Hello, I’m Avand.
I’ve been working on the web for over a decade and am passionate about building great products.
I devote most of my time to building Lopery,
a free budgeting that helps people spend with confidence, recover from the unexpected, and achieve financial independence. I used simple
(but time consuming) budgeting principles to buy my first home.
Now, I'm codifying (pun intended) those same principles into an easy to use app that helps people achieve their financial goals.
My last job was with Airbnb, where I focused on internal products
that helped teams measure the quality of the software they were building. I also built internal tools for employees to
stay more connected,
especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. Before that, I was lead engineer at
Mystery Science, the #1 way in which science is now taught in U.S. elementary school classroms.
For a while, I also taught with General Assembly, teaching aspiring developers
the basics of front-end web development.
I was born in Boston, grew up in Salt Lake City, and spent many years living in Chicago. In 2013, I came out West to San Francisco, which I called home
for almost a decade. Now, I’m based out Mariposa, in the foothills of the Sierras.
I enjoy the great outdoors and absolutely love music and dance. Cars have been an lifelong obsession of mine.
I’m the proud owner of a 2002 E-250 Sportsmobile van, and he and I have enjoyed many trips to
beautiful and remote parts of the Pacific North West spreading good vibes. I also have a very soft spot for magic (slight of hand, in particular).
I love the feeling of being inspired and absolutely love inspiring others.
What can I do for you?
The Greatest Hits
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Budget to a “Free House”
The story of purchasing my first home and how budgeting made it possible. As I drove over the Bay Bridge, returning to San Francisco from the Sierra foothills, I stared admiringly…
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Hacking Human Connection: The Story of Awedience
This is the story of how Airbnb employees stayed connected during a time they had never felt more apart. In this post, you’ll learn how an idea turned into an internal product…
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One man’s search for the perfect job
As we wrapped up Sunday night dinner at my apartment, my neighbor remembered, “hey, it’s Pi Day tomorrow, we should head down to Pi Bar for a few slices to celebrate…
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Thirty
Ever since I was 15, I wanted to be 30. Nobody listens to you when you’re a kid. You have no means and no experience so you’re doing everything for the first time. And unless…
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Hypothesis-driven development
I’ll bet that you can’t explain why you’re working on whatever it is you’re working on right now. Scary, right? Because we know that the why of what we’re doing is perhaps…
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Momentum
Startups move fast. They’re young, loud, and disruptive – a room full of excited twenty-somethings willing to burn the midnight oil to get a release out the door. Startups are enticing…