Hapana executive profile: Travis Shannon
“Something I’ve learned in managing high-performance teams is that the best ideas don’t always come from the person with the most industry experience. They could just as easily come from a new person who brings a fresh perspective. As a leader, I simply want the best ideas.” - Travis Shannon
Travis Shannon: profound background
Travis Shannon brings deep industry veteran experience with an innovator’s approach to the Hapana team. His unique upbringing and background in hard sciences and heavy tech has shaped his approach to building cutting-edge software products.
Travis is a product of the American West, spending significant chunks of time in places such as New Mexico, Texas, Colorado and the San Francisco Bay area. His passion for building things and his entrepreneurial spirit are born out of the American Western spirit.
After time spent studying computer science and biochemistry at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, then Entrepreneurship at Babson College, Travis got a look into the future during a sprint at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Los Alamos, and specifically the Department of Energy lab. Travis was exposed to advanced technologies such as Quantum Dots, LED lights, and artificial intelligence for image identification, all of which were just starting to be harnessed for commercial use.
Career growth
What’s been the driving force behind Travis’s career the past 15 years, however, has been a mission of contributing to the greater good, that being helping people feel good through health and wellness. This manifested itself in a career at Leisure Sports Hospitality, one of the leading innovators in the development of “fitness resorts” and boutique hotel / high-end fitness concepts. This kind of business presented a unique technology stack challenge for Travis, but was a role he relished, and excelled in managing.
Managing a tech stack meant to serve such a long list of business requirements would serve Travis well though, as he‘s now charged with building a world-class, single-source solution that serves boutique multi-location studios and large health clubs alike.
“What’s so unique about what we’ve built is, it’s not entirely separate software products, patched together by APIs and workarounds. Hapana is entirely different. One codebase, with tightly integrated next-generation technologies powering the everyday user experience. I couldn’t be more excited.”
The generational product Travis references is being built with Express-js and React Node, two new javascript technologies for easy programming of a front and backend system. From an architecture standpoint, there will be a move to microservices, which will give Hapana a structural advantage for multi-site businesses that legacy systems are simply ill-equipped to deliver upon.
“Microservices enable you to essentially break different pieces of your engine into different parts, enabling you to handle payload on your technology stack in a much more efficient manner.”
When Travis is not working, he’s a consummate family man who relishes time outdoors, travel and particularly, getting together with people in person, which is something that’s been far too difficult of late.