hour until they get ready for bed. After we get the kids to sleep, I either relax or finish up any work I didn't quite wrap up during the day. I finally fall asleep at around 10:00pm–11:00pm.
What keeps you up at night?
On my deathbed, I don't want to think "I regret not doing XYZ." We're only given one life and I want to make sure I do what I'm meant to do.
What brings you joy?
My faith, spending time with my family, and singing in the Seattle Symphony Chorale.
What is one word you hate to hear?
Restricted
What is one word you love to hear?
Opportunity
What was your biggest failure in the past year?
It's hard to think of anything big because we've been very blessed this past year with Whalesync. If I had to choose one thing, it was that we raised a small round right before we were accepted into YC. In retrospect, we should have waited until after we knew our application result before starting a fundraise.
What was your greatest accomplishment in the past year?
I'm not sure if this counts as an accomplishment, but one thing I'm very grateful for was meeting my cofounder Matthew. Rarely have I enjoyed working with someone as much as him.
Who or what inspires you most?
Sara Blakely. She has shown tremendous grit and ingenuity bootstrapping and building her business.
What's your best tool for managing stress?
Spending quality time with my family and getting 8 hours of sleep.
What's getting the most burn on your playlist right now?
Favorite shoes?
Flip-flops, because it means that I'm having fun somewhere warm.
Favorite cooking ingredient?
Garlic. Other than dessert, it makes just about anything better.