Every team needs a veteran. That’s why developer extraordinaire Harvey Kane is a major asset to the Rocketspark crew. His vast experience and serious skill mean that, when looking at a big job, Harvey knows how to get ‘er done.
Harvey’s first contact with Rocketspark came when he answered a message we posted on a developers’ forum. It was an SOS call for help with a project using Concrete5—a content management system that he happens to be pretty handy at. We outsourced the job to the Wanaka-based Harvey and soon realised we were working with a programming genius. And thus began our long-distance relationship. Since coming on staff, Harvey has worked on a boatload of Rocketspark assignments, including big-time contributions to the website builder upgrade and our brand-new picture editor, which we recently proudly showed off to Xero CEO, Rod Drury. Joining Rocketspark is just the latest step in a long career that began with computer repairs and soon evolved into founding his own website design company. So why leave his own company to join Rocketspark? To get away from administration and concentrate on what he’s really into: “The sweet thing about working for Rocketspark is that I can just focus on programming.”
Don’t get the wrong idea though; his interests extend well beyond software programming. When it comes to outside interests, Harvey’s a renaissance man. Returning from their OE in Germany, he, wife Kirstin and their three daughters settled in Wanaka to indulge in a small-town lifestyle. Harvey also enjoys doing oil paintings, creating household gizmos with his Raspberry Pi computer and generally making interesting stuff (web-controlled RC car anyone?). “I’m not a big fan of the [consume-only] attitude,” he says. “I prefer making rather than consuming.”
