We who cut mere stones must always be envisioning cathedrals.
— Anonymous, known as the Quarry worker’s creed

What work you do is important. How you do that work is important. Why you do that work is the foundation upon which the what and the how are built.

We’ve worked in big companies and small, as DevOps, front-line coders, marketers, managers and entrepreneurs. We’ve seen lots of problems. We’ve even solved a few. We’re confident we can help you with yours.

Randall Thomas

Randall Thomas

…is a classically trained musician that took one too many calculus classes along the way and got sucked into the sciences. Being both blessed and cursed with a strange form of technology ADD, he’s worked in various industries with numerous startups covering everything from robotics, to low level telecommunications & networking to applied computing for stock trading systems.

Randall is an internationally renowned speaker on practical data mining techniques and the business of startups.

Tammer Saleh

Tammer Saleh

…is a long time Rubyist, leader, and published author.

As VP Enginnering at Engine Yard, Tammer ran the development team and the flagship Cloud product. He authored the acclaimed book, Rails AntiPatterns with Chad Pytel. He’s also the author of the Shoulda testing framework, and the fantastic Airbrake service.

Previous lives include C/C++ AI programming, and UNIX administration for Citysearch.com and Caltech’s Earthquake Detection Network.

Our Values are simple but important to what we do.

There is no such thing as a minor lapse of integrity. We strive to create a culture of clarity and trust. Relationships are more important than contracts. Charlatan’s exist, but we’re here to show there’s a better way.

We don’t mince words. Your time is valuable, and so is ours. We’re clear and direct in our communication, and we don’t waste your time with pointless meetings and discussions.

We value judgement and experience. “Clever” solutions create problems. We solve challenges in the most straightforward way we can. Software is complex enough. We’re not going to make things worse.

There are no temporary fixes. Quick fixes are neither quick nor fixes. We build strong, maintainable systems, not band-aids.

Code is a liability. The system with the least code and the fewest parts is the best. It’s the mice that can adapt to change, while the elephant blunders along.

Software is Communication. Effective collaboration demands good communication: we don’t push back when you’re right, but we will tell you when you are wrong. If we don’t have an answer, we work with you to find it. We work hard to keep the whole team in sync.

Our Advisors & Friends

We believe you can judge a person by the friends they keep, and we’re proud of ours.

Rob Mee

Rob Mee, Founder of Pivotal Labs, and our first advisor to Thunderbolt Labs.

Sarah Tavel, VP at Bessemer Venture Partners, and our latest advisor to Thunderbolt Labs.

Sarah Tavel