Michael knew he wanted to be a computer programmer from the first time he saw a computer as a child and that passion hasn't waned. He graduated from Missouri State University in 1991 with a BS in Computer Science, where he was a member of the 3-person programming team that placed in the 20 top in the International ACM programming contest. While still in college, he worked as a programmer on some interesting projects at Springfield Remanufacturing, Midwest Equipment Rental, and Heatway Systems. After college, he joined The Systems House, working as a new install project leader for large office products companies. In 1999, Michael became a pioneer in the affiliate marketing industry when he created Amazing-Bargains.com, one of the first coupon sites. In 2003, he launched MagazinePriceSearch.com, the leading price comparison site for magazine subscriptions. From 2011 to 2021, he also ran Hip Together, an online clothing brand.Michael is currently a Lead Perl Software Developer at SmartWarehousing, where he has made a significant impact through the projects he has completed. His hiring manager had this to say: "Michael is an amazing talent and feel blessed to have hired him into Smart Warehousing a couple of years ago. He has great business acumen, listens well, focuses on the problem to be solved, thinks it over and quickly comes up with ways to solve it. He then jumps into action and delivers awesome solution in short order." Another manager had this to say: "He quickly became one of the most productive and knowledgeable members of the team in a legacy environment that was very challenging to understand and contribute to. His ability to understand existing architecture, business requirements, ask the right clarifying questions, articulate potential solutions, and integrate other ideas with his own is incredible. At the same time, as an engineer, he builds complex solutions quickly and with high quality and scalability in a variety of technologies."