Today we’d like to introduce you to David Harned.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Although I’ve been creative my whole life, I started in a formal Art program as a junior in high school and although I started late, it came easily to me. I got a BFA from Northern Illinois University and was a formally trained Illustrator. Like many artists, I needed to pay the bills and took a job as a graphic designer working primarily on print and layout work right out of school.
While working at the design agency I was introduced to web design and was completely hooked. It was an interactive medium that flexed my right brain creativity as well as my left brain code and development and I was fascinated completely. I left that job to go work at a dot com startup, which (of course) failed in the late 1990s.
I made some friends there and when that job dried up, I was asked to join the parent font company as the primary web developer – also known as a “webmaster” at that time. From there I scaled – managing one website, then another, then teams who built sites, until I became very strong at managing teams of people who were building some really intense and complex web applications making millions of dollars in revenue through eCommerce.
My love was for the team building. For watching these folks rip through all this work and be successful. They better they got, the more passionate I felt about it. Eventually I began to really hone in on teams and process. I learned about Agile, more specifically Scrum and Kanban. I started putting these concepts to use advocating for them and teaching others.
Nowadays I work with dozens of great teams with 100s of people all over the world to help them deliver great stuff and have fun doing it as the Director of a PMO.
Has it been a smooth road?
I have been lucky and the road has been fairly smooth. I have made a career out of finding problems and learning how to make other people’s lives easier. That has created opportunities for me and strong relationships with others.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Digital Coffee – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Digital Coffee is a freelance effort relating to web development and the varied activities around that. Design, development, project management, etc. If you need something for your digital presence or don’t even know what you need, I can work with you to figure that out and get it put into place.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Chicago has the best food. Hands down. It’s not healthy, but man does it taste good. Also, Chicago feels to me like a “working” city. It feels blue collar and filled with people who aren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves and get things done. I respect that.
What I like least? Compared to other cities that I have been to – nothing. It’s a great city.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://digitalcoffee.net
- Email: david@digitalcoffee.net
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/digicoffee/
- Facebook: http://facebook.com/digicoffee
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/digicoffee
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
