Paul Dowman

Like myself, Paul started a digital agency helping companies with web software development after GigPark was acquired.  Paul successfully ran OK Grow for almost eight years. During that time I continually admired Paul for the way he thoughtfully ran his agency and developed software.

I’m always impressed by developers and entrepreneurs in my industry that constantly pay attention to the tools and processes most of us take for granted. Paul is always exploring new technologies and new techniques, testing to ensure he’s working in the best possible way.

I remember Paul sharing OK Grow’s ongoing experiments in remote work by having always on video chat windows in an attempt to simulate an open office environment, even when your employees aren’t physically with you. He was one of the first people I knew of to explore and promote the concept of pair programming which I’m still dabbling in and many in our community are currently debating as the alternative to the drawbacks of pull requests. Paul was also one of the first people I know to work with Ruby on Rails and be enamoured not only by how productive one could be with the framework but also how elegant and liberating the language was. He’s one of a handful of people I credit with influencing my ongoing connection to that particular framework. 

Perhaps the standout quality I admire about Paul is his calmness to problem solving. He is not overly emotional about what many would consider stressful problems. Paul is incredibly thoughtful in his approach to decision making and has a wonderful way of setting you at ease when speaking. I have enjoyed our conversations over the years as I know I’m always going to come away feeling refreshed and enlightened.

Paul is now enjoying a successful position as Senior Development Manager at Shopify where I’m sure he’s bringing his many years of design, development and managerial expertise to bear on the e-commerce juggernaught. 

Thank you Paul for your many years of inspiration and many years to come.

LinkedIn: /pdowman

Twitter: @pauldowman

Web: pauldowman.com