About the Founder
I’ve been an engineer since 1995.
I started out building infrastructure and developing server/network management applications long before anyone called it APM. Over the years, I’ve held every role in technology: systems admin, penetration tester, performance engineer, product lead, etc. But in every one of those roles, I was first and foremost a software engineer. I built software to solve problems, even when the title said something else.
I’ve been leading engineering teams since 1999. For most of that time, I’ve held senior leadership roles, including CTO and CEO positions at multiple companies. If you have ever had a mortgage, took out a personal loan, or received a PPP loan, you’ve probably used my software. Along the way, I’ve interviewed over two thousand candidates, directly hired more than 500 engineers, and performed over a thousand performance evaluations.
I hate subjective unfair reviews.
Knowledge work is hard to measure. Engineers don’t all work the same way, and the loudest, most popular voice in the room is rarely the most valuable contributor. I’ve always been obsessive about fairness and objectivity, seeking as much data as I could get. Decisions must be driven by evidence, not politics and gut feel.
The idea for Warclick goes back much further than this product.
In 2001, long before GitHub existed, I had an idea to use open source activity as a way for engineers to compete, learn, demonstrate real skill, and be measured on the merits of their abilities. Back then it was SourceForge/CVS. The idea evolved, but the problem never went away: I still didn’t have good, objective telemetry on the people I was serving.
When GitHub arrived in 2011, I knew this was the unlock. I took an early stab at building something like Warclick, but at the time I was scaling a company like a Rocket and didn’t have the time to do it right.
Over my career, I’ve helped grow several organizations from early-stage or modest enterprise valuations through large-scale billion-dollar outcomes, including Rocket Loans where I was team member number one. These experiences taught me something important: when leaders get people decisions wrong, the cost is enormous in terms of business and human impact.
Warclick is the synthesis of everything I’ve learned.
I built it because other engineering analytics tools only show you what shipped, not what actually did the work. They miss mentorship, prototyping, experimentation, and leadership that happens off the default branch. I optimized this model so I could measure all engineering contributions. Leaders need a 360-degree view of GRIT.
Warclick is a one-person company.
There is no marketing team. No sales layer. No product committee translating customer feedback. When you use Warclick, you’re engaging directly with me. I designed it, built it, operated it, and used it every day. Since 2019, Warclick has existed as a personal tool I relied on to support evaluations and leadership decisions. This public version is simply the natural next step.
If you use Warclick, my goal is simple: provide you with the most comprehensive view of your engineering team’s contributions.