Jeff Vander Clute

Avanoo's co-founder. I write software and sometimes music, too. I am interested in connecting the global heart.

In the offline world, my name is Jeff Vander Clute, but on Avanoo I am also known as Wilford.

The story behind "Wilford": Back in 2007, Dan and I (Avanoo's co-foudners) were pitching an online video speed dating application to venture capitalists in Silicon Valley. We got word through "back channels" that a group at Stanford was working on a similar concept. So I rushed back to Venice Beach, where I was living at the time, to begin coding. We felt it was Williams (where Dan and I went to college) vs. Stanford. Then Dan and I decided that we needed to be a compelling dynamic duo in our blog. It was decided that "Dan and Jeff" sounded derivative of "Mutt and Jeff." Needing a new name, I took Williams and Stanford and joined them. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em! Actually, neither team has produced a video speed dating application, but happily we do have Avanoo.

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