Before I got into tech I used to help people deal with back pain. I started out as the guy who cleans weights up at the gym. Slowly worked my way up to a personal trainer. Ended up specializing as a corrective exercise coach for people with debilitating back pain.
I never set out to be a physical therapist. It was just a way to make money when I was in university. Things got out of hand and by the time I graduated no entry-level job could offer me more money than I was already making as a physical therapist. So I stuck with it.
After about 7 years in the industry, I needed a change. I got into tech in my late 20s. Learned how to code at a Bootcamp in London called Founders & Coders 🙏 I fell in love with the immediacy of feedback that comes with writing software. Worked as an engineer for about 5 years. I wasn’t bad but I was never going to be great.
I enjoyed the product side of software work much more than engineering. I gradually began to focus on helping companies improve their user retention metrics. My background in anatomy was quite unique to the space and it helped me think about products from a perspective that’s both technical and creative.
It was corrective exercise coaching all over again. This time it was digital, not anatomical, but it was the same game. I helped product managers establish a framework to pay attention to the right numbers, I highlighted which numbers didn’t exist and asked important questions about others, then I worked on a plan to funnel attention towards the most important changes, and I helped keep track of things so that we could systematically work on improving things.
At some point along the way, I began using a tool called Chirr App write Twitter threads. Don’t remember how I found it but I loved it. Reached out to the founder, Sasha Koss, and shared my appreciation. We stayed in touch. A year later he asked if I’d like to join the project as a co-founder.
I enjoy consulting, it pays well, but I also wanted a project of my own to sink my teeth into. Sasha is an open-source developer for whom I have the utmost respect. We’d casually worked together for a year, and I thoroughly enjoyed working with him. Joining Chirr App was a no-brainer.
Sasha and I now work on Chirr App full-time. We’re a tiny bootstrapped team of 3 and we’re working hard to build a tool that helps people get the most out of Twitter.
Here are some updates from the journey so far:
- Tripled our weekly active users
- Chirr App posts its one millionth tweet
- Our growth strategy
- Chirr acquisition loops
- How exactly does Chirr grow?
That’s it for now 🍻
Last updated 31st October 2021.