B.J. Hansen

Opportunity Chauffeur / Developer
Driving the great ideas forward.


Location

Jackson Hole, WY

Phone

307.690.9788

Mission

Why I do it.

Since my first self-taught hacking sessions in the summer of 1998, I’ve developed a passion for solving problems through delightful experiences and a talent for understanding users and creating products to exceed their needs. I truly thrive when integrating opportunities - analyzing metrics, conducting user research, and applying stakeholder vision to define new products, test their potential, and drive a team toward a common goal.

Experience

I've worn many hats which allowed me to find my true passions.
March 2018 – Present

Co-Founder / Developer

Get Outside Pass

Wilson, WY

Get Outside Pass provides discount activity cards to national park travelers. We started GO Pass in order to raise money to get more kids outdoors. All profits are donated to programs that get children who might not normally have the chance to explore the great outdoors.

  • I led our team as we went from initial concept, to user stories, to a live application in the course of a few weeks.
  • I created vendor relationships and agreements to include in each destination included in the Pass.
  • I created a marketing program that included PPC, print advertising, online advertising, and local partnerships.
  • Visitors are purchasing and using their GO Pass in two test markets this summer with plans to expand to new markets in the spring of 2019.
Feb 2018 – Present

PHP Developer / Front-End Engineer

Seismic

San Francisco, CA & New York, NY

Seismic is a leader in the influencer marketing space and exposes large brands such as Audible, Ancestry, Netflix, Hello Fresh and others on the most popular YouTube channels. I am the lead front-end developer on a small team as we build out the intranet used in day-to-day operations. Our team continues to streamline operations and produce reporting and communication tools that directly contribute to revenue growth and the bottom line.

  • I work with the owners and stakeholders to identify opportunities and solutions that we can integrate and automate into the intranet and determine which items will bring the most value to the business.
  • I bring to life analysis charts and graphs that unearth the trends and KPI’s used in top-level strategy decisions.
  • With such large advertising spends and exposure numbers, the creation of digestible reporting solutions to the clients is paramount.
2001 – Present

Product Manager / Developer

AllTrips

Jackson Hole, WY

AllTrips connects visitors to local businesses through its network of online travel guides in unique outdoor destinations. I was brought on board to grow the network from its single publication in Jackson Hole, WY to other unique locations. Since then, I've worn every hat as I helped grow AllTrips to more than 40 locations while introducing new digital marketing products for outdoor travel businesses. I come alive and hit my stride when setting a clear path to achieve lofty goals.

  • I played a primary role in prototyping and development of a proprietary content management system, which allowed us to publish and sell over 20,000 pages in the rapidly growing network.
  • I created and led a team of 6 contract workers that developed client websites. I played strategist and product manager as we created a new online presence for our customers. This was then sold for profit.
  • Working in a historically data-driven operation, I also served as a passionate advocate for the user. I brought balance to our decision-making by introducing usability testing and user experience design into our routines.
  • I set strategy and developed dashboards across the company to keep focus on KPIs that allow us to fix issues quickly and pivot rapidly towards new opportunities.
  • Together with a small, dedicated innovation team, I launched lean startup methods to explore the true problems of the outdoor travel industry and validate potential solutions to bring to market.
  • I coached our team as we brought agile and scrum processes to the company that continue to create clarity, increase productivity, and foster openness among the team.
  • In the last 12 months, I led our team as we introduced 2 new product categories that are expanding the market reach beyond the current travel network.
1999- – Present

Opportunity Chauffeur

Independent Consultant

Jackson Hole, WY

I often assist organizations in creating a successful online presence. We work together to build a strategy around their initial vision and goals, grow visitors in their target market, and continually increase conversions through data analytics and testing. I’ve enjoyed helping these organizations tackle challenges and optimize their potential for growth. A few examples include:

  • Points North Heli-Adventures, Inc. – I assisted in creating the vision and then built the online marketing presence that drove the business from a 2-week one-helicopter trial to the largest helicopter skiing operation in the United States. They now operate with 3 helicopters and over 50 guests per week each season.
  • JH Property Group - I am consultant to one of the premier real estate groups in the highly competitive real estate market of Jackson, Wyoming. I am the backbone to their strategy and continue to monitor data and user behavior to increase the number of leads they receive, while streamlining their customer relationship and remarketing systems.
  • Flylow Gear – I was the sole designer/developer as the Flylow team introduced their first winter clothing lineup in 2004. They are now one of the leading technical outdoor clothing companies in the industry.
1998 - 2000

Executive Director / Developer

Adventure Travel Society

Denver, CO

The Adventure Travel Society was at the forefront of the emerging adventure travel market. It assisted in the communication and education of both private and public organizations worldwide through conferences and contracts with the World Bank. At the ripe age of 22, I was put in charge of the Trade Association arm of the Society.

  • I pioneered valuable new programs for the marketing, sustainability and risk management aspects of adventure travel businesses.
  • I realized the value of the URL of the organization (www.adventuretravel.com) and dove in headfirst to teach myself how to design, program and market their products.
  • With an evolving new online presence, I was able to grow the association from 70 to over 500 organizations.
  • My newfound excitement for the internet, and its direct success during my time there, led me to pursue a career in the growing momentum of the web.

