“It's hard to find someone like Jesse. He balances a strong creative sense and ability with a skill for laying out and following a thoughtful, orderly problem solving process. He plays both architect and foreman moving effortlessly between the roles. Jesse's fast pace and diligent work-ethic set the bar for myself and our team. An idea in Jesse's hands instantly comes to life on paper (he has an admirable sketching talent that makes this even more impressive) and from that starting sketch he can manage a collaborative process that ensures full-team buy-in and a product or feature that doesn't miss a detail. I never miss an opportunity to sing Jesse's praises and am thankful for having his talent to lean on as we built Proust from the ground up into an award winning destination site.”
Tom Cortese, Co-Founder & CEO, Proust.com (IAC)
“Jesse started with our company in its early stages and became one of the most important assets to the company and its growth. Jesse quickly rose from a good employee to the person who helped me run the company. He is loyal, very smart and hard working. When times were tough he pitched in beyond the job description. Jesse is a major asset, period.”
Jon Zack, Founder & CEO, Need2Know Inc.
“Jesse is an excellent strategic thinker. He has high standards and a wonderful sense of humor. He's a fantastic artist and a gifted writer. He's such a pleasure to have around, as well as a great leader and team builder. I can't say enough fabulous things about him.”
Andrea Murphy, Community Team Manager, Meetup.com
“Jesse is a talented and helpful colleague. He's friendly, easy to work with, and a tenacious, creative problem solver. I enjoyed working with him and look forward to our next collaboration.”
David Fisher, Senior Art Director, GWP Inc.
“I worked with Jesse on a couple projects while at Meetup. He showed great initiative and passion for his work, as evidenced by the spectrum of new and creative ideas he introduced. He has a naturally inquisitive mind and a desire to really empathize with his users. He would be an asset to any team he worked with.”
Wilfred Yeung, Head of Strategic Research and Analytics, Meetup.com
“I had the opportunity to work with Jesse over the last few months. It is a rare pleasure to have had the chance to meet and interact with someone of Jesse’s intellect and dedication. His strong grasp of product management and of the product itself made my job easy and fun. During our short time working together, he's show to be a consummate professional, but most importantly an inspiration for the entire team. His positive energy, his excitement for the product we were building, and his constant stream of new ideas made the day fly by. I would take the opportunity to work with him again in a heart beat.”
Dan Pupaza, Senior Software Engineer, Proust.com (IAC)
“I started working with Jesse when he was a UI Developer at Need2Know, his amazing talent and can do attitude was immediately noticeable. This along with his drive to always find a better more efficient way of doing things allowed him to move up quickly. He was truly a pleasure to work with as well as an inspiration to everyone around him.”
Michael Noga, Senior Web Developer, Need2Know Inc.
“I worked with Jesse on a few projects at Meetup. While running an enviable Sketching Meetup Group of his own, he brought an important, user-focused point of view to product work. He has good ideas with the know-how to execute them. I wouldn't hesitate to work with him again.”
Jason Hammons, UI Engineer, Meetup.com
“I've worked with Jesse on projects for Meetup.com. He was attentive to client needs, worked very well with teammates, and was very thorough with his work. After a product launched, he continued to monitor it's success, and was receptive to client/member feedback from both Support and the message boards. He was great to work with!”
Emeline Lavender, Support Team Leader, Meetup.com
“Jesse helped me set up my website in 2001 and has been acting as my IT support consultant ever since. His assistance has been invaluable. Jesse is very creative and dependable.”
Frank Yazhari, FY Consulting, Inc.
“Jesse is an all-around pleasure to work with - detail-oriented, excellent understanding of user interfaces and user experience, good people skills (even with developers!), and just a fun guy in general.”
Tim Favorite, Software Engineer, Meetup.com
“Jesse was a project manager of my team. He has a unique sense of humor and very specific about objectives. I was always amazed by his visual skill as well. He makes mock-ups, and also he is great at making graphs in Excel.”
Takashi Mizohata, UI Engineer, Meetup.com
“Jesse possesses a remarkable ability to organize, coordinate, and direct people and events with an easy, becalm grace. He provides the structure and tone in fostering a diverse community of professional artists and hobbyists into one of the largest and most cohesive Meetup groups in NYC, all seemingly without breaking stride from his friendly but authoritative leadership. He cultivates an atmosphere of knowledge-sharing and fun that makes this artist community one of the very best NYC offers.”
Mia Balaquiot, Central Park Sketching & Art Meetup Group
“Hi Jesse ... just anxiously opened your e-mail and my reaction is ... this is beautiful! After smiling boldly at the simplicity and intuitiveness of the Advanced Search, I settled back in my chair with the confidence that this is really going to turn out just fine. Fundamentally it's terrific, great job. The client loves it! The client loves it!”
