Between the Brackets: Matthew Gasin, Front-end Developer at Webstacks

Welcome back to Between the Brackets! Last time we had the chance to meet Carly Johnson, a Marketing Technologist here at Webstacks. She had a lot to say about her role on the HubSpot Onboarding team, so go check it out! This week we’re lucky to chat with Matthew Gasin, Front-end Developer at Webstacks. Developers tend to have busy schedules, hopping in and out of client calls and working behind the scenes to ensure all code runs smoothly. Thanks for giving us the time of day! Ready to meet Matt? Let’s get into it 👍

About Matthew

Tell us about yourself.

I’ve recently come out to San Diego, originally growing up in New Jersey. I took an interest in Software Development pretty early on and studied Computer Science at the New Jersey Institute of Technology

It’s always been my passion to create and nothing satisfies this itch for me quite like development work. I enjoy working on side projects, making CG art, and playing games with my friends in my free time.

What's one fun fact that you always tell?

I can fold a paper crane in under a minute! This is my favorite thing to do with my hands while my mind is wandering.

I like to frame this as years of fidgeting not going to waste. From that perspective, it’s quite relieving really.

Web Development at Webstacks

What is your role at Webstacks?

I am a Frontend Developer at Webstacks. Our tech stack spans multiple frameworks, as well as both traditional and headless CMS.

I focus on developing new pages and features for my clients, in combination with maintenance on existing pages. I regularly interface with clients to deliver next-level web experiences.

Typically, I work closely with marketing teams, with the occasional opportunity to help out with Sales. I also learn from and advise my fellow developers internally so we can all grow together.

What does your day-to-day look like?

I kick my day off by reading emails and unread messages. After that, I sneak in some time to make coffee before attending stand-up.

Here at Webstacks, we have sprint-related meetings with our clients and internal stand-up. After I’ve planned out my tasks I get to developing! When working with HubSpot CMS, I typically use their command line input (CLI) to speed up my rate of development. My standard monitor setup is to have designs, my integrated development environment (IDE), and staging pages on separate screens. I love listening to music while working, usually a nice mix of new stuff and my go-to albums. I wrap my day up with a pull request and client QA process before publishing completed projects to production.

What do you enjoy the most about your role as a web developer?

My favorite part of the role has to be delivering finalized products to clients, and the collective celebration of a launch. A team's happiness is really contagious when their vision is finally brought to reality. There's nothing quite like the rush at the end of writing and debugging a particularly difficult segment of code in a similar vein. It feels like a whole journey going from architecting an idea of implementation in my mind to finally seeing all the JavaScript (JS) run properly.

Company Culture

Has your work routine changed at all since transitioning to flex?

I come into the office about two to three times a week. Personally, I see benefits to working from home and being in-office and finding switching between the two optimal for my productivity.

Nothing beats socializing at the office, but I consider myself a pretty introverted person. My WFH days are a great way to recharge while my office days are amazing for breaking out of my rut.

What is your favorite Webstacks memory so far?

My favorite Webstacks memory was our most recent office move.

It was such an exciting experience moving in, even if I’m pretty bad at setting things up (failing to put together a whiteboard really made me realize I should stick to building websites). I loved watching us grow both physically and as a company!

Any advice for candidates who may be interested in joining the crew as a developer?

Web development is special in how quickly new technologies are innovating the field, so always stay hungry when it comes to learning about what's next. Other than that, just remember practice makes perfect! 

This next question comes from Carly, whom we chatted with previously: If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

I'm going to say Taiwan! I'm a huge fan of their native music and the weather out there is great. Taiwan has beautiful beaches and is generally tropical. Despite its tropical weather, Taiwan has some seasons making it a nice place to be any time of year. Taiwan's weather is my kind of weather!

Now it's your turn to come up with the curveball question for the next crew member. What’s your question?

What are your top Webstacks Slack channels?

Editor's note: Webstacks is a full-stack marketing agency founded in 2020 that helps businesses accelerate growth by offering creative, marketing, development, and other services at scale. Webstacks is based in San Diego, California, with 30+ employees across the states. For business inquiries, please email hello@webstacks.com.