Today, I partner with brand creatives to build custom web architecture for VCs, biotech, and SMBs. But how did a sociology major who spent almost a decade in the nonprofit sector emerge as a web developer and form a business that would become Rock the Web?
A child of the early net
My foray into the web started back in the summer of 1998, right before I entered high school, and right in the middle of the dot-com bubble. My grandparents finally got me AT&T WorldNet. I'd used the Internet before of course, at school and at a few friends' houses, mostly to conduct research and hang out in a few chatrooms.
Up to that point, my online life consisted of dialing into Juno for email (imagine that, a separate online service just for email!) and direct connections to friends' computers to play multiplayer games. Ecstatic for my own home Internet? Definitely!
Rooted in curiosity and passion
An avid gamer, I initially set out to sleuth all the secrets of my favorite role-playing games. Nostalgia pulled me back to revisit old titles, retrace familiar paths, and uncover all the missed areas and special loot I'd missed the first time around. I hoped the online community wouldn't let me down.
In an unexpected turn, I uncovered something much more intriguing than a hidden passageway or magical sword. I discovered fan sites. Dozens of shrines and homesteads curated by game lovers just like me.
How did they do this? How did they build these destinations?
Like most teens, I fell into a summer of love. But instead of a girl crush, I became enamored with websites. The impact a site can make on individual visitors remains hardwired in my DNA today. It continues to shape the care and consideration I give to brand presentation, from the website's first impression to its deepest pages.
Birth of a web developer
Instead of spending my break retreading my favorite games, I dedicated almost three months to learning HTML. I studied the code behind these sites and copied the patterns I saw. I launched my own experiments on free hosting services like Angelfire and GeoCities. I spent my days linking content, assembling media libraries, and crafting color palettes to showcase my favorite RPGs: Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger, and Super Mario RPG.
Starting on free hosting, I faced the reality of storage limits. Necessity breeds creativity, and I discovered a myriad of methods to make my code and images more efficient to reduce file size. A priority that still shapes my custom builds today.
I also networked with other fan site owners. I joined and created web rings, services that linked and grouped together sites around shared interests. Over time, I decided to focus on my favorite title, FFVI, and I found hosting with a gaming network who let me build on a subdomain. Their generosity and feedback pushed me to grow beyond my hobbyist fan site and tweak my designs to look a bit more polished, a bit more professional.
I eventually purchased my first domain name from Network Solutions, ff6online.com, and launched my own official gaming site.
Early e-commerce
As my high school responsibilities grew and the dot-com bubble burst, I sold my domain name and site for a $300 profit on eBay. Modest compared to the alleged $2-3K a fellow student made per month with their Dragon Ball Z fan site, but that transaction opened the door to online sales and early payment processors like PayPal.
I began using eBay to sell other items: my NES/SNES game collection, LEGO sets, and used electronics. I learned the importance of quality visuals, transparent and direct sales copy, commercial reputation (in the form of reviews), and bidder psychology. That foundation would later help me guide clients through their own online sales.
At this point though, web design was still just a high school hobby.
The code evolves (the teen comes of age)
As I matured, so did the games. I spent the little free time available during my high school years immersed in the worlds of Blizzard Entertainment: Diablo, StarCraft, and WarCraft. My website focus changed as well. With the support of a few friends, we developed The Blizzard Nexus.
The venture pushed me to deepen my skills. I mastered table-based HTML structure and the “holy-grail” three-column layout. I refined navigation and footer implementation, as well as copy hierarchy.
I also took honors computer science and continued to build custom PCs at home. For my senior project, I setup a computer repair business registered with the city of La Mesa.
My friend and I advanced TBN into our college years. It grew large enough that we became an official Blizzard Entertainment fan site. The company invited us to be official beta testers for the later juggernaut, World of WarCraft.
While my code and side projects matured, my view of people and systems expanded in the lecture hall.
