The Blog

She’s already been here for a couple weeks, but her employment really wasn’t official until her A/S/L Check went up on the Ignighter blog.

It is our pleasure to introduce the lovely and talented Ayca Aksu, Ignighter’s newest Developer and Interaction Designer.

Although we’re still a young company, one aspect of company culture that we take very seriously is the nickname. We have a strict hiring policy at Ignighter: We only hire geniuses. And as a result, all of our nicknames include a reference to our genius…um…osity.

When we first hired Nicky the combination of his youth and brilliance was so rare that he was quickly labeled Boy Genius . We called him B.G. for short until two syllables became one too many and he evolved into “Beege”. As Beege’s life-mentor, I naturally became “Meege” (Man Genius). Dan, being no slouch in the genius department, became “No Sleege” while Kevin became “Keege” (Kevin Genius) and Molly, in a gesture to her heritage, became “Heege” (Hebrew Genius).

It must be noted that Kevin wasn’t always Keege. Originally his nickname was based on the fact that he was a Real Genius, however it didn’t take long until we started to feel alarmingly similar to Kelly Ripa every time we wanted to acknowledge him. Thus he became simply Keege.

It may be hard to believe, but anyone who has spent a little time at Ignighter HQ knows that this is really the way it is. We actually call each other by these nicknames at all times. It’s not to be funny, but rather it’s a celebration of our genius…um…ness. We’re a lot like Apple’s Genius bar, just without the male ponytails.

Ignighter: So with that overlong introduction in mind, Ayca (pronounced  eye-cha), what would you like your Ignighter genius nickname to be?

Ayca: Umm… How about Aych (eye-ch)?

Ignighter: So Aycheege?

Ayca: No, just Aych works for me.

Ignighter: After all that? Just Aych?

Ayca: After all what? I’m sorry, I haven’t been paying attention. The truth is, you’re kinda boring.

Ignighter: So I’ve heard. Well Aych, let’s get down to business.

Ayca: ‘Bout time.

Ignighter: Hmmph. Where are you from Aycheege?

Ayca: I was born in Rize. It is a small town by the Black Sea, in northeast Turkey.

Ignighter: Do you have siblings?

Ayca: I have a 27-year-old sister and a 20-year-old brother. My sister has the most awesome job. She is the third officer on a commercial ship, soon to be the second. My brother goes to college. His major is mining engineering.

Ignighter: Your brother is a major minor? You don’t hear that too often.

Ayca: Are you doing more of your comedy?

Ignighter: Sort of. Pressing on. What do you like to do in your free time?

Ayca:  I used to do scuba diving when I was in Turkey. I have more than 50 dives up to 150 feet. I am planning to go to Mexico for scuba diving next summer. I also love sculptures. I have been taking sculpture classes where we learn about formalizing our ideas. One of my favorite places in NYC is the Moma, I love going there once in a while. I also love reading science fiction, fantasy, and comic books.

Ignighter: We’re really excited to have you on the Ignighter team. What is your primary goal at Ignighter?

Ayca: As a part of the Ignighter team, I very much look forward to seeing Ignighter become a successful product not just in terms of page views or revenue but also in terms of the whole user experience.

Ignighter: OK if you’re feling up to it, we’ll get to the closing questions now.

Ayca: Yeah, just hurry it up Sachs.

Ignighter: Alright. What is your favorite word?

Ayca: Penultimate.

Ignighter: Least favorite word?

Ayca: Abysmal. It reminds me of the GRE.

Ignighter: And the penulatime question, favorite smell?

Ayca: Lavender. I also like the smell of rain, especially on a dry summer night (but maybe that’s too romantic. I am totally not romantic). Plus I have a soft spot for Gio, men’s perfume, it smells soooo good.

Ignighter: And now the final question to this abysmal interview, what historical figure would you most like to go on a date with?

Ayca: I would like to go on a date with Picasso because he is a wonderful artist.

Ignighter: Aych it’s really been a pleasure. You’ve been an awesome addition to our genius team here and we know you’re going to make an awesome contribution to the success of the company.

Ayca: Are you still talking? I’m busy reading Jezebel.

March 3rd, 2009 Posted by Adam | About Ignighter, Blogs, Ignighter Guys, Our Office, Startups, a/s/l check, meet new people |

Yesterday we added a very important member to the Ignighter team. Why is she so important? Well primarily because she’s a she. But even primarilierly because she works for free.

Meet the lovely Molly Bush, our newest Community Catalyst and cell phone answerer. Molly loves wine, cheese, and headbands and currently lives in an abandoned truck tire warehouse with her pomerianian and bff, Ferdie. She prefers to date celebrities, reality TV stars, and other people that she’s stalked.

Ignighter: Molly it’s great to have you on board…

Molly: Huh?

Ignighter: Are you not paying attent- Wait a second, you’re on Monster.com looking for paying jobs again aren’t you?

Molly: I might be. That’s not part of my job description?

Ignighter: I’m still not exactly sure what it is you do here…

Molly: Catalyze the community.

Ignighter: And that means…?

Molly: Can we get to some real questions please?

Ignighter: Sure. Tell us about your background.

Molly: I went to High School in Ithaca, NY. Then I decided to come out to Colorado University where I sort of studied Business and Sociology.

Ignighter: Those were your majors?

Molly: Nah. When I took over somebody’s lease my freshman year, they had left behind two textbooks; one business and one sociology. I’ve taken a few peeks.

Ignighter: And after college?

Molly: After college I started working big girl jobs and that’s when I died inside. I also love moving.

Ignighter: Like traveling?

Molly: No moving. I typically move four times per year and change states yearly.

