This is a completely random post around gratitude.
I woke up today extra grateful for what I have. Life and business are great right now. So, I’d like to take some time to thank a bunch of people who have influenced and inspired my career during the last 15 years.
For starters, my wife (Gabrielle Jafarian) who supports my entrepreneurial efforts. Without her I would not be where I am today.
And now the full list:
Reza Jafarian (my dad) – for always being a role model and giving me entrepreneurial traits.
Hemad Fadaifar – for pushing me to help co-found MyBarCard and learn some of my most valuable business lessons. And for being my best friend.
Brian Cook – for working with me on a variety of projects over the last decade, and supporting me in starting/running several businesses.
Kyle Weiger – for being a perfect co-founder and great friend + team member in various ventures.
Eric Turnnessen – for years of great collaboration and partnership between our two companies, and for listening to my “client rants” from time to time.
John Doherty – for recently adding me to the Credo team and allowing me to contribute towards your vision, and for deep friendship in fatherhood + entrepreneurship.
Carm Huntress – for hiring me into the founding team of my first funded startup and being one of the most inspiring CEOs I’ve ever worked alongside.
Dan Caron – for teaching me the dark arts of online marketing and always challenging my strengths.
Peregrin Marshall – for always giving me freedom as a front-end developer and team member, plus fundamental skills in proper “cowboy” coding 😉
Brooks Pettus – for pushing me into my first “real” sweat equity startup, and providing guidance/mentorship when I’ve asked.
Seth Rosen – for hiring me as a consultant and giving me occasional wisdom/insight into running software businesses.
Andy Drish – for coaching me during a time when I needed some clarity on my entrepreneurial path.
Jillian Oxler – for commissioning my first few freelance projects when I was just getting my feet wet in my career.
Ryan Sullivan – for hiring me into my first formal software engineering role, and spending personal time with me amidst being way more important at SM!
Eric Spery & Noah – for teaching me foundational software engineering principles and making my first coding job fun.
Ryan Barr – for teaching me how to write good JavaScript and use Git.
Jeremy Depew – for mentoring me in my very first role as a front-end developer.
Steve Shermer – for hiring me into my first salaried position and helping me realize what kind of job I did NOT want 🙂
Noah Kagan – for putting out my favorite podcast month after month (OK Dork), which has inspired me in more ways than you know. Thank you, brother!
And of course, to all my clients and customers that enabled me to build a career over the years.
There are plenty more, but these are the immediate people that have impacted my career. I thank you ALL with a full heart and open mind.
What about you? Who could you thank today?
Ali Jafarian
Ali is a father, husband and serial entrepreneur with a deep drive to create. He writes, records, codes and builds things to inspire the artist in all of us.
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