I got fired from Adobe in April of 2024. Wow, that feels like years ago but it hasn't been that long. I worked at Adobe for 12 years and honestly, that was too long.
I was originally hired at Typekit. An SF startup solving the problem of fonts on the web. It was exciting and fun to be the 11th or 12th employee but even then, I saw this as a stepping stone to doing my own thing. A year later we were acquired by Adobe and for the most part, the transition went well (for me at least). That turned into 11 years at Adobe, much longer than I'd planned and it's great they let me go. Similar to a relationship that has run it's course, it's hard to leave until someone says, "This just isn't working." I'm glad they did because it forced me to think about "doing my thing" seriously for the first time in years.
And so, learning to program seemed like a great place to start. I had this idea for a budgeting tool 10 years ago and no one has built it. In fact, the tech world has moved further and further away from anything like it. That could be a great sign of opportunity or a terrible sign that I'm on the wrong track.
But sometimes you have to see something through. So, I've spent the better part of the time since working on Textbooks: a budgeting system that you interact with through text messages.
Even 10 years ago I was getting tired of "there's an app for that" and I just wanted something simple. I thought, "What is the easiest way to capture my spending in real time?" and the answer was "text message". What if I could just send a text and the expense is recorded?
Well, that idea lead to Textbooks which is now in beta. I know there are people interested in simpler, human scale tools. I hope this helps some folks get a better handle on their spending. If you're interested in trying it out, send me an email and I've give you the code.
Godspeed
I was originally hired at Typekit. An SF startup solving the problem of fonts on the web. It was exciting and fun to be the 11th or 12th employee but even then, I saw this as a stepping stone to doing my own thing. A year later we were acquired by Adobe and for the most part, the transition went well (for me at least). That turned into 11 years at Adobe, much longer than I'd planned and it's great they let me go. Similar to a relationship that has run it's course, it's hard to leave until someone says, "This just isn't working." I'm glad they did because it forced me to think about "doing my thing" seriously for the first time in years.
And so, learning to program seemed like a great place to start. I had this idea for a budgeting tool 10 years ago and no one has built it. In fact, the tech world has moved further and further away from anything like it. That could be a great sign of opportunity or a terrible sign that I'm on the wrong track.
But sometimes you have to see something through. So, I've spent the better part of the time since working on Textbooks: a budgeting system that you interact with through text messages.
Even 10 years ago I was getting tired of "there's an app for that" and I just wanted something simple. I thought, "What is the easiest way to capture my spending in real time?" and the answer was "text message". What if I could just send a text and the expense is recorded?
Well, that idea lead to Textbooks which is now in beta. I know there are people interested in simpler, human scale tools. I hope this helps some folks get a better handle on their spending. If you're interested in trying it out, send me an email and I've give you the code.
Godspeed