Education

Thought about law school.
Then thought better of it.
1997 - 1998

University of Puget Sound

BA in Politics & Government

Tacoma, WA
1997

University of Otago

International Studies

Dunedin, New Zealand
1996

Victoria University of Wellington

International Studies

Wellington, New Zealand
1994 - 1996

University of Puget Sound

BA in Politics & Government

Tacoma, WA

G.O. Pass

March 2018 - Present
  • Co-Founder
  • Front-End Developer

 

Languages
  • Laravel PHP Framework
  • Node.js
  • Bootstrap
  • jQuery

 

Visit Website

AllTrips
Travel Guides

2001-Present
  • Product Owner
  • UX Engineer
  • Front-End Developer

 

Languages
  • Laravel PHP Framework
  • Node.js
  • Bootstrap
  • jQuery

 

Visit Website

Strengths

Superpowers I've developed.

Vision / Strategy

My mind operates at the 40K level. My natural perspective is always creating the reality that is just beyond the horizon. My strength lies in seeing how pieces of the current puzzle can be moved around to capture new opportunities and remove roadblocks. Yet, the real magic happens next. Clarifying, prioritizing, establishing strategy and sharing it with the team in an easily consumable and inspiring medium is the most important piece of vision. Vision is good, yet it is nothing without setting the course to make it a reality.


Leadership

I am a natural leader (ha, how many times have you heard that?). I really don't know what it is, but I seem to have the correct balance of vision, understanding, interpretation and empathy that has helped me become a leader in a wide range of groups and situations. I work to understand the vision, listen to the hurdles, identify solutions, set clear goals, and then get out of the way and jump into the trenches with the team. If things start to wander off course or innefficiences present themselves, I lead us to the root of the issue quickly before a loss in morale or momentum presents itself.


Distributed Teams & Remote Work

I've been working as part of a distributed team long before the buzz. Our team embraced working from "home", many times on the road or abroad, before coffee shops provided free wifi. We've gone to great lengths and learned some great lessons along the way. In the early days, we had to point our mobile satellite to the stars in precisely the correct location. Today, we simply fire up the phone's local connection. We've worked across time zones, lived abroad, in vans, on sailboats, in the desert, and on top of mountains - we have continually refined our communications and productivity systems as a team that found itself in all corners of the globe on any given day.


Empathy

I can understand where people are coming from and have an uncanny intuition as to what motivates their actions and words. I didn't realize it in the beginning of my career, yet I found myself interpretting conversations and almost becoming a "translator" during both internal and client meetings. Once I became aware of this strength, I've been able to hone in on what may be driving people at the root level. Many times, I've found myself helping people explain things to themselves!


Organization

I've always had to be organized, as in, borderline OCD organized! If I encounter chaos or inefficent situations, I take it upon myself to streamline and systemize. In many cases, simply revealing and defining the true goal and removing the clutter can get things headed in the right direction. I have a knack for outlining a clear path with simplified steps to obtain an objective. It helps that a good portion of my time in the past 20 years has been deep in development and code. Organization is paramount to clean code that is scalable and understood to anyone that may work with it in the future.


Attention to Detail

Oh yeah, that's where the devil lives. I love the details. There is magic and opportunity in there. My attention to detail is likely what led to the path that I am on. Much of my work happens to be the final review or the last touch before release. People count on me to finalize what was initially good in order to make it outstanding and release it to the world. Again, over 20 years dancing though code makes one a master of the details. Countless hours of tracking down that missing semicolon or comma have contributed to paying attention to the details at every step of the way.


Solution Provider

"Don't come to me with a problem, come to me with a solution." This simple statement is something that is engrained into my very being. Every time that I discover an issue or see an opportunity, I immediately start to layout to possible solutions. Many times there are short term solutions that can be placed while a longer term solution is built out. With every issue that arises, there is a great opportunity. I'm able to introduce solutions that create even more value down the road. Solving the initial issue is just the start. There are usually larger opportunities nearby if you pay attention.


Wiley

There are never enough resources on hand to achieve the current goals. Yet, 80% of the value comes with 20% of the effort. I'm a fanatic for defining the 20% and not straying from it. I am creative and adventurous in using limited resources to move the needle forward. Being a part of an organization that never borrowed money and has grown organically, it is in my very dna to get the job done and achieve success with what I have on hand. I've grown MacGyver-like in making things happen with the tools available to me.

Development

I am proficient in these languages.

  • HTML5

  • CSS3

  • Sass

  • Javascript

  • jQuery

  • MySql

  • PHP

  • Laravel

Toolset

These are likely open right now on my MacBook Pro.

  • Adobe

  • Alfred

  • Amazon AWS

  • Analytics

  • Balsamiq

  • Dropbox

  • Evernote

  • Excel

  • GitHub

  • Google Suite

  • Keynote

  • Mail

  • MailChimp

  • Numbers

  • Screaming Frog

  • ScrumDo

  • Sequel Pro

  • Skitch

  • Slack

  • Stack Overflow

  • Sublime Text

  • Terminal

  • User Testing

Inspiration

The drive from deep down.

The mountains, the deserts, the coastlines, travel, living abroad, music, people that challenge me, the awesome integration of technology into everyday life, clean and simple solutions that go unnoticed.