Speaker Spotlight: Matty Cohen

Hey everyone,

I’m really excited to be sharing WordCamp with you all, this year, and to be diving into a topic I’m really passionate about; adding true value.

I started off studying multimedia design, specialising in graphic design for print (gasp!), at a local college here in Cape Town. Development began, for me, as very much a passion. I’ve always enjoyed building software and the “how does this work” aspect of software development.

Matty Cohen

While working as the senior developer at a small design and development agency here in Cape Town, I fell in love with WordPress. I jumped in, head first, and began theming, developing plugins and interacting with the community via the WordPress.org support forums.

Early on in my WordPress travels, I discovered WooThemes. After being offered a position as one of the lead developers within the company, I jumped at the chance and haven’t looked back.

Today, I look after product within WooThemes, making sure we’re on the best possible course with our product offering and that our products are as bug free as they can be at all times. This evolution into product management has afforded many learning opportunities, including the opportunity to analyse what makes a great product, what customers look for in a product and how a development team can achieve it’s internal goals while still keeping customers overly happy with their product.

At WordCamp Cape Town 2013, I’ll be discussing this very topic, which I like to refer to as, “Adding sustainable value to WordPress products“. I’ll be sharing a few notions, debunking a few myths and sharing my views on what value really means, how to find it and how to champion your cause as you embark on your value-adding journey.

I look forward to seeing you all at the stadium and to discussing anything and everything WordPress.