Get to Know Aaron

Get to know Aaron, who started in markup and design, and who has added to his skills as a frontend developer. He’s also a new dad, an artist, a reader, and a dnd player!

Full Transcript Below:

Aaron:

I’ve always been straddling the tech and design worlds painting and sculpture. But at the same time, I always liked math. Always was good at math.

Cris:

Or was it really like in college? You’re like, “I didn’t even know I could marry these two together.”

Aaron:

Always thought that I would eventually specialize in one, but they always were there. So I-

Cris:

They were always there.

Aaron:

Yeah.

Cris:

Just around the corners, ready to mingle.

Cris:

We just want to do a Meet the Team, get to know you. I know you’ve been with us for a few years now. So what’s your background? How’d you get into tech?

Aaron:

My journey to tech starts in college. I’ve always been straddling the tech and design worlds. I’ve always been interested in the aesthetic side of things, but also in the math and technology side.

Cris:

Okay.

Aaron:

So in college, I still had that dichotomy and didn’t know which direction to go. Found graphic design as scratching both those itches. So I got to be as creative as I needed to while also being able to learn some web technologies and some programming. In the program I was in, it was designed through the lens of technology. So it was both worlds.

Cris:

Okay.

Aaron:

Yeah, that’s when I started learning web technologies, and then next stop was Bixly.

Cris:

That’s cool. Were you an artist growing up? Then also, like you said, did the technical, kind of tinkered with things? Or was it really like at college? You’re like, “I didn’t even know I could marry these two together.”

Aaron:

Yeah. I would say, yeah. It starts probably much earlier. Yes, I was always in the artsy side of things, like painting and sculpture. But at the same time, I always liked math. Always was good at math.

Cris:

Gotcha.

Aaron:

Yeah, I always thought that I would eventually specialize in one, but they always were there. And so I had-

Cris:

They were always there, just around the corners ready to mingle.

Aaron:

Exactly.

Cris:

Okay. I like it. So Bixly, you come to Bixly. What brought you to us? How did you first get connected with us?

Aaron:

Yeah. So I don’t know if you remember this story, but actually met you couple years before starting at Bixly.

Cris:

Okay.

Aaron:

Bixly was having a local meetup for tech people. I had heard about it from my friend whose wife is friends with your wife. So through the grapevine showed up and was my first experience.

Cris:

We had the helium sharks. Right? That floated through the air?

Aaron:

I think so. That sounds familiar.

Cris:

Yeah. Oh, those were so good. Right?

Aaron:

Yeah. So that was my first experience of Bixly and seeing real developers. So that put you guys on my radar. Then once, a couple years later, once my skills were ready, I yeah, threw out an application and started here.

Cris:

… You just gobbled it up.

Aaron:

Yeah.

Cris:

That’s good, though. So, obviously, we got you on board. You’re working with us now. What do you enjoy about Bixly? What gets you excited?

Aaron:

I think-

Cris:

Why do you come here every day?

Aaron:

Why do I come here every day? Good question. I’ve been here close to six years now. So I think the shiny things that a lot of people like about Bixly, like the free snacks and the sodas and the games, it’s all nice. But I think the real reason that keeps being around for almost six years is, there’s an atmosphere of mastery, I think, at Bixly. The developers here really are really passionate about this stuff. It’s not just the bare minimum. We’re not cutting corners. They’re actually interested in the limits of this technology. I think that that’s the spirit of Bixly. Then all the other stuff is just icing on the cake.

Cris:

That’s good. I’m glad, because that’s our goal. Those kind of things are fun, and it is that extra vanilla frosting on the top, or chocolate. Whatever your flavor of choice is that gets you in. But you want the cake, you want to enjoy it. You want it to be good and it keeps you around. So I’m glad that you say that. You’re going to make me cry. I appreciate that.

Cris:

So what in tech excites you right now? You obviously come here, you work. You talked about mastering skills, improving, being better. What gets you excited? What’s new and up and coming that you’re like, “Man, I can’t wait to do this for Bixly,” or even just learn it on the side?

Aaron:

Yeah. As you know, I’m lately been more into the react JavaScript side of front end.

Cris:

Which has been awesome.

Aaron:

Yes. It’s been very exciting. But I think my first and true love has always been the CSS side of things.

Cris:

Okay. Yeah.

Aaron:

So I’m always trying to keep up on what they’re adding to the CSS spec and all the up and coming plans for that. One thing I’m really excited about is this new technology called Container Queries in CSS.

Cris:

Okay.

Aaron:

Which, without getting too technical, is basically a new level of control for creating responsive layouts. That’s something the community has been vying for for like a decade. So it’s a really-

Cris:

It’s a big deal. Yeah.

Aaron:

… big deal in the CSS world. So I’m excited about that.

Cris:

Cool. Well, I’m excited to start integrating on some projects. That’ll be pretty slick.

Cris:

When you’re not here and you’re not at home drawing pictures of penguins or doing math proofs, what other hobbies do you have? What are you passionate about?

Aaron:

Yeah. Lately, as for the last four months, my passion has been my four-month-old daughter. She’s a handful. But yeah, just the journey of fatherhood has been really exciting and that, yeah, takes most of my free time. So that’s where I’m at right now.

Cris:

That’s where you’re at right now. If you had a little more free time, what hobbies would you see yourself doing, perhaps? Not that there’s anything wrong with the baby. That’s great. But yeah. I mean, yeah, any other passions, maybe.

Aaron:

Yeah. Besides my daughter, I would say the rest of my time is split between reading, play some Dungeons & Dragons.

Cris:

Yes.

Aaron:

That’s really fun. Yeah, that’s about it. Some board games thrown in.

Cris:

A little Dominion, Ticket to Ride?

Aaron:

Dominion. Ticket to Ride. Oh, yeah.

Cris:

There you go. European edition?

Aaron:

Yeah.

Cris:

I love it. Well, that’s cool. Anything else that you would want to say to anyone that maybe is thinking about a career at Bixly? Or even for a client that’s looking to work with us? Just someone watching this video, something that would be worthwhile, in closing.

Aaron:

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, this was my first job out of college. So I haven’t experienced the whole-

Cris:

The whole wide world?

Aaron:

… the whole wild world. But I still think that this is a great place to work. Like I was saying before, the people here really take it seriously and are really in love with tech. So yeah, it’s a wonderful place.

Alexandra:

Thank you for joining us for this episode of Meet the Bixly Team with our front end developer and designer, Aaron Knott. I hope you enjoyed getting to know him a little bit better, because he is a valued team member here.

Alexandra:

And don’t forget to check out the description box down below. We have a lot of really helpful links for you guys. Including a link to our Custom Software Guide that is completely free. Also, if you feel like you’re ready to start talking about maybe building something with us and you want to see if Bixly’s the right fit, check out our website, bixly.com. There’s a button right at the top that says, “Get My Project Roadmap,” and that will allow you to have a 60-minute conversation with Cris for free, where we start talking all about your app idea, give you our suggestions and insight, and maybe even a few estimates on what it would look like to get this off the ground. So thank you so much for joining us for this episode of Bixly, Meet the Team.