Joel Spolsky

Joel Spolsky is a software engineer and writer who co-founded Stack Overflow and founded Fog Creek Software.

born 1965Co-founding Stack OverflowThe Joel on Software blogCreating TrelloFounding Fog Creek Software

Occupation: computer scientist, programmer, chief executive officer, businessperson
Education: Yale University, University of Pennsylvania, Pierson College
Founded: Stack Overflow (2008), Stack Exchange (2010), Glitch, Inc. (2000)

Joel Spolsky was born in 1965 in Albuquerque

Spolsky was born in 1965 to a Jewish family and grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico. At 15 he moved with his family to Israel, where he went to high school.

He served in the IDF and was one of the founders of kibbutz Hanaton in the Lower Galilee. In 1987 he returned to the United States to study. After a year at the University of Pennsylvania he moved to Yale University and earned a degree in computer science with highest honors in 1991.

From 1991 he worked at Microsoft as a program manager on the Excel team. In 1995 he moved to New York City and worked for Viacom and Juno Online Services. In 2000 he founded Fog Creek Software and started the Joel on Software blog.

In 2008 he co-founded Stack Overflow with Jeff Atwood and served as its CEO until 2019. In 2011 he launched Trello, a project management tool that Atlassian bought in 2017 for $425 million. He stepped down as chairman of Stack Overflow after its 2021 sale and as chairman of Glitch after its 2022 sale to Fastly.

In 2015 he announced his marriage to his husband, Jared. He lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

Joel Spolsky's life in 9 milestones

1965
Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
1987
Returned to the United States to attend college.
1991
Graduated from Yale and joined Microsoft's Excel team.
1995
Moved to New York City.
2000
Founded Fog Creek Software and started his blog.
2008
Co-founded Stack Overflow with Jeff Atwood.
2011
Launched Trello.
2017
Trello was acquired by Atlassian.
2019
Stepped down as Stack Overflow CEO.

Joel Spolsky served in the military

He served in the IDF, in the Paratroopers Brigade according to one account and in the Paratrooper Nahal according to another. During his service he helped found kibbutz Hanaton.