Hi, Im Chris McIntyre
If you know me, you probably call me Ferf. But unless you are really close to me, you don’t know much about me. Let me fill you in.
I grew up in a small town, population around 3,000 people. I graduated from Purdue University with degrees in Computer Graphic Technology and Computer Programming Technology. This is where the ride begins…
A serial entrepreneur, I am always trying to find ways to help people and to make the world a better place, hence my interest in product & graphic design. I believe the design and usability of a product, weather physical or digital, has immense impact on a persons choice to use that product. I have spent years learning and testing how small changes to products can have huge impact on usability and adoption. I love doing this more than anything, it is my true calling.
I honed my skills working in family businesses straight out of college helping move companies from traditional marketing and product testing, to having more of a progressive digital influence. While I was given freedom to explore emerging technologies and marketing channels, I was also given business guidance from family and industry leaders, while working within the multi-million dollar manufacturing business.
After a few years of physical product development (physical goods, packaging design, marketing collateral, etc) I decided to strike out on my own. I started a consulting firm and moved to Chicago to create progressive online marketing packages for the bio-sciences industry. I had always freelanced on the side, but this was my first time leading a company of contract designers and developers (10+) from around the world. This company, Anrovia Design (now closed), was my first true successful start up.
Concurrent with my consulting company I founded another company called Shirts By Mail. Before many others existed in the space, including companies like Threadless, we were selling tons of custom and one-off tshirts to a highly engaged market and accepting submissions from artists. We sold globally to audiences looking to buy satirical goods based on up to the minute news stories. This company is still a functioning business, but 7 years later we are mainly doing large orders to companies as opposed to single item prints to the mass market. This decision was made when I launch my largest and most well-known company to date: Podcast Alley.
Podcast Alley was born in November 2004, days after I heard about podcasting. Distraught with the inability to find more indie content to enjoy, I filled the void by creating the first index of podcasts in the world. The site has been around now for 5 years in pretty much the same state, and still gets millions of page views a month, but acts as the leading community in podcasting. In late 2004, after being featured in TIME magazine, I received a call that would change the direction of my life.
In early 2005 I partnered with a company who was setting out to create a venue where podcasters could make money from podcasting, without all of the technical hassles that set most producers back. That company was PodShow (now Mevio). I spent 4 years in San Francisco, CA working with Mevio not only acting as the voice for independent producers, but also helping refine their product and their marketing. I had the privledge of working with some of the internets thought leaders, and other rock stars as well, literally!
My partnership with Mevio was with Ron Bloom and Adam Curry, entrepreneurs and successful business men both. I worked with our board of directors from Kleiner Perkins (and other VC firms too) as well as Ron and Adam to create a social media marketing platform unlike any other. Mevio has changed the face of media and online advertising.
In January 2009, my life changed again. While I was challenged and happy at Mevio, I was getting the itch to use the knowledge I had built up for better things. I believe in the power of digital media. People need it, they rely on it, and they count on it to make them smile or to remind them of the past, and for that… companies like Mevio will continue to thrive. But I was looking for a new challenge that would impact peoples lives in a more aggressive way. As fate would have it, I got a call form my friend Christopher Parks. I met Christopher years ago when he was producing a Nashville based small business podcast, which he interviewed me for. His passion and drive has changed the world, and I decided to leap on board to help drive new product development for his new startup, change:healthcare.
change:healthcare helps people save money on their prescriptions and doctors visits. Using the internet, mobile phones and desktop applications as a delivery mechanism, we analyze the money people spend on medial expenses (from insurance claims), and push to them alerts on ways to save money. This is the perfect place for me to be now, allowing me to build apps and communities in what is considered traditionally to be a very stuffy and hush-hush arena. Only time will tell, but this is the kind of company most people would kill to work for… passionate, knowledgeable, sincerely-caring, and not taking shit from anyone about how healthcare is “supposed” to be done.
Looking for Me on the Internet?
The Short Version
I’ve worked with entrepreneurs in many different fields ranging from gourmet house wares, entertainment, healthcare and chemical sciences just to name a few. While my background was not originally in business, I have worked directly with CEO’s of many companies not only as a designer but also as a business partner and strategist. My current jobs skills include: e-commerce, search engine optimization, web marketing and direct marketing along with being a well rounded print and web designer. I also own a few small businesses offering textile printing and print/web design. However, my passion has always been in business, communication, and the Internet.