Parallel growth
Academically, I dove into sociology. At UCSD, I studied institutions, social structures, race relations, and media strategies for how information spreads. I minored in film studies and analyzed visual methodologies like recursion and the craft of storytelling beyond simple formulas. I became fluent in both qualitative and quantitative data analysis. I gained a deep understanding of social group dynamics, socioeconomics, and demographics.
By the end of my undergraduate tenure, my ethnography professor nominated my final research paper for the Sociology Undergraduate Research Conference.
All of these skills show up in the roles I live in today.
- I translate branding into visual and logical presentations for specific audiences in ways that resonate and convert.
- I turn metrics and patterns in analytics into actionable strategies that drive growth.
- I decipher user behavior and use that insight to design better digital user experiences.
Nonprofits, budgets, and scope
I worked for nonprofits early in college and continued in the sector for five years after I graduated. That experience introduced me to the world of grants and strict operational requirements. Funding depended on performance and service milestones. Each position asked me to own the program, make it successful, report on fund-related targets, and prepare for annual audits. I also collaborated with stakeholders inside the agency, as well as government partners and other nonprofit services, to make sure each program delivered on its promises.
This experience transferred over to project management for web clients.
- I write contracts with transparent billing, tight scopes, and logical milestones.
- I operate in B2B teams that bridge business, creative, and development.
- I map realistic measurements for outcomes, deliverables, and success.
- I practice best standards, follow compliance, and navigate regulations.
SEO and copy for clicks
A few years after college, I received an invite to open an account with the now-disgraced revenue-sharing platform HubPages. I published how-to guides, provocative pieces, and experimental click-bait. To increase traffic and ad revenue, I explored search engine optimization strategies, dug into targeted keywords, and elevated my copy formats. This also introduced me to Google Analytics, Adsense (now Google Ads), and content marketing.
Part-time practitioner
Around this time I reconnected with a former high school employer to redesign her website. My first paid web gig and my client zero. I expanded my design techniques by mastering CSS and moving from table-based layouts to floated divs. I also discovered PHPList, an open-source email marketing platform, which segued into email marketing campaigns.
Client zero worked as a book coach for “solopreneurs”: independent authors, speakers, and coaches. Her network brought me more side projects while I remained in the nonprofit realm.
This period also introduced me to social media: Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. I used the techniques from my online article writing for short-form content.
I now saw websites as marketing assets and melded my disciplines.
The website served as the marketing hub with search, social media, third-party publication, paid ads, and email campaigns all integrated. Each medium feeding the promotion machine.
Crossroads
Let me be honest. Before college, I planned to become a teacher. While studying sociology, I seriously explored the PhD route as a career and several professors stepped up in full support of that path. Ultimately, I decided neither would be a good fit.
With both options off the table, I stayed in the nonprofit sector because I enjoyed helping others and it let me feed my teaching itch. But for those four to five years after college, I felt lost. I didn't know where I wanted to go. I considered a graduate program in nonprofit leadership. I researched becoming a therapist or social worker. Nothing resonated. Nothing felt right.
At this same time, I earned more web projects. My teenage hobby and early-twenties side-hustle began to feel like a real road forward. I knew I couldn't make it work with divided attention.
So in 2010, I left the nonprofit sector and plunged into web design.
Full freelance
Those early years weren't easy. Many successful freelancers jump into the field with decades of established corporate breadth and networking to back them. I started young with no formal web industry nor business management background.
My age worked both for and against me.
For some, my youth made sense and they expected me to know my way around technology. For others, it undermined my credibility and signaled a lack of experience.
Fortunately, my ten years across different nonprofit agencies elevated me. Conducting interviews, quickly establishing rapport with strangers, and diving into programs at any stage all bridged the gaps. Plus, people genuinely liked me and my deliverables.
Moving in
As my professional connections grew, I served more solopreneurs across the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia. The great thing about web work is that it can be fully remote, and anyone in the world who communicates in English can be a client.
I took on more local San Diego businesses as well. This broadened my skill set to include local search marketing and SEO. I focused on strategies to evaluate local competition: search results, ad rivals, Google Business profiles, online reviews, and ways to improve a company's online identity and reputation.
