The Origin Story

The story of STACK Pixel goes back 25 years. It wasn't called STACK Pixel; it wasn't called anything. It was just a static HTML and CSS page listing categories of links for my website clients, development projects, and other links related to sports and cars. It was also just a local file on my computer that I used as my default home page in my browser, probably Netscape.

Over the next few years, that simple page became more robust, with some simple styling and an Access database back-end for managing entries. I was working on numerous dynamic sites using Dreamweaver, ASP, and Access databases, so this was a learning tool as much as anything.

The beginnings of what STACK Pixel is today (still not the official name then, though) started in 2010. I was the first "member," created on October 26, 2010, at 1:53 p.m. That is the timestamp for that record. Sometime before that day, I moved from ASP and Access to PHP and MySQL, which STACK Pixel still uses today.

On March 18, 2011, I purchased the stackpixel.com domain name. The idea behind the name was a play on words and a connection to my business name, pixeljocks.com. The basic design still holds today, listing categories with links under them in a bulleted list. They were stacks of links, hence stackpixel.com.

I continued experimenting with the functionality over the next few years, not thinking about anything specific or launching an app. However, something changed in the fall of 2013 when I created a simple logo. It was now called STACK Pixel.

I don't remember what happened between 2013 and 2020 (when I had a professionally designed logo created). Knowing me, I had a lot of imposter syndrome, combined with an overall lack of marketing skills and confidence that I could get anyone to use my simple browser bookmark replacement SAAS app. I remember having many internal debates about all the other things it needed to be a viable and sellable app. I also questioned my coding skills because I didn't use a fancy PHP framework or OOP. I was simple procedural PHP.

The original app functionality was that all members fell under the STACK Pixel brand, with no personalization, custom branding, or the core and module functionality you see now.

Based on the screenshots I took of the app in 2019, I moved away from branding it with STACK Pixel and toward a more sophisticated structure with app accounts, each with members. This allowed for personalizing the app with the account logo and colors. Based on what I see in the following screenshot, the idea of different content modules started taking shape.

In 2020, I must have started thinking about monetizing STACK Pixel because I had a professionally designed logo created.

What happened over the next 2-3 years is fuzzy. COVID hit, school for my two boys went virtual for a semester or two, and I started coaching their baseball teams. I had plenty of web development work, and my wife had (still has) a great job, so the desire/need to push forward wasn't very strong. I was also still battling imposter syndrome about the app and its functionality. I talked to a few people about it, but no one got it, which diminished my excitement about any formal launch. During that time, I continued to expand the functionality, adding some tweaks here and there with additional functionality and the module idea. I justified the time spent as a learning experience because the app was very useful to me, even in its simplest form: a group of categories and links.

In February of 2024, my father passed away. It hit me harder than I expected and put me in a funk. It took a good 6-7 months to work through things. During that time, I began questioning what I was doing with STACK Pixel (among many other things). I've now spent two decades on a pet project. It was time to move forward.

I've been doing web development since 1997, and like most web developers and agencies, the idea of creating the next Basecamp and getting out of client work is always in our minds. I started using WordPress around 2012 and loved it; I was no longer hand-building custom CMSs for client projects. WordPress and all its associated themes and plugins allowed for some amazing functionality. Over the years, the flaws of WordPress and some of the decisions made by management started to get frustrating. At WordCamp US 2024 (September), the leader of WordPress, Matt Mullenweg, went down a road that created concern (at least for me) about the long-term viability of WordPress.

Between my father's passing and the state of WordPress, I decided it was time to do something and take a real shot with STACK Pixel. The foundation is there; it has been years. Failure will cause no financial burden to my family.

I am fully aware that STACK Pixel and its current functionality are a solution looking for a problem. I'm okay with that. It has never made a penny, and I will continue to use it even if it never does. What started as a tool to scratch my own itch will always be that tool to me, but I do hope what I created might be helpful to others.

That's the STACK Pixel story. I'm sure I've forgotten many essential details during the last 25 years, but here we are. If you want a personal walk-thru, please email me at brett@stackpixel.com.

Thanks.