River City Six – Jon Weiss

Meet, Jon Weiss the founder and principal developer of ShineForth (www.shineforth.co).

Tell us a little about your business.

ShineForth is a design and development company in Omaha that focuses on handcrafted websites, modern apps, premier hosting, and technology consulting. We seek to build long-term partnerships with our clients based on trust by listening, connecting on mission, and collaboratively developing solutions that help them achieve business success in a cost effective, scalable, and innovative way. For us, the most rewarding part is the relationships that we get to build each day with our partners. At ShineForth, we work with clients all around the U.S., but we are most grateful to work with businesses in our community. Omaha is an exciting place right now with a bright future. I’m so excited to lead a business that is part of the innovation, entrepreneurship, and small business growth that is happening in Omaha.

How did you get started in the business?

It’s been a long journey, one which includes well over a dozen years in corporate life. Along the way, I was fortunate enough to work for an agency that focused on the nonprofit sector. That experience taught me a lot about running a small business, entrepreneurship, and agency life. Shortly after, based on my passion and expertise for technology, I started to explore how to launch ShineForth.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced professionally?

I was leading a few teams of developers at a company several years ago. ShineForth was only a small part-time business at that point, though it had shown potential for more. It was a really difficult decision, and leap of faith, to leave the security of a company to launch ShineForth full time, but I felt the call of purpose, and it was something I really didn’t want to have regrets about later. That first year of business was full of really big challenges, but I was blessed to have really good mentors who helped me during that season. It is partly why I feel driven to partner with others who need reliable technology partners who they can trust with their business.

What has been your most important achievement professionally?

Hiring my first employee at ShineForth was a huge moment and a key chapter in the company’s growth. Alvaro Oropesa is a very talented developer, photographer, designer, foodie, and all around awesome guy. The fact that he caught the vision and was excited to join ShineForth is probably the most rewarding achievement that I could have asked for. He is such a huge asset to the company and a really fun person to be around.

Tell us a little about your family.

I’m blessed to be married to a wonderful wife, Rhonda, who has been really incredible and supportive during this journey. We have five kids and live in west Omaha.

What is your favorite book or the last good book you read?

We Stood Upon Stars: Finding God in Lost Places by Roger Thompson. It is filled with hand-drawn maps surrounded by compelling stories of the adventure, wonder, and beauty of some amazing places. Written from the perspective of a dad who desperately seeks to imprint wonder and a sense of adventure for finding life’s best moments with his kids, this story has inspired me to be better than I am.

What is your favorite local restaurant?

Pitch.

If our readers would like to contact you, how should they do so?

You can find out more information about ShineForth at www.shineforth.co or by contacting me at (855) SHN-FRTH / jon@shineforth.co.