Today I’m giving thanks for Dan Grigsby.

The butterfly effect has always fascinated me. Can one small occurrence change the course of many subsequent events?

By some random occurrence, I followed Dan on Twitter in early/mid 2008, and then managed to email Dan to follow up on a tweet he had soliciting feedback. That initial outreach led to a conversation that didn’t go much of anywhere, but later that fall he followed up with me and started referring contract work my way.

In May of 2009, he started doing 2 day iOS developer bootcamp classes, and due to our prior interactions, I got the opportunity to be an early beta tester of his bootcamp at a steeply discounted rate. That was probably the quickest way for me to become proficient in iOS development so quickly. Plus- I just wasn’t seeking out learning iOS development prior to his offer to join his bootcamp.

Within weeks of that iOS bootcamp ending, I had sketched out a mental roadmap where I would first release iGarageSale – a garage sale locator app I could use to learn about map based location based apps – and then plan to build on that foundation to release a real estate search app. By October, I had signed our first real estate customer and we launched that first app January 7, 2010.

It’s possible I would have never got into iPhone development or started HomeSpotter without meeting Dan. It’s certain, though, I wouldn’t have done either as quickly or proficiently as I did without learning from Dan.

Dan- thanks for the excellent iOS development bootcamp and for otherwise being a supporter of mine and connector in the Twin Cities startup community.

Originally posted on LinkedIn – head over to give it a like or a share.

I’m giving thanks for 100+ days to individuals that positively impacted me or HomeSpotter’s trajectory.