The mad scientist
I'm Richard Haddad. I live just north of Brisbane, and I've been writing code since I was 11. MadStoneDev is where I build my own apps and games.
How I got here
I was born overseas and came to Australia when I was 10. I grew up in Sydney, and I was building websites as a hobby long before anyone paid me to.
I studied civil engineering at UNSW and specialised in structural. After that I worked on construction sites, then in steel detailing and structural drafting. At one firm I ended up setting up the IT for their Brisbane office and writing tools to speed up everyone's work, which told me where I really wanted to be.
About 8 years ago I started my own agency, now RAVENCI Solutions, building websites and doing SEO for small businesses. That's still my day job. MadStoneDev is the other side: apps and games I want to exist, built my way.
Along the way
- Age 11Started coding
- [Year]Bachelor of Civil Engineering, UNSW (structural)
- [Years]Construction sites, steel detailing and structural drafting
- [Year]Diploma of Graphic Design and a Certificate in Journalism
- [Year]Started 1VINE Design, now RAVENCI Solutions
- [Year]Azimuth Compass, my first app on the App Store and Google Play
How I build things
Most of my apps start because something annoyed me. Azimuth came from a camping trip when a friend in the army was talking about prismatic compasses. JustNoted started because I wanted a notepad I could trust. I use what I build, every day in some cases.
I don't put ads in my apps. If something costs money to run, I'd rather charge a small amount for it than sell your attention.
Away from the keyboard
[A few lines about you. For example: camping and 4WD trips, board games and trading card games, running D&D campaigns, writing fantasy.]