I love building things that connect people around a common purpose.
Here's my profile in The Washington Post.
What's up with my name, anyway? Nahorniak ("Na-horn-yak") is Ukraninan and it means "from the mountain." Mykel is the phonetic way of spelling "Michael."
Need a headshot? K.
🐍 1987 - I painstakingly build type-in games on the family Atari.
💾 1992 - The family gets a 486 PC (with a 1x CD-ROM!). I install DOOM.
☎️ 1997 - I start a two-line BBS on my dad's old laptop, joining a local community of SysOps.
🌎 1998 - I get access to the Internet, which expands my understanding of "community," from local to global. I learn that the person who runs my favorite tech news website, BetaNews, goes to my high school.
🕹 1999 - I save every penny and build my first computer. I fall deep into the "underworld" communities of warez, QuakeWorld, and IRC.
🎨 2000 - I discover the creative community through Photoshop, and start designing websites for non-profits. I start writing tech articles. I write my first blog post.
💼 2001 - I write my first web app and discover the selfless, but unforgiving community of FOSS. I start moonlighting as a developer/designer for companies.
📱 2007 - I wait in line with other early adopters for the first iPhone.
💡 2009 - With "community" being such a foundational element of my upbringing, I start Localist, a community event platform, with a friend. It's my entry into the community of entrepreneurs.
🚴 2010 - I enter my first bike race and begin a long-term relationship with the cycling community that continues to this day.
🤑 2012 - After achieving sustainable profitability in the company, I buy out our investor, returning 100% ownership to the founders.
👼 2015 - I join the angel investor community to "send the elevator back down" to the next cohort of entrepreneurs.
🏏 2016 - I become an ICF certified executive coach, helping leaders grow through empathy and perspective.
📈 2019 - 50% of the entire community software industry is founded. Others are realizing the impact of connection, and community.
🥽 2020 - With COVID-19, the relevance of getting together in-person is tested like never before. At Localist, we successfully define what it means to stay connected to a community in a virtual-only world, and continue to grow.
⛰️ 2021 - My family moves to Marin County, California. We learn to find our place in the local community.
🎉 2022 - Localist is acquired by Concept3D in the summer, kicking off the next chapter of personal thinking and tinkering.
🦾 2023 - True AI is just around the corner and I'm all-in
