My new Zeal

zeal  (zÄ“l)

n. Zeal of zebras: zebras collectively.

Today is a very exciting day as I finally get to share some big news I’ve been keeping under my hat for several weeks now. As of early this month, I’ve accepted the role of CTO at Zealyst.

I met the founders of Zealyst last Fall and was immediately intrigued by what they were doing. At the time, they were solving some really interesting problems for large enterprises using a combination of some custom software and live events called “huddles.” At the same event, Martina and Britta saw me demo Newseen. Apparently we began keeping tabs on each other, and a short while later I saw them announce that Zealyst was pivoting to a more technology-focused SaaS model, with the goal of creating an online version of the huddle experience.

Earlier this year we met for lunch where they told me all about their plans for the company, and their excitement for the new direction was infectious. At first I thought it would be fun to help out as a technology advisor or some similar capacity. My first advice was essentially this: “You need to find a technical leader who will be as dedicated as to what you’re doing as the two of you.” I walked away trying to think of anyone I could send their way. It was a killer opportunity so surely there’s someone I know who would fit in.

Then it hit me. They already knew that’s what they needed. The real question was: am I the right person to join them and help make their vision a reality. Since you’re reading this post, you can probably guess how we answered 🙂

At the GeekWire Awards with Zealyst founders Britta and Martina

I am incredibly excited to be joining such a wonderful team with a super compelling vision, and to take on the challenge of building a new product and engineering team from the ground up. I also want to give a special shout-out to Buzz Bruggeman, the master networker who arranged the event at which this journey began. He seems to have a knack for this sort of thing. If you ever see Buzz at an event, introduce yourself. You won’t regret it.

What’s next? Well, there’s a ton of exciting Zealyst news in the pipeline. I’ll be writing about it here, but Twitter is the best place to keep up (follow me at @BrandonLive  and the company at @Zealyst). I can’t wait to share all of it with you, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, you may want to check out:

Zealyst.com

Zealyst Blog – Meet Brandon, our new CTO!

A note about B-side Software and Tweetium:

I know some of you are asking: What does this mean for Tweetium, Newseen, and B-side Software in general? First let me say they are not going away, and I will absolutely be supporting these apps and even investing in Tweetium going forward. But there’s no beating around the bush here, the vast (vast) majority of my time is now focused on Zealyst. I do still plan to ship Tweetium for Windows Phone 8.1. However, I can’t currently offer an ETA for that.

I am sorry for any disappointment this causes, and my appreciation for all of Tweetium’s supporters knows no limits. But the reality of the situation is that a third-party Twitter client is by its nature a side project, and startup life sometimes leaves little room for those. Hopefully you know how much I love the Tweetium community and working on it, and how anxious I am to have it on my phone. So it’s just a matter of time before that happens. To keep up to date with the latest Tweetium developments, be sure to follow @TweetiumWindows.

Thank again for all your support!