Joel Spolsky
Software writer who co-founded Stack Overflow, Trello and Fog Creek
- Works listed
- 1
- Book
- Honours
- 0
- Awards & distinctions
- Profile views
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Joel Spolsky is an American-Israeli software engineer and writer whose blog Joel on Software influenced how developers think about their work. He co-founded Fog Creek Software, Stack Overflow with Jeff Atwood, and the project-management tool Trello, sold to Atlassian.
Biography
Microsoft
Spolsky grew up in Albuquerque and Israel, served in the Israeli army and studied at Yale. At Microsoft he was a programme manager on Excel and helped design Visual Basic for Applications.
Joel on Software
His blog, started in 2000, offered essays such as the “Joel Test” for judging software teams and “Things You Should Never Do”.
Fog Creek and Stack Overflow
He co-founded Fog Creek Software in 2000 and in 2008 Stack Overflow with Jeff Atwood, serving as its CEO until 2019.
Trello and Glitch
Fog Creek created Trello (2011), sold to Atlassian for $425 million in 2017, and the Glitch coding platform.
Timeline
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1991
Joins Microsoft
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2000
Fog Creek; Joel on Software
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2