Forty Under 40: Casey Kinsey

Casey Kinsey believes culture is the most important aspect of the workplace. It’s why he started his own business in 2014, and he considers the nine jobs he has created to be the biggest achievement so far of his professional career.

“I really like the people aspect of running a business. Even though it’s the most challenging part, it’s also definitely the most rewarding,” he said.  “The day I made my first hire, my girlfriend and I went out to dinner to celebrate,” Kinsey said. “I had a new job, too. I was somebody’s employer.”

That same night, the couple ran into Lofty Labs’ new staff member on Dickson Street. The new hire was also celebrating. Seeing the positive effect on that person’s life struck an emotional chord with Kinsey. “That was a really cool feeling,” he said.

A Hot Springs native, Kinsey studied English at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway for a couple of years and designed web pages on the side for cash, but he quit college shortly after he started working as lead developer at the Log Cabin Democrat in 2007.

Following that, from 2008 to 2009 he worked remotely as a web developer for M&S Consulting of West Virginia, working primarily for one Cincinnati-based client, he said.

In June 2009 he took a job as web developer for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He worked there for two years, developing software in a number of different languages and frameworks.

In 2012, he took another job where he worked remotely from Arkansas. Serving as a web and mobile solutions consultant for Celerity in Washington, D.C., his primary client was PBS. After that, he worked remotely for seven months as chief technology officer at YourGuru, a New York City-based health services startup.

In his spare time, Kinsey runs a professional organization for software engineers who use Python and is involved with a number of groups within the tech community. He also enjoys cycling.