Digital Evolution

Andrew and I go back to 1999 at Digital Evolution, where he was working on Warner Bros. games. He later convinced me to leave SOA Software and join Geni. We went on to work together across Geni, Yammer, and Bird, making him one of the longest-running collaborators in my career.

Dave led the technical direction for a product that crossed classic web development, desktop multimedia, custom real-time networking, and early Intel video hardware. His role was essential in turning an unusually ambitious healthcare-community concept into software children could depend on.

Howard gave me two memories that have lasted for decades. He took Vu and me to UCLA to see children using Starbright World, permanently changing how I thought about software’s human impact. Later, while celebrities were recording audio for the application, he asked Melissa Joan Hart to leave me a surprise message: “Berk is the greatest!”

James translated the product direction into the interface screens children used. His designs gave the experience its warm, non-clinical visual language, and Vu and I painstakingly reproduced those details in the application.

Tommy shaped the overall product and interaction design for Starbright World. Vu and I worked carefully to preserve his intent in the implementation—the gentle movement, approachable navigation, and sense of belonging were fundamental product requirements, not visual decoration.

Vu and I built the Starbright World experience side by side. I still remember him running to the third floor of our Brentwood office while I initiated a ProShare call from my desk—the first time live desktop video felt real. Howard later took both of us to UCLA to see children in the oncology department using what we had built.