Dennis Barker, President, Bulbworks Inc.
“I have worked with Jesse for several years on a number of website projects. At all times, I found him to be knowledgeable, creative, diligent, cooperative and responsive. He always took the time to listen and make sure he understood exactly what was needed, making projects run smoothly and efficiently with minimum delay. He continually offered suggestions to make the websites more effective. He was always available to help when his expertise was needed. I can recommend Jesse without reservation.”
Kathleen Lynch,
Marketing Services Director,
All-Ways Advertising Company
“I have had the good fortune of working with Jesse Richards on our e-commerce web site. Jesse took the time to listen and understand our needs and then translate them into a web site. He was not afraid to take our ideas and work on them, making for an improved version that worked on the web. We have received many compliments on our web site. I highly recommend Jesse for your project.”
Robert Levy, Harris Levy Fine Linens
“This letter is an enthusiastic endorsement of Jesse Richards as a specialist in the field of website management. Over the past several years of working with him, I have developed the utmost respect for his work ethic and professionalism. On a weekly basis, I communicated to him updates to my organization's website which he promptly handled. If there was ever a question, he never hesitated to contact me and provide suggestions when I inquired as to alternatives and ways to handle a situation. Any employer would be well served by having him as an employee.”
Marjorie Schneider, Director of Marketing,
Putnam Hospital Center
“Jon - Thanks ... By the way, if you haven't heard it from John, Jesse was incredible to work with. I look forward to a continuing working relationship with him. Thought you should know.”
Picard Marketing
“Hey Jesse, Just wanted to let you know, I got a job this weekend because the History Channel loved my pics and the web site. :) Thank you. I got to shoot Dennis Farina (from Law & Order) for a show on the History Channel. Very cool. I've been getting such nice feedback on the site. Good work!”
Heather Swanson, Heather's Photography
“Drawing on our mission as a children's museum, Jesse created a bright, colorful and whimsical website that is compelling, inviting and easy to navigate. In his capacity as a webmaster, Jesse has always been very helpful in updating my website over the past four years. He has been a pleasure to communicate with. I would be happy to provide a positive reference for anyone considering hiring him in the future.”
Lynne Azarchi, Executive Director, Kidsbridge Children's Museum
“We have worked with Jesse to build and revamp two websites together. His knowledge and creativity in web design have been extremely beneficial to our organization. He has great customer relations skills patiently explaining and helping to train us to use the forms and functions in our website administration program. We highly recommend him with complete confidence.”
Diana Davis, HART Commuter Information Services
“It's here! The new website looks great. Thank you for all your direction, patience, and continuing work! I want to send a special thank-you to Jesse ... From the 'training' session through the past week, it's been a pleasure to work with you! Your prompt responses, helpful advice and professionalism in keeping me informed and up-to-date on the progress of the site are truly appreciated. Thanks again!”
Karen Michael, Bayada Nurses
“Our professional relationship was certainly fruitful. Your design skills, prompt response to any questions and delivery of projects proposed by me will be greatly missed. It has been a great pleasure working with you.”
Manuel Fornelos, General Manager, Waldor Products
“Dear Jesse, Thanks for the terrific job on the students' caricatures. You really rolled with the punches and finished with smiling faces. The students really connected with you. Thanks for making a keepsake for their years at Mercerville School.”
Sue DiPaolo, Mercerville School
“We want to extend our awe and gratitude for your wonderful brochure art and design. It set exactly the tone we wanted. You were publicly thanked at the conference. Your service is greatly appreciated. ... THANK YOU SO MUCH for designing and creating the beautiful ABS brochure! You've done it again. And we are lucky and grateful. You've done several of these over the years now, and each year we are pleased and surprised at your boundless creativity and kindness.”
Elinor Mattern, Mid-Atlantic ABS
“We wanted to let you know that it was a pleasure working with the Need2Know team. Throughout the corporate logo design and website development process, the Need2Know team members were both receptive and responsive to our needs. The team took our vision and added value to it every step of the way. In short, the Need2Know team did a superb job! When compared to our past website development endeavors, this engagement has by far been our most productive and enjoyable experience. In the end, we have a great web site that exceeded our expectations. We are grateful for a job well done!”
Robert Plotka, CFA, President, Preservation Easement Trust
“Jesse was a pleasure to work with on my website projects for our various clients. Not only did he willingly and effectively execute the tasks on hand, he showed his dedication to the projects and organization. Jesse was extremely accommodating – with quick, accurate turnaround times on my requests. He is a highly professional and ethical individual and would be a great asset to any organization.”
Donna Fisher, Greystone Partners