I’d like to talk to you about our newest sponsor for a moment, Sprout Apps. You might be wondering who they are. I wondered the same thing.

The folks over at Sprout Apps aren’t just looking to build the next “also-ran” product. They’re looking to change the way you do business with your clients. Because you know what, guys? Doing business is hard! How does Sprout Apps plan to make things easier for you and I? Oh, you know, by being philosophically sound in their product development approach. As Chris Lema puts it: “The trick to making difficult things easy, is to keep the easy things still easy.”

What does that mean exactly? It means closing the gap between your website and your customer intake systems.

Wait. What?

If you’re like me, you probably have Gravity Forms on your site. You get a request for a quote. You review it, blah, blah, send an email back and, if the potential client wants to do some business you get stepping on creating an estimate. It doesn’t sound like a lot of work, but even two to three of these can eat up hours of your time before you notice that time has gone and left you.

That’s where Sprout App comes in. They’re building an integrated tool that automates this workflow headache for you. Yeah, auto-magically! If it sounds like Pixie Dust and Unicorn Pies in the Sky, it’s not! It’s not available yet, but it’s coming and it’s something to keep your eyes, kids.

That said, let’s give a big thank you to Sprout Apps for sponsoring WordCamp LA this year. You guys rock!

Do you manage WordPress sites for a living? If you’re here then you probably do. I don’t know about you, but I hate providing support for projects that have long been finished. In fact I’d rather take  sharp stick to the eye. WP Site Care, though, supporting you and making sure your sites are purring, free of nasty malware and malicious code is what they do. It’s like it’s their job… Oh wait, it IS their job!

Ryan Sullivan runs WP Site Care and I have to tell you, he knows what he’s doing. Not only that he’s all about the community. He doesn’t just say, he lives it and breathes it. Maybe you’ve seen him sponsoring at WordCamps, maybe you’ve seen him speak at a WordCamp, or just maybe he answered one of your questions on the WordPress.org forums. Without a doubt, he’s a stand-up dude!

Let’s give a hearty thanks to Ryan Sullivan and WP Site Care!

When he sneezes, the people around him get new product ideas; when people sit in his office and listen to his eloquent voice and furious fingers tapping away on the keyboard, they close not one, but TWO business deals; by the time you finish reading this, Chris will have made more money than you will in 586 years… And he blogs daily. He is the most awesome dude in the world, he is the Chris Lema.

We’d like to take this time to thank the incomparable Chris Lema for yet another generous donation. He contributes so much more to each and every Camp and is a true pillar of awesome in our community.

Thanks, Chris!