About Me

Credit to Mark-Erik DiBiase for the photo!

Howdy! My name is Jonathan. I’m curious and always looking for new things to learn and try.

Entrepreneurship has been my jam since my early days. I started my first business at 10 with my brother Joshua, selling home-baked banana breads door-to-door.

I learned a lot through that experience. My learning continued as a teenager. I started my first partnership (“SandStorm Computers”) at age 17 with a friend. 5 or 6 ventures later, bring me to today! After 4 1/2 years in a big agency, I went solo for about 6 months and then joined Automattic, where I served as Community Lead for WooCommerce, the largest ecommerce platform on the Open Web. I worked at WooCommerce for 18 months and went back to the business of WordPress.

I have a son (Jaiden, 13) and a daughter (Jensyn, 9). We live just outside of beautiful Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

I love games, particularly strategy games. These days, my favorites are Polytopia and Age of Empires 4.

Work

I’ve been building websites myself since I was 12 and began doing so professionally at 17. I started working with WordPress back in 2005 and I’ve been full-time in WordPress ever since.

Anna and I co-founded Strive Industries back in 2021 and we’re investing in ecosystems, especially WordPress.

Speaking

I’ve been doing quite a bit of speaking these days! For some of the highlights, check out my WordCamp talks on WordPress.tv.

Writing

I started my writing career at 9, publishing a small-circulation magazine called “Cougar Club.” Each issue was packed with fun facts, stories, illustrations, and activities.

I published my first book, Tiny Habits, back in 2018 and am working on my next with my business partner, We’re writing about ecosystems.

Want to see what I’m up to lately? Visit my Digital Garden.

Faith

I am a Seventh-day Adventist Christian and my faith has played a critical role in shaping who I am today. I work 6 days a week and rest on the seventh day, from sundown Friday to sundown on Sabbath (Saturday).

For more about Seventh-day Adventist beliefs, take a look at What Adventists Believe. TruthLink.org by Ty Gibson is my favorite Bible study series.