Hey. Welcome in.
I’m Brendan.
I work on software that I geek out on. At different points, I’ve been a writer, simulation designer, product leader, researcher, short-lived founder, and startup operator. I’ve always been an album guy.
Right now I’m working on Heyday. I’m the Chief of Staff, with 90% of my time spent building our product. We've built an AI thought partner that turns your convos into notes and your ideas into quotes. It’s fun.
Most recently before this, I:
published research on how experts collaborate and learn together with Rob Haisfield and Joel Chan
launched Samepage to enable collaboration across tools like Roam and Notion with David Vargas,
led product and got funding to build out ^^^ and an edtech startup,
and spent a decade building learning experiences and choose-your-own-adventure authoring tools at Capsim.
I write about design, tools for thought, and tinkering at Shorthand. My last piece explored prototyping through the lens of a pencil recorder I built. I like building my own tools.
On most days, you can find me in Oakland’s Temescal neighborhood (home), Jackson Square in SF (work), or a redwood forest (play). I spent a long time in Chicago before moving west in 2022.
I’m here to find my people, and I like meeting over a beverage or on a walk. If you’re lucky, my wife and locally famous cat will be with me.
If you’re not nearby, you can find time for a conversation here.
Where I’m writing this, it’s October 2023 - nine days ‘til my birthday. Life is good.