Thad Allender

Thad Allender is a design and product entrepreneur with a background in photography and web development. Here's a comprehensive overview of his professional journey:

Professional Background

Early Career in Photography and Media:

• Worked as Director of Photography at a local publication in Kansas City
• Moved to Washington D.C. in 2007 to work as a multimedia producer for USA Today12

Entrepreneurial Journey

WordPress Theme Development:

• Started building websites in 2001
• Migrated from MovableType to WordPress around 2004
• Created his first WordPress theme in 2007, which gained immediate traction due to its unique magazine-style design catering to visual content12

Graph Paper Press:

• Founded Graph Paper Press in 2008, a WordPress theme and plugin company
• Developed minimalist themes for content creators
• Grew the business to over $1 million in revenue
• Worked with a small team of contractors located globally12

Recent Ventures

Visual Society:

• Currently leads Visual Society, a company building tools to help photographers and artists create more profitable businesses34
• Previously founded Visual Society, which was later acquired4

Current Focus:

• Design and product entrepreneur based in New York
• Working on Ecohome.co4

Business Philosophy:

• Bootstrapped his first company successfully
• Values partnerships and individual talent over large teams
• Philosophically opposed to affiliate marketing2

Thad Allender has established himself as a successful tech entrepreneur with a strong background in web design, photography, and creating tools for creative professionals.