Renaissance Geek is the online magazine and personal blog of Paul Bakaus, where he dives deep into how to become a modern-age 'Renaissance Geek'.
Renaissance Geek (noun). Built on the idea of the "renaissance man", a Renaissance geek is somebody who chooses to embrace the adventurous digital world, is not afraid to stumble and fail, and is naturally interested in how art, culture and technology is shaping the future.
About Paul
Product strategist, creative technologist & two-time founder helping creators—and the platforms that serve them—build what’s next.
I’ve spent the last 20 years jumping the fence between engineering and storytelling:
- I've created jQuery UI (and was a core member of the jQuery team) and the first in-browser game engine (Aves, acquired by Zynga).
- At Google I came up with Chrome DevTools features used by millions of developers every day, made the web faster with AMP, and more beautiful with Web Stories, and became Google's first Head of Creator Relations.
- As Koji’s Head of Creators and later EVP Product at Spotter, I built AI-powered tooling that gave thousands of YouTubers back their most precious resource—time.
Today I work as a fractional CPO/advisor to creator-economy startups, speak at global events, and publish Renaissance Geek to share field-tested playbooks at the intersection of AI, product and internet culture.
Mission
Demystify the tech, ditch the gate-keeping, and hand creators the cheatcodes they need to level-up—without the hype.
Hit me up if you want help with product strategy, an unforgettable keynote, or just to geek out about what happens when AI meets creativity.
(Onwards!)