We’re very pleased to announce we have a new member of the Tomango team helping us deliver outstanding web design in Sussex.
Please meet our new Web Developer, Glen Stanbridge.
Glen joined us at the end of August having previously worked at PMW Communications and before that, at search intelligence software company Pi Datametrics. He brings nearly 20 years’ experience as a web developer, including a stint running his own agency overseas.
We’re extremely pleased to have him joining Tomango.
After Glen’s first couple of weeks, we grabbed some time to chat and I asked him a few questions to get to know him better.
“Hey Glen. It’s really good to have you on board. What have you made of your first two weeks?
It’s gone really quickly – which I think is a good sign! Obviously with a new role I’ve had a lot to learn about how you do things here, and spent time getting to know the guys on the team, but it’s been really enjoyable. I’m glad that we were able to do it in the office instead of remotely; it’s made a big difference.
Yeah, I’m pleased we decided to all be in, all the time, for the first couple of weeks.
It makes a big difference. And it’s a lovely environment to work in, nice and relaxed.
What’s been the biggest challenge so far?
Probably taking on board Tomango’s different procedures and systems and getting up to speed with them. But I feel like I’ve got a good handle on them already. I don’t feel like I’ve had to ask loads of questions, mainly because the rest of the team have put in place a great onboarding programme and taken the time to go through everything in detail.
How are we different to where you were before?
The big difference is that everything’s much more structured than I’ve been used to. It’s really clear who’s responsible for what and I understand where I fit in; I like the way things are so well organised here!
How have you found working with the other guys on the team?
Everyone’s been great; they’re really personable people. We all seem to have a similar sense of humour and can look at life and not take it too seriously. There’s more to life than just work.
Everyone’s been really easy to get on with. I could tell we’d get on from when we went to the pub together for a pint just before I started; that was a great idea.
I think it’s fair to say you’ve been a developer for quite some time haven’t you? How did it all start?
Yes, I’ve been a developer since – what – 2001. Where it all got started was when I was working for a company that tested wet and dry risers, back at that time. That was an interesting job; I used to travel up and down the country for them, going to some weird and amazing places – I walked over the top of the Albert Hall, looking down into the auditorium, wandered around MI5, walked on top of a working nuclear reactor, all sorts.
Wow! So how did you go from that to starting web development?
Well, I developed the database system and stuff for this company and they asked me to design their first company website and that was my first taste of it.
Then after that I decided to go travelling with my partner and instead of trying to keep in touch with everyone by email whilst we were away, I thought “let’s build a website we can update”. And that was the first big website I built – and I’ve had a career in web development ever since.
And you ran your own business for a while, didn’t you? What was that like?
Yes, that’s right. So the story goes that we moved to Spain. We’d sold our houses in the UK, and we rocked up, literally with a big bag of cash, but no idea what we were going to do for a living.
Because we didn’t have jobs, renting a house was a nightmare, so we decided to buy somewhere. We got talking to the estate agent and it turned out they needed a website. So we built a site for them and then within a couple of months we had about five clients! And then it just grew organically from there.
Our company was called Poached Eggs, and we built sites for clients that had come to Spain from all over Europe – Poland, Russia, Scandinavia, and England of course – to run all sorts of businesses.
And you did that for quite a while?
Yep, about seven years. And then we decided it was time to come home and I went to work for Intelligent Positioning, which became Pi Datametrics. When I started there, they were a digital agency with lots of clients, but they’d developed a set of SEO tools that they realised they could sell to other agencies and in time they shifted focus to become a company that sold those products.
What do you like to do when you’re not at work?
I do a lot of dog walking – I love walking anyway, with the dog or without him. One of the things I love about living where I do in Eastbourne is the amazing countryside and stunning scenery all around us. We know a lot of people through dog walking and it’s become quite a big part of our social life.
I love cooking, particularly Asian inspired cuisine; Katsu Chicken Curry, Chicken Udon noodles, that sort of thing.
And my other massive passion is music. I started playing a musical instrument from when I was something like 9 years old. My family’s very musical; my brother played tuba and my sister played cello. I started on the trumpet but then moved to a tenor horn and various other brass instruments. I played in orchestras and brass bands in the area I grew up in South Yorkshire.
Then later, when I left school, opportunities to carry on playing became limited without having to do lots of travelling, and I started to follow my real passion for synths, which I’d discovered a few years earlier.
And now I’m at my happiest down in my basement, fiddling with sounds.
Now, like several of the rest of the team, I know you’ve got a dog. Tell us a bit more about him…
He’s called Cyrus – pronounced Sirrus, like the clouds – and he’s a Spanish Canarian Podenco.
He’s a hunting dog and he’s nearly four. He’s very cheeky and very, very charming. He’s very placid and a stickler for time – when it gets to his walk time, he’ll let us know, and he won’t let us do anything until we take him out.
He’s very sociable with other dogs and with people too; he’s great with kids and doesn’t mind them even when they’re pulling his tail and hanging off his ears!
If your house was on fire and you could only save one possession, what would you save?
Well – if I’m not allowed to say my PC – in terms of sentimental value, it would probably be a piece we bought when we were travelling in Malawi. It’s a Bao board, which is a game played across eastern Africa and it’s a beautiful, hand-carved wooden board that sits above our fireplace. That means a lot to me and it’s totally irreplaceable.
What was your dream job when you were younger?
I wanted to be a Sound Designer or Studio Engineer. Or a vet – but I was put off by a week’s work experience and quickly decided that wasn’t what I wanted to do. I won’t go into too much detail in case anyone reading this is eating.”
So there you have it.
If you want to know what it’s like to walk on the top of a live nuclear power station, or want to learn how to play Bao, Glen’s your man.
Just don’t ask him about his work experience if you’re about to tuck into your dinner…