In 1994, my grandparents gifted me a 386 computer for college. Just three months later, I discovered Wildcat!—a modem and a gateway to the world. I quickly established a global mail network, exhilarated by the chance to connect with people across cultures in this new digital space. As my computer dialed international numbers, data packets often transmitted so swiftly that the call would disconnect before any charges applied. (A loophole I was more than happy to exploit.)

The BBS naturally evolved into a platform for advertising. With a surge of visitors, local restaurants saw an opportunity to promote their businesses. Those were great times—full of wonderful experiences, fascinating conversations, and, most importantly, plenty of free food!

I learned about the Internet from Bjossi. He hosted one of my network nodes in Iceland. Initially, I wasn’t all that impressed with the Web—it lacked the same interactive magic as my BBS. But eventually, I caught on. My first website? A welding and fabrication company in Idaho that specialized in manufacturing everything from stainless steel conveyors to intricate industrial frameworks.

Looking back, it was a fitting start—welding and web design aren’t so different. Both require precision, patience, and the ability to make strong connections that hold everything together.

Now things were getting interesting. Dynamic websites were a game-changer. The idea of serving an application over the Internet felt revolutionary. One of my first PHP sites was for a real estate company. Believe it or not, we had 3D tours in 2004. (No VR headsets—just good old-fashioned innovation.)

A couple of investors nudged me into the world of Forex automation. After getting introduced to Mr. Fibonacci and his buddy MACD, I built quite a few systems. The markets moved, the bots reacted, and somewhere along the way, I learned that numbers have a sense of humor.

By this time, phones could access the Web, which got me thinking—why not create applications for specific use cases? While stuck in traffic on one of Portland’s many, many bridges, the idea for BridgeSense was born. If I had to sit there, I might as well work from my phone. Turns out, other people liked that idea too.

AI has changed everything. The old concept of “bridging the gap” no longer applies when AI can do most of the heavy lifting with just a few lines of code.

During the pandemic lockdowns, I fell in love with anthropology—watching the collision of old and new in real-time is fascinating. As technology reshapes entire workflows, I look forward to what’s next. Because at this point, the only certainty is that change isn’t just coming—it’s already here. Welcome to our Odyssey.