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Episode 390 | Brian Pontarelli - Emotional Response

Guest:
Brian Pontarelli talks with Dave Rael about doing both business and software, appealing to people, extroversion, and doing what is needed

Brian Pontarelli is founder and CEO of FusionAuth, a Denver-based software company that provides a free identity management platform. Brian start programming at 8 on an Apple 2e using Apple Basic. He taught himself Pascal, Assembler and C during middle and high school. Initially thinking that he had enough programming for a while, we started studying electrical engineering at the University of Colorado, only to quickly realize that differential equations and circuits gave him recurring heartburn. He switched to electrical and computer engineering midway through and started helping teachers review books, teach classes and tutor students. After college, Brian coded at various companies including XOR, US Freightways, BEA, and Orbitz. Growing up in a family of entrepreneurs, Brian always knew he would start his own company. In 2007, Brian quit his day job and took the plunge into starting a software company. Outside of work, Brian is an author and a regular speaker at numerous conferences and meetups.

Brian's top 3 tips for delivering more value:
  1. Think about your users
  2. Stop thinking about code so much
  3. Have fun

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