Travis Jansen is CID’s Sr. Dev Team Lead, an intuitive and creative problem-solver, and the guy who turns our clients’ web and digital dreams into reality. He’s also an award-winning home brewer, a barbecue mastermind, and a skilled artisan. Want to get to know Travis a bit better? Let's do it.
Q: For starters, let’s hear your personal elevator pitch. How would you describe your role at CID?
A: I’ve been in the field
for 22+ years and have led some very large projects. I call upon that experience to help guide our tech team in the right direction. I provide technical architecture direction, ideas and implementation of process improvement, project estimation, and more — generally making sure the clients we partner with are getting the best technical solutions possible.
Q: What is something that you wish EVERYONE knew about your role, your work, or your team?
A: I pride myself on my ability to work well with people. I want the people I engage with to come away with confidence that their dev team is going to crush it.
I also have a fascination with solving problems. I’ve been known to grind on a problem for days, only to come up with a solution during my morning shower. My brain continues to process well outside of normal business hours.
Q: What do you enjoy most about working at CID?
A: There are a couple of things that stand out. One, I have ultimate faith in leadership. I feel like the leaders of CID have all of our best interests in mind. I’ve seen countless examples of just how much they care about their people.
Second is my team. I really enjoy coming to work each day. I feel like we all have each other’s back, and we genuinely like and respect each other. It’s not unheard of to receive a message from a colleague via Slack saying, “Good luck on your client demo today. I know you’re going to rock it!”
Q: Who inspires you? Do you have any professional mentors or personal heroes you’d like to shout out?
A: There are several people that have affected and inspired my path. My parents worked very hard their entire life through to their retirement. The example they set gave me a great work ethic. They also instilled kindness and empathy in me, which has served me well in my professional relationships.
My wife has had the most profound impact on me as a person. She has never let me accept mediocrity and has pushed me to be the best me. Without her, especially early on in my career, I would not be where I am today.
There are also plenty of other colleagues throughout my career that have recognized my abilities and pushed me to be the best I can be. I’m forever indebted to all of these people.
Q: You are known at CID for your mad web, dev, and collaboration skills, but what are some of your other talents, hobbies, or interests outside of the office?
A: I’ve been known to make award-winning home-brewed beers and can often be found on my patio making stellar backyard barbecue on one of my many smokers. I’m also pretty active in a lot of the maker communities, finding new ways to make things with my hands (woodworking, 3D printing, laser engraving, etc).
I very often combine my hobbies or use my technical abilities to help add enjoyment to them.
This might be designing and 3D printing something to fix around the house, writing a mobile application to make my board-gaming more enjoyable, or using data tools to pour over baseball statistics to get ready for the upcoming season.
Writing software for personal use also allows me to stay up-to-date on technologies and solutions that I can pass along to my team.
When I need to unplug, I focus on playing solo board games of all varieties ranging from sports, wargaming, sci-fi, zombies, or anything in between. I’m also a pretty decent miniature figurine painter, a hobby that allows me to tune out life’s distractions and just relax for a time.
Q: What initially interested you in a career in the web/dev world? Which roads ultimately led you to CID?
A: When I was in middle school, there was a software development application installed on our school's Macs called HyperCard. Completely unaware of its software development features, my friends and I instead used it to create hilarious movies and short animations. I had no idea my future career was right underneath my nose!
I was also very interested in BBS (bulletin-board system) which is a very primitive form of what Facebook is today, except accessed by a landline modem. I was part of an implementation of a more sophisticated BBS for my high school in the early days of the internet. That all got me interested in computers and technology.
My undergraduate schooling focused on software development, and that is where I found my specialty in web and client/server technologies. I’ve worked extensively in both the product-development side as well as the agency world working on projects for our organization’s largest clients.
Q: What is a mantra, motto, catchphrase, or personal code that motivates and inspires you?
A: “There has to be a better way.”
It’s easy to get caught up in just getting something done. However, I very often encourage myself (and my team) to ask the question “Is there a better way to accomplish this?” Don’t be satisfied with just getting it done, but think about how it could be done better.
Bonus catchphrase: “Winners do one more.” I learned this mantra from my football coaching days and it stuck with me. I try to instill this in my children. Do one more pushup. Take one more lap. Study for 15 more minutes. This can also be extended into “do more than the next person.” If your opponents are satisfied with just going to practice, be the guy who stays after practice, and then continues working on his shot in the driveway when he gets home.
Want to hack into the talents of Travis and our dev team? Contact CID to get started.
"Bring in the Klinkhammer," they said...and we did! Amy is part of our award-winning marketing & strategy team where she writes for ads, email, the web, video and so much more. She also drinks too much coffee and spends too much time debating the Oxford comma.