About me

I felt compelled to exhibit personal work and info, and this site is the result (although I guess you could just look me up on Facebook and get the same info). In all likelihood, nobody is interested; nevertheless the site exists.  So to all those who know me, and everyone else who happened to Google the name "Matt Lightner," welcome.

Summary (stuff I do)

At the age of 15, I was lucky enough to be adopted by something of a mentor who suggested that I begin reselling hosting accounts for his company (clearly his intentions were not purely altrustic).  This was nearly six years ago.  For 10 years I served as the CEO of Site5 Internet Solutions, Inc., a well-established and extremely reputable web hosting company based out of California. Site5 has servers located in data centers in Michigan and New Jersey.  We were able to grow and succeed thanks largely in part to the company's very dedicated employees.

My partner and I sold Site5 to private investors in November of 2008.  They have been nothing short of amazing as owners, implementing many new programs, improving service and building a great team.  I wish them all the best.
 

Interests

In my spare time, I enjoy programming, cooking, writing, debating, and spending time with friends... sometimes even sober.  I am a music aficionado, and even used to DJ (although rarely paid gigs--mostly for fun).  I believe that music is one of the easiest (and cheapest) paths to transcendence.  The vast majority of my library is composed of some form of electronica.  I do not discriminate however; I also very much enjoy classical, rock, punk, rap, and even, when nobody is looking, some country.

Studies

I hold a BSc (Bachelor of Science in Commerce) in Finance from Santa Clara University. I graduated in June 2006 with Honors and as a member of the Leavey Scholars (business honors) program.

I am now enrolled in a culinary program at the Professional Culinary Institute in order to further my knowledge of food and cooking.  I've spent a large part of the past two years learning everything I could about the culinary arts, however nothing can replace formal training from an exceptional chef.

Professional experience

Software and projects (stuff I wrote)

  • BillAdmin (www.billadmin.com)
    • Involvement: Creator and lead developer
    • Start Date: August 1999
    • End Date: Still in production
    • Status: Version 4.0 (in development)
    • Description: BillAdmin was one of (if not the) first billing systems to fully integrate with CPanel-based hosting servers.  Still in use by a number of hosting companies, BillAdmin is extremely fit for its purpose, but not very scalable.  This program will eventually be replaced by BillAdmin 4.0--a complete rewrite.
    • Why: Site5's Windows-based billing system was not designed with hosting in mind, and did not interact at all with Internet systems (all credit card charges needed to be entered manually, suspensions and terminations were all done by hand, etc).  We needed a system that would both manage customer payments and track customer accounts on servers. I designed BillAdmin to fill this need. The new version of BillAdmin will be commercially available and highly competitive in the web hosting billing system market.
       
  • Synco and Backstage (www.site5.com)
    • Involvement: Creator and project overseer
    • Start Date: August 2005
    • End Date: Never!
    • Status: Development has been taken over by Site5's new Chief Software Architect, Justin, who, from what I hear, has done some really exceptional work.
    • Description: Synco is a high-powered billing and network management system used to basically run everything at Site5.  Its cunterpart, Backstage, is the customer-facing portal through which clients access and manage their accounts.
    • Why: Because it's totally awesome, and working with the old Site5 Engineering Team was one of the best experiences of my life.  Never have I seen so many smart, driven and creative people all in one place (virtually anyway).  Someday I hope to recapture the same level of synergy--regardless of what I choose to do.
       
  • CPanel (www.cpanel.net)
    • Involvement: Assistant developer
    • Start Date: July 2000
    • End Date: December 2000
    • Status: Version 9.0
    • Description: CPanel is the market leading control panel for web hosting companies.  Providing full server management, unparalleled extensibility and secure clustering capabilities, CPanel is arguably the most powerful control panel system available.
    • Why: CPanel was created by Nick Koston in (or around) 1996.  I became one of the most active users of the system, and after seeing my work on NetAdmin and BillAdmin, Nick asked me to assist him with development of the system.  Unfortunately the time commitment involved (I was also running Site5 at the time) was prohibitive, and I resigned this post after a few months.  I continued to contribute to the project on a recreational basis for some time after, however.
       
  • NetAdmin Control Panel (www.site5.com)
    • Involvement: Creator and maintainer
    • Start Date: March 1999
    • End Date: Still in production
    • Status: Version 3.0
    • Description: NetAdmin is Site5's proprietary control panel and server management software package.  It is built on top of the CPanel server core and extends the system's functionality immensely.  Now in its third iteration, NetAdmin consists of a complex user interface theme, numerous CPanel plugin modules, and a host of backend systems that provide Site5 with superior system management capabilities.
    • Why: Site5 was in need of a custom control panel system that allowed us to extend Cpanel's functionality, and this was the result.  Version 1.0 was my first programming project ever, and successfully served over a thousand users for nearly two years.  I've always attributed it to beginners luck.

Music

TRAFIK

Since BT had a baby about a year ago, somebody had to step up and become the new electronica visionary. Trafik is that person. Check out 'Echoes,' 'Your Light', and the entire 'Bullet' album. It's all available at the iTunes store!

PARTY BEN

I highly recommend any music written or compiled by Party Ben. His Sixx Mixes have completely taken over my music library and libraries of almost everyone who hears them. Best of all, you can get it all online completely free--just go to his website!

Party Ben - http://www.partyben.com

Other Artists

  • The Girls Can Hear Us
  • BT (the legend!)
  • Telefon Tel Aviv
  • The Bravery
  • Smile Empty Soul
  • Something Corporate
  • The Postal Service
  • The Chemical Brothers
  • The Crystal Method
  • Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
  • Electric Six
Quotes I Strive To Live By:

"All I ask of you is one thing: please don't be cynical. I hate cynicism -- it's my least favorite quality and it doesn't lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen. I promise you."
- Conan's final speech as host of the Late Show, and truly some of the wisest words ever spoken.

"All men's miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone."
- Blaise Pascal (the more you think about it, the more you realize that truer words have never been spoken)

"Always underestimate the power of doing nothing."
-Me, afaik.  I've done more than my share of nothing in life, and I assure you it's completely unfulfilling.

Homer Simpson: "There are three ways to do things: the right way, the wrong way, and the Max Power way."
Lisa: "Isn't that the wrong way?"
Homer: "Yeah, but faster!"
- A great and nonsensical Simpsons exchange that I can sadly relate to.
 
"I needed that pain to get to where I am now."
-John Locke (from Lost) We sometimes forget that suffering makes good time that much better.  With no basis for comparison, it's impossible to tell the difference.  Plus I love the show.