My understanding of online presence deepened. Organic and paid targets branched out into informational, service, product, local, branded, and B2B queries. More complexities. More connections.
Taking over maintenance for current sites, I also gained exposure to the many web tools and platforms available at that time. I navigated early iterations of Wix and Squarespace. I became an expert in the WordPress ecosystem. I moved away from PHPList and built templates in campaigns in SaaS systems like MailChimp, Campaign Monitor, and Constant Contact.
Moving up
As my professional portfolio grew through word of mouth, I caught the attention of several creative agencies. I landed contracts with Studio 318, Grove Media, Firewheel Marketing, and Four Fin Creative. These agencies handled the brand and design, I handled the build and infrastructure. This included constructing WordPress themes from the ground up.
This stage brought me into projects in the real estate, hospitality, and law firm sectors. I developed and maintained sites for higher-profile entities like the Del Mar Village Association, Rodeo Drive, DTLA, Harlem Irving Companies, and Federal Realty.
Operations
The more dedicated focus on development pushed me to further zoom in on performance and optimization. I mapped ways to increase page load speed, reduce image size, and remove bloat.
Along the way, I hosted client websites as a reseller. First, as a way to offset the costs of my own web hosting. Later, as a way to truly own the backend and provide stable infrastructure. Uptime, backups, and security stopped being background concerns and became part of my core service.
Eventually, I moved everything to SiteGround, an industry leader for security, speed, and support. This change allowed me to offer my clients a fully managed end-to-end solution. They gained the peace of mind that comes with a single point of contact who knows their web system inside and out.
Serious E-commerce
While many of my earlier clients incorporated some form of sales or transaction flow for products or services on their sites, the 2010s really exposed me to the world of e-commerce. I worked with several San Diego-based fashion startups using WooCommerce and Squarespace. I landed my first large retainer with an LA-headquartered dog accessory company built on Magento. I moved several businesses on and off Shopify.
My view of brand presentation and site architecture amplified.
- I focused more on growth, not just launching a portfolio or brochure with some CTAs.
- I created strategies tied to campaign forecasts and conversion metrics.
- I learned to model ad investment and projected revenue before campaigns even launched.
- I optimized to reduce CPC and increase CTR to push targeted traffic through qualified funnels.
Profit grew, spend shrank.
COVID
In 2018 I landed a contract to help build a new site for PanaCast, which would later be acquired by Jabra. This project paved the way for me to partner with more startups in the tech and VC sectors. My portfolio shifted to biotech companies like Serimmune and datma, as well as VCs like Ironspring and Touchdown Ventures (later acquired by Cerity Partners).
The COVID years proved to be a huge transition period for everyone.
I used this time to upgrade my operations and knowledge.
- I fine-tuned my proposals, contracts, and offerings.
- I went through several iterations of my own website.
- I learned to better navigate calls with high-profile prospects based in San Francisco.
- I expanded my toolkit by gaining certifications in JavaScript, React, RESTful APIs, and Mongoose.
- I embedded AI into my research and used it to quality-check my scripts.
- I thought about my skill set as a stack and re-evaluated my journey.
My mindset changed. I no longer saw myself as a scrappy freelancer and recognized the senior developer and business operator I'd evolved into.
Rock the Web
In 2025, I leveled my business acumen and founded Rock the Web, LLC, which I later trademarked. I now focus on transforming branding for VC, biotech, and SMB teams into full web architecture that drives targeted traffic, converts leads, and generates revenue. I am selective in who I collaborate with, take on only a handful of quality projects per year, and offer comprehensive retainers for ongoing growth.
I'm still passionate about web design. I still approach tasks and systems from an essentialist perspective. I continue to tinker and try out new ideas. Though not economical for many of my clients, I still love to shape sites from scratch, including my own.
The avid gamer, the curious boy with a desire to explore and understand, still lives in me. He's the one who keeps me learning, experimenting, and creating. As the web evolves, so do I, and I'm excited to see what's next.