Ignighter: Sounds like you’re really at Ignighter for the long haul!

Molly (banging her laptop, not listening): Why does Monster take so long to load?!

Ignighter: Any siblings?

Molly: I have one brother whom my mother loves more than me.

Ignighter: Well we love you more than your brother.

Molly: That’s creepy. I’m kinda happy to be here too.

Ignighter:  Well that’s great. Now if you don’t mind, we’ll get to the closing questions.

Molly: OK, but quickly please, I have a call with my temp agency at 11:30.

Ignighter: What is your favorite word?

Molly: Irked.

Ignighter: What is your least favorite word?

Molly: Is there a word for jobs that don’t pay? Oh. Internship.

Ignighter: Boxers or Commando?

Molly: Sexual harassment?

Ignighter: Favorite smell?

Molly: Fear.

Ignighter: What historical figure would you most like to go on a date with?

Molly: Heath Ledger. Too soon? Then I’ll go with JFK.

Ignighter: Terrific. Thanks so much for your time Molly.

Molly: Huh? Sure.

July 30th, 2008 Posted by Adam | Blogs, Boulder, Online dating, Startups, a/s/l check, ignighter |

It’s been a while since our last installment of:

A/S/L Check - An Ignighter Interview Series - Hard Questions, Soft Bodies.

That’s basically because we ran out of people in the company to interview. Well we’re lucky because the company got a little bigger this week with the addition of an awesome new intern, Nicky Leach.

If you think he looks young in his picture, it’s not because he suffers from Gary Coleman syndrome, it’s because he is very young. Now wait a second. Before you dismiss him as just another in an ongoing list of underage day-laborers we’ve brought in to code at Ignighter you must understand that Nicky is actually a programming virtuoso.

Here’s a little about his background:

Born in Salzburg, Nicky began playing with well known C++ code by the age of four. When he turned five, even before he could read, he was experimenting with writing his own code, including an early version of Oregon Trail. By the age of seven he was traveling around Europe writing masterfully complex code for Arch-Bishops and Holy Roman Emperors. He -

Nicky: OK let me interrupt you there. I’m pretty sure you were just retelling Mozart’s bio and substituting all the music stuff with computer references.

Ignighter: Hmmm possibly. I lost your bio sheet so I tried to wing it. Also Amadeus was on AMC a few nights ago. So you weren’t born in Austria?

Nicky: I was born in Boulder, Colorado.

Ignighter : But you do have a sister named Nannerl?

Nicky: Nope. Also Mozart.

Ignighter : Somebody is a little obsessed with Mozart…Big fan, huh?

Nicky: Not especially.

Ignighter: OK now that we have some background on your early childhood, tell us about your plans for this coming fall.

Nicky: I’ll be attending NYU as a Freshman majoring in Computer Science.

Ignighter: That’s awesome. You’re basically making the reverse trip that Ignighter made when we came from New York City and moved to Boulder for the summer. That’s really exciting though.

Nicky: Yeah I’m especially looking forward to discovering the big city lifestyle. I love Boulder, but I’m also pretty excited for a change of pace.

Ignighter: At 14, you’re by far the youngest employee at Ignighter. How do you think Ignighter relates to people your age?

Nicky: First of all I’m 18.

Ignighter: Still the youngest, please answer the question anyway.

Nicky: I think Ignighter is awesome. The truth is that people who are still in High School might find it less of a necessity -it’s borderline inbreeding with how often people date within the same group-, but it’s definitely a very practical and down-to-earth service. And people my age get it - it works well with our MySpace/Facebook generation, and doesn’t have the same stigma that regular online dating sites have.

Ignighter: How does it feel to be at TechStars?

Nicky: It’s absolutely awesome! This is a little devious, but I think one of the sweetest parts is I’m here, but I wasn’t technically “accepted”. I’m definitely digging the vibe that’s been around here for the past two days though. It just feels like the right mix.

Ignighter: Well that’s great, we’re really happy to have you on the team. Now if you don’t mind, we’ll get to the closing questions.

Nicky: Shoot.

Ignighter: What is your favorite word?

Nicky: I love the way the word “Lijit” (not legit) looks - you don’t get much sexier than that.

Ignighter: Are you trying to woo Todd Vernon? Ok how about your least favorite word?

Nicky: Least favorite word has to be “definitely” - I can never spell it right.

Ignighter: Boxers or Commando?

Nicky: I’ll go with boxers.

Ignighter: Favorite smell?

Nicky: Line dried sheets

Ignighter: What historical figure would you most like to go on a date with?

Nicky: Is Natalie Portman considered “historical” yet?

Ignighter: A couple more V for Vendettas and she’ll get there.

Nicky: Sweet.

Ignighter: Anyway, your break is over. Thanks for sitting down with us, but now it’s back to coding!

Nicky: Hands…so…sore…from…coding….

June 20th, 2008 Posted by Adam | About Ignighter, Ignighter Update, a/s/l check, group dating, ignighter, techstars |

Part 2 of the Ignighter Road Trip will be coming shortly, but before that we wanted to introduce the newest member of our team.

Kevin Owocki is Ignighter’s new lead developer. Kevin has 7 years of software engineering experience, and he has run a handful of small scale web companies. He’s an avid runner and ultimate frisbee player. He loves exploring the outdoors, meeting new, interesting people, and chatting about technology and startups. Ask him about his unique ability to relate nearly any situation to the plot of a Simpsons, Seinfeld, South Park, or Family Guy episode. Kevin is psyched for a landmark summer, and we’re really excited to have him on the team!

May 25th, 2008 Posted by Adam | About Ignighter, Ignighter Update, Uncategorized, a/s/l check, ignighter |