FusionReactor is turning 20! It’s a massive milestone, but what makes a company last two decades isn’t just the code – it’s the people who write it, refine it, and live it.
Today, we are zooming in on two team members who have been with us for literally half of our history. They joined as students, grew into leaders, and have spent the last 10 years shaping the very core of our product.
Meet Ashley (Joined 2014) and Mikey (Joined 2015) – our “Decade Club” members who prove that if you stick around long enough, you eventually run the place.
The Origin Stories: 2014 vs. 2015
If we rewind to 2014, Ashley walked through the doors as an intern ready to work on the cloud product. It was his final year of university, and his advice to his younger self is simple:
“Don’t stress and have fun.”
One year later, Mikey joined the fray. He didn’t just change jobs; he changed countries, moving from the UK to Germany to start as a Software Development Intern. His advice to his 2015 self is a little more specific:
“It’s okay not to know everything – you’ll figure it out along the way. Also… December 30th Lotto numbers are 22, 31, 47, 52, 55, 59, 23. Buy a chunk of Bitcoin.”
The Evolution: From “Fixing Bugs” to “Running The Show”
Over the last ten years, their roles have evolved massively.
Ashley has become the master of the backend. While he still supports the cloud infrastructure, he’s the go-to guy for critical business systems. If you like modern billing and seamless reporting, you have Ash to thank. He describes the company’s journey as
“Learning, refining, growing,”
which perfectly mirrors his own path.
Mikey has played just about every position on the field. He went from Intern to Support Engineer, to Head of Support, to Head of Engineering, and now sits as the Director of Engineering. He’s proud of moving the stack to Open Source and Go, improving stability, and championing a culture of
“Fail fast, adapt, move on.”
The Shared Masterpiece: The Licensing System
When asked about their favorite memories or proudest achievements, something amazing happened: they both mentioned the same project.
Mikey recalls the “organized chaos” of the design phase:
“Reworking the licensing system… We spent hours in a meeting room sketching and revising models on a whiteboard until we landed on a solution that’s still working six years later.”
Ashley lists the implementation of that very system (FR8 onwards) as his proudest achievement. It’s a perfect example of their synergy: Mikey sketching the madness on the whiteboard, and Ash turning it into concrete, lasting reality.
Personality Check: Logic vs. Entropy
If FusionReactor were a person, what would it be like?
- According to Ash: It’s an INTJ. Logical, strategic, and independent.
- According to Mikey: It’s “Organized Chaos.” Unpredictable, slightly nuts, but somehow it all works out.
This dynamic sums up the duo perfectly. Ash resonates with The Martian – solving problems with science and logic. Mikey resonates with Entropy by Voyager – embracing the noise and finding the signal.
Cheers to the Memories
From team trips to Malaga, Spain, to legendary nights at the Brauhaus, Ash and Mikey have seen it all.
Mikey notes that the best moments weren’t always the big events, but the daily life before remote work:
“We lived in the same town… the company might have only met officially twice a year, but we were always hanging out anyway.”
Thank You, Ash and Mikey!
For a decade of clean code, whiteboard sessions, Brauhaus toasts, and sticking with us through the shift from on-prem to Cloud (and AI!). FusionReactor wouldn’t be the same without you.
Here’s to the next 10 years!
