Howdy.
I'm glad you're here. I like meeting new people and everyone has a story. I'd love to hear yours. Hit me up at howdy@howdychad.com.
The Short Version
I've been building software for 29 years. Microsoft MVP from 2009 to 2019. Wrote a couple bestselling game development books. Architected systems that Fortune 500 companies used. Served as CTO of a FinTech startup. Now I'm building DevNitro, the Intelligent Engineering Platform.
The Longer Version
It started with an IBM PC and a copy of DOOM. I spent hours trying to get that game to run on 640K of RAM, tweaking config.sys, shuffling memory managers around. Most kids would've given up. I thought it was fun.
That's when I realized something. The hours I spent figuring out computers didn't feel like work. They never have.
I went deep into game development. Wrote bestselling technical books on XNA game development. Taught thousands of developers how to build games. That early passion for teaching and building never left.
On 10/10/10, I founded GlobalCove Technologies. Consulting, custom software, and eventually the foundation for everything I'd build next. That same year I became a Microsoft MVP, a recognition I held for a decade, from 2009 to 2019.
I got into HoloLens and mixed reality early. Built apps, created training content, spoke at events. It was one of those moments where the future felt close enough to touch.
I architected enterprise systems at RMG Networks that Fortune 500 companies relied on. Served as CTO of Solo K, a FinTech startup, from 2021 to 2023. Spent time at Wells Fargo in enterprise development from 2018 to 2024. Every stop taught me something about how engineering teams actually work, what slows them down, and what makes the great ones great.
Now I'm building DevNitro full time. Everything I've learned over 29 years is going into it.
What I'm Doing Now
DevNitro is my full focus. I'm building it, writing about building it, and sharing what I learn along the way on the Build Log.
I'm defining a new category called Intelligent Engineering. The idea: your developers have AI, but your organization doesn't. AI coding tools help individuals write code faster, but nobody has built the operating model for how AI-assisted engineering works across a company. DevNitro is that operating model. AI that understands your architecture, operates from your backlog, and produces code your team can trust, support, and scale.
The Personal Stuff
Christian. Family man. Investor. Gamer.
The investor piece matters more than it might seem. Building a company without outside funding requires a runway. Years of disciplined investing gave me the freedom to build DevNitro the way I believe it should be built, without pressure to ship something half-baked to hit someone else's timeline.