Juggling Multiple Projects And Knowing When To

David Hauser's life changed forever the moment he learned to code. Like so many other fledgling entrepreneurs, the power of computer programming set him on the path of his life as a do-it-yourselfer, always tweaking and building with the goal of shaping his future and that of others. The same way Hauser learned to code, his entire entrepreneurial journey has been one of relentless trial and error, involving a mix of success, failure, and personal and professional growth. With the creation of tech companies like Grasshopper and Chargify, Hauser has used his talents and curiosity to shape his own destiny and make a splash in the startup world.

Now, in his latest venture, he's directed that very sense of experimentation into the employee email database realm of health and fitness, with an upcoming book documenting his many adventures in improving his own physical well-being. But it all started with a few lines of code that allowed him to pursue a non-traditional professional life. “I've always worked for myself since before high school,” Hauser says. “I never had a traditional job. In the late 1990s, the Internet was gaining unstoppable momentum, and as websites began to become viable ways of doing business, the demand for web designers and ad creatives increased dramatically. This shift opened up new opportunities for tech-savvy teenagers who wanted to earn a few dollars (and sometimes much, much more) from the comfort of their childhood bedroom.

Hauser, who has no formal technical background, was one such teenager, quickly making his way into the world of banner ad management and starting his own company WebAds360. “From there, I started tackling different things, learning different technologies, working with other people,” he says. “But it all started with web design. »Before graduating from college, he founded a second company, called ReturnPath, to help companies that used permission-based mailing lists keep their addresses up to date when subscribers graduated from college or changed jobs. job. Being a teenage entrepreneur in the late 1990s and early 2000s had major limitations, however. For one thing, what phone number were potential customers supposed to call? Cell phones of the time were still extremely basic and lacked features such as putting a call on hold or setting up a conference call.