Derek is a remarkable man with experience and insight well beyond his 34 years (as of December 18th, 2019). Husband to Kirsten whom he met in the sixth grade, dated intermittently, and reunited with during his senior year in high school, Derek fully recognizes the value and importance of his family. "You can take away the job and the success, but your family will always be there." Their four children, Oliver age 13 1/2, Bella age 10, Evee age 4 1/2, and the newest addition to the family, Skyler 4 months, teach their parents "patience and not to take life too seriously!"
A classically trained musician, Derek credits his love of music and his motivation to be a music teacher to his chorus teacher of eight years. She inspired him to understand music theory, sing, play guitar, piano, and bass. Derek was well into completing a degree in music education in order to fulfill his dream of being a teacher when he formed DesignLoud in 2011. "Recognizing and understanding patterns is a fundamental component of music theory, and it is a key to success in business" is Derek's response to an observation that musicians often excel in business. Developing software out of a need to support his valued team at DesignLoud, he filed the Articles of Incorporation for Swell Systems in June 2017.
Recently recognized in the Top Ten Startups to Watch, Derek's two-year goal is to make it to the Inc 5000 and Fortune Magazines Forty-Under-Forty lists. A man who as a teenaged boy battled with life as a self-perceived "underdog", Derek attributes his survival of troubled years 12 to 19 to music. He acknowledges his paramedic mother's tenacity in working two jobs yet making it a priority to spend quality time with him as a key to his success as a family man and a strong work ethic as a businessman. Derek devotes his time to mentoring and volunteering in the community.
