What's Next? From Decipad to New Frontiers

Well, this is a weird one to write. If you’ve been keeping up, you already know the big news: Decipad, the company and product that has been my heart and soul for the past few years, is shutting down. We’ve got the full announcement on our website if you want to read it. It’s a real mix of feelings right now—I’m incredibly proud of what our team built and so grateful for the ride, but also a little sad to see this chapter close.

We really gave it our all to make working with data easier and more intuitive for everyone, and I’m confident we made something pretty special. The mission was always to find a better way to think with numbers, something beyond the clunky old spreadsheet. And because we believe so much in what we built, we’re making it all open-source! You can check out the entire Decipad codebase on GitHub. This wasn’t just an afterthought; it was super important to us from the start. Hopefully, the ideas and tech we worked on can keep growing and help other people build cool new things.

So, what about me? After being head-down in the fascinating world of “tools for thought” for years, I’m finally coming up for air and figuring out what’s next. It’s exciting, a little scary, but honestly, I’m feeling pretty inspired!

I’ve already got a bunch of ideas rattling around in my head. I just love diving into tricky problems with code and thoughtful design. One idea is to build some better scheduling software for teams—that whole area could use a shake-up. Another is to think about what the next version of Decipad could look like, taking everything we learned and running with it (all open-source from day one, of course).

But bigger picture, I’m really feeling pulled towards two areas where I think I can make a real difference: Health Tech and Education.

My whole career, from writing technical books on Node.js to co-founding Decipad, has been about tackling deep technical challenges. I love building powerful, high-performance back-end systems and the complex logic that makes great tools possible, and I think those skills could be a great fit for these fields.

Let’s be real, the problems in Health Tech and Education are huge, but that’s what makes the opportunities so exciting! The chance to build tech that genuinely improves people’s lives is massive. The idea of supporting a research-heavy R&D team in Health Tech, or transforming how we learn with new educational platforms, gets me fired up. Building the robust systems that power scientific breakthroughs or unlock new ways of teaching is the kind of work I want to dive into.

So, here I am, ready for a new adventure and excited to learn! I’d love to chat with all the innovators, builders, and dreamers out there in Health Tech and Education. I want to hear about the big challenges and figure out where my experience and love for open-source can fit in.

If you’re working on something you’re passionate about in these fields, or just want to bat some ideas around, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can find me on LinkedIn or X (formerly Twitter).

Thanks so much for being part of the Decipad story. I can’t wait for the conversations and collaborations that will shape this next chapter!