What we do at Shacked

Quite simply, we build great apps with Aloha! Our focus is on building great Mac and iOS applications for the majority of our time. Oh, and sometimes these applications need a web service, or Facebook integration, or maybe a little Twitter dashed here and there, and this is where our web services experiences come into play. Our web services are built utilizing Django with PostgreSQL running on Amazon Web Services. We have over 5 years experience in building out Mac, iOS, and Django applications.

We are constantly in pursuit of the next big project that will bring value to the masses. Most of the time this takes the form of one of our own applications or ideas, but when properly convinced, we are open to working on others ideas that will hopefully change the world. We are selective in working on only those projects that really excite us in areas that we are passionate about. We tend to look towards partnerships versus straight contract work. If you are looking for a software partner, or two talented founders for your company, or if you just want to say hello, feel free to shoot us a message.

Why Hawaii? Shouldn't you guys be in the bay area or something?

We live in Hawaii because of the quality of life, the balance of work and play, and to realize the opportunity of being the bridge between Asia and California. We have always believed that there is a huge opportunity in running a lean-startup in Hawaii, and we are devoted to trying to establish a start-up community here on Oahu and the neighboring islands. We fully believe that software should be the focus of building a successful company in Hawaii... it takes very little natural resources in terms of manufacturing, it does not require much space to get the job done, people are very happy living in Hawaii (if anti-depressant usage is an indicator), and software developers are known to work strange hours, so the time difference has little effect. We work very hard, but we also enjoy getting in the ocean as much as possible to surf, stand-up paddle, body surfing, or just swimming around. We try to hike as much as possible as well, exploring the outer limits of what Oahu has to offer.

PODOSKI & SKICEWICZ

No Not the Roofing Company From The South Side, The Development Team from Hawaii

Chad Podoski and Jason Skicewicz met in late 2006 where they were working for Blue Lava Technologies, a Hawaii based Internet startup working on a Mac-based photo organization product called iLovePhotos, utilizing facial detection and recognition. Chad was heading up the Mac application side of the company, and Jason was focusing on the architecture of the platform. Throughout the years of working together, they had discussed what type of company they would eventually want to build in our next life. Ideas that stuck included running a self-sustaining, lean startup, working hard on interesting software problems, while also having the freedom to catch some good waves. We strive for working with close partners, always pushing towards innovation, solving important problems that add value to our lives as well as others, and adopting a design-centric approach to building software products.

We had not realized the dream of starting a company together until late 2009, when we officially formalized our partnership. We played around with various names of our company such as Ski & Ski, The Polnamic Duo, South Side... but eventually the name Shacked stuck.

Chad Podoski

Jason Skicewicz

David Keck

Emily Shaw

Chad Podoski, Co-Founder

Two parts analytical, one part creative, Chad is responsible for creating the mobile magic that happens at Shacked. When he is not buried up to his neck in code, he can be either found pushing pixels around in Photoshop or searching the south shore of Oahu for quality waves … that is when he is not chasing his two year around. He is still under the delusion that naming the company Shacked may somehow improve his surfing ability someday.

Jason Skicewicz, Co-Founder

Originally from Chicago, transplanted to beautiful Hawaii in mid-2006 to work with a very talented team at Blue Lava Technologies on the iLovePhotos project. Jason has worked at and has co-founded many different startups. US Robotics, Vibes Media, Blue Lava Technologies, Heartbeat.com, and SchoolRack.com. If Jason had his way, he'd be a drummer in a punk rock band...he still may.

David Keck, Software Engineer

Tangerine Twinkles, The Colonel, D-Kock.... The man, the myth, the legend goes by various aliases, is the original hipster, and can not be found on any conventional social network except for maybe the Objc-language Apple List or the Ducati sub-reddit. David is currently finishing his bachelors degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, and works with us over Summer, Winter and Spring breaks.

Emily Shaw, Social Media Manager

Emily manages the online social community for Gube by curating content for Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. She generates awareness of the app in the marketplace by initiating publicity and building relationships.

We are always looking for new partners, new opportunities, or just new friends. Send us a message if you'd like to talk shop, or talk new ideas. We love hearing about new ideas, new technologies, and to determine if there is a way we might work together in the near future.

If you are a web / mobile designer, and would like to come out for a few months, and work on one of our many app ideas, send us a link to your portfolio. If we like what we see, we will fly you out and put you up in your own grass shack (it will have a roof, don't worry). What better way to try out living in Hawaii then cruising out here for a 3 month workcation. We work hard and play hard also!