Jason Smith

Buckle up, cause I’m bout to tell you about Jason Smith, the guy’s a legit tech wizard. He’s part of YC W19, so he’s been in the game for a minute, but what’s crazy is how much he’s done before even jumping into YC. This dude’s been around the block, worked at Microsoft as a Principal Software Engineer, where he crushed it on Xamarin stuff, especially Xamarin.Forms. That’s like the backbone of cross-platform mobile dev, making it way easier for devs to build apps that run on iOS and Android without rewriting everything. No cap, he’s one of the big brains behind that tech.

Before Microsoft, he was at Xamarin itself, leading the team that built Xamarin.Forms. So he’s not just a coder, he’s a builder of huge tools that changed how devs make apps. And his process started even earlier, at Canonical, you know, the folks behind Ubuntu, where he dived into open-source projects. So dude’s always been about making tech more open and accessible. He’s also an alum of Western Michigan University, which just shows he’s not from the Silicon Valley hype, he’s from wherever, and he crushed it enough to make it big.

But here’s the kicker, he’s a co-founder of Glide. This is the real deal startup, where you can build apps from spreadsheets, no code needed. It’s like democratizing app creation, making it super easy for anyone to jump in and create. That’s a vibe, he’s all about empowering normal people with tech, not just building tools for other techies.

What does this tell you about him? It’s obvious he’s all in on making tech better, more open, and accessible. He’s not just about writing code, he’s about changing how people build and share ideas with tech. His process screams he’s driven by a need to simplify and democratize what’s possible with software. From his huge role at Xamarin to co-founding Glide, it’s clear he’s all about creating tools that make a real impact, not just for the tech crowd, but for everyone.

Basically, Jason Smith is a perfect example of a tech creator who’s not just in it for the fame or the money, he’s in it to shake things up, to make dev life easier, and to give everyone a shot at building cool shit. That’s why he’s so important.