Who is i2Driven?

Tom Jackson started programming in Basic and DOS in 1980 his first Commodore Vic-20 that his grandparent bought him as a birthday present. It hooked up to his 13″ Black & White TV. Had a tape recorder to save and load programs, code. Many hours were spent under his makeshift war-room under his bunkbed.

By the 1990 Tom was in the US Navy as an electrician. He was station on the newest warship in the fleet, USS Wasp LHD-1. They needed someone to help ordering electrical supplies on the Zenith 286 computers for the electrical division. Tom was able to quickly start ordering supplies for E-Div. In his spare time while out to sea, he helped the ship cut down on paper usage and lost equipment, he developed a database system to track users safety training expiration and status, and tool issue usage logs. Saving the US Navy millions of dollars in paper waste and eliminating outdated log process. This system was build on DOS 6.0 + DBase III.

After the US Navy, Tom moved to Atlanta in 1994. Where he functioned as an Internet/Intranet Developer for Bowne & Company (of Atlanta). A fortune 500 company out of NYC, located off Wallstreet. He was also the Network Administrator for Atlanta, Tampa, Nashville, Charlotte, and Miami. Running Novell Network servers for each site connected back to Piscataway, NJ. It was during his time in Atlanta that i2Driven was born in 1998. Working with a local landlord to developing a custom interet database system for landlord to landlord tenant information sharing. This system was based on FileMaker Pro and Windows IIS. Tom was certified on FMP and was on the FMB Board of Advisors from 1999 to 2006.

Wanting to return back to his roots, in 1999 Tom returned back to his hometown of Big Rapids Michigan. Where he was the Server Team Leader and Intranet Developer for the Technical Services Department at Ferris State University. Tom was a certified Novell Network Engineer (MCNE) and was responsible over 200+ server for over 25k users. He also enjoyed coaching hockey for the local Big Rapids Ice Dogs. Coaching kids that have went on to play Division I and III and still active in hockey at high levels today. Tom is currently coaching his sons 14 & Under hockey team in the ’23-24 season.

Tired of the higher education sector. Tom was intrigued by all the vendor relationships he had built over the years at Ferris State. By the end of 2006 he decided to Move to Columbia South Carolina and work for Unitrends (Disaster Recovery) as a Lead Support Engineer on the help desk. Seeing how the Sales Engineers were treated and respected within the organization, he knew his next move. So after two years on the help desk, he moved to Jackson Michigan to become a Sales Engineer covering the Midwest. Which included Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio and Minnesota. Tom excelled as an SE, and soon became the Sr. System Sales Engineer. Setting sales records quarter after quarter for 8 years.

It was around this time in 2010 that Tom found his love for Jeep again. After having a Wrangler YJ in the US Navy. He purchased a 2010 Wrangler, and promptly set out to customize it and make it his own. Suspension Lifts, Shocks, and Fastback Hard Top. Tom soon discovered an interest in getting back in to web development full time. In 2018, Tom started a journey at FOX Factory. Where he is still leading User Interface + User Experience for 7 after market brands for the Power Vehicle Group Division. Focusing on WordPress, Shopify+, and WooCommerce. Tom now finds the perfect work-life balance at home with his 14 year old Tripp. Watching him play hockey, baseball and football and his boxer lab mix rescue dog Kevin.