James Davis,
Grew up in Rodeo, California, in the East Bay. Joined the Navy in 2008 and served until 2012, which sent me to places I would not have otherwise gone and gave me a permanent preference for working alongside people who take the work seriously.
Moved to Georgia after. Went to school in Athens, then landed in Atlanta and stayed for over a decade. Worked across a few industries before finding my way into payments, with a detour through media along the way. Payments stuck.
I tend to go deep on things rather than wide. Curling, photography, 3D printing, cocktails, building small software for one user (me). The pattern is consistent enough that I have made peace with it.
What I care about.
Working with people who care about the work. That was the thing I missed most after the Navy and the thing I have looked for in every job since. When I find it, I stick around.
Building tools that fit one person well instead of tools that fit everyone poorly. Most of what I build on the side starts with a problem I have and ends when the problem stops bothering me. Olympus is the current one.
Where I am.
Rodeo, California, in the East Bay. The house I live in is the one I grew up in. What started as a renovation project ended up being my home for the time being.
Anchoring in time.
About a decade into a product career, about two decades out of high school. Old enough to have opinions, young enough to keep changing them.