An English born South African. An entrepreneurially minded designer turned early stage tech investor. Co-Founder of WooCommerce (acquired by Automattic, 2015). A husband and a dad. A blogger since 2005.
My journey of self-employment
- 2001-2003 ~ My journey began as a mobile disc jockey (whilst studying at the University of Cape Town). Having worked through the Christmas holidays as a sales temp at Selfridges in London, I came home to Cape Town and purchased sound equipment. Disc jockeying helped to fund my rent and social life. The entrepreneurial bug bit.
- 2004-2005 ~ After graduating from university I founded my first business, with two fellow graduates. Gravit8 – an I.T business solutions company. Whilst we focussed on networking solutions I explored our web design arm of the business. An exploration that eventually steered us down different paths. Gravit8 is still going strong today.
- 2007-2008 ~ I was asked to work on the design of an African social media aggregator called Afrigator. Instead of charging for my services I requested equity. After a successful first year we were acquired by MIH Print Africa. (Hat-tip: Always shoot for equity)
- 2008 ~ I helped my wife launch African Cartel. Helping traffic light artists sell their work online. Our short film featured on CNN.
- 2008-2015 ~ 🚀 WooThemes. A hugely significant chapter worthy of it’s own page.
- 2016-Present ~ A new season of rewirement. Being more present at home with the family, whilst immersing myself in new ecosystems and making some exciting startup investments. More on this soon.
My first taste of self employment. DJ Lunatick (circa 2002) 
Taking photos with my boy
My passions
- Growing humans and being a dad.
- I ❤️ taking photos. Mostly of my humans.
- Landrover Defenders and beautiful utilitarian design.
- I’m a Newcastle United football fan. Howay the lads!
- I’m learning to surf and love how the ocean makes me feel.
- I
‘mwas an experimental beer brewer.
Site colophon
- This site is powered by the woonderful WordPress.
- This site uses the Tabor WordPress theme.
- I’ve experimented with numerous hosts over the years. Most recently, my site resides on a WordPress.com business plan, allowing me to install custom themes and plugins.
- My logo was designed by the talented, Cape Town based illustrator, Alex Latimer.
- Whilst I’m not particularly proud of my early archive of blog posts it encapsulates my journey and maturity as a designer, entrepreneur and human.