2014 in Review

Wow, time flies… it feels like I was just writing the “2013 in review” post! This is my 3rd year doing annual reviews.  Here are the previous years:

• 2013: http://netkow.com/post/72663989192/2013-in-review
• 2012: http://netkow.com/post/39530513444/2012-in-review

I believe that in addition to spending time with friends & family over the holidays, it’s important to reflect on the previous year in order to continue to grow - physically, mentally, and spiritually.

SAVO

I reached 5 years of service in July - wow!  To be honest, I never imagined staying in my first job out of school for this long, but the perks, culture, and opportunities to grow have been amazing.  Some highlights:

• CRM Opportunity Pro continues to be one of the more successful SAVO products.  Knowing that I had a hand in its creation and growth is an amazing accomplishment.
• Assisting the Sales & Marketing team: I wrote a few more blog posts for the SAVO blog, which have generated over 1,000 views and a handful of leads.  Internally, I’ve continued to share my experiences & opinions on customer success and customer advocacy.
• Improving internal processes: Improving our workflows, best practices, documentation, and automating tasks.

Personal Projects (Netkosoft)

All of my hard work in 2013 really paid off in 2014.  

• Fitwatchr financial success: One day in March, I checked sales of Fitwatchr, my Fitbit mobile app. There were over 100 downloads!  They’ve remained constant ever since (though not quite that high).  In last year’s annual review post, I mentioned being “done” with the app - how wrong I was! We added more features, fixed bugs, and increased our support help and social media efforts.  Then, we put out a separate app, Upwatchr, for Jawbone UP users.  That has been selling well, too.
• First public speaking gig: I spoke about Hybrid Mobile Apps at a software development conference (That Conference) in August. This was a huge personal step for me, as I’ve never been comfortable with public speaking.  
• Announced a new app, BeerSwift: In addition to building more versions of Fitwatchr next year, at the very end of 2014 I announced a new app.  I love craft beer and I love Untappd, so I’m really looking forward to bringing this life.  

Life/Travel

My wife and I have now enjoyed a year and a half of living in Chicago. Being able to walk to work in addition to experiencing everything the city has to offer has been incredible.  We had a fantastic year of trips!

• February: Southern Illinois for a long weekend in wine country. We stayed at a very relaxing bed & breakfast and got snowed in one night.  Having to stay in, watch movies and drink tons of wine made it ok though.
• March: Denver/Boulder to visit a college friend of ours. An absolute blast - Colorado is very beautiful.
• May: Nashville over Memorial Day weekend. We drove from Chicago, which was resulted in a fun road trip. The energy of the country music emanating from every corner of downtown was infectious!
• August: Quebec City, Canada, with great sight-seeing and exploration.  A truly beautiful city/country, we definitely want to come back at some point to explore all the other cities - there are so many!
  
• December: Lots of family time around the holidays!

Additionally, I was able to reconnect with my Dad’s side of the family in Minnesota this summer.  They are some of the kindest, most sincere, down to earth people I’ve ever met!  I aim to keep in touch more in the new year.

Looking at 2015…

I am very excited for 2015.  As always, there is lots to look forward to:

• My wife graduates from grad school in May and will become a licensed Nurse Practitioner.  She’s worked incredibly hard these past few years, so I’m looking forward to the opportunities that she’ll have as a result.
• More Netkosoft projects: In addition to Fitwatchr and BeerSwift, there are other opportunities that I’m pursuing.  Also, I expect to give more talks on hybrid app development at user groups and conferences.
• Travel: It’s going to be another great year for travel.  We’re still in the planning phases, but one thing is for sure: after my wife graduates this summer, we definitely want to take a long trip to celebrate! Additionally, I’ve really come to enjoy “long weekend” type trips, which are great, cost effective ways to visit friends and see new cities.  A few of those are in order!

Here’s to a happy, healthy 2015!  What are you looking forward to in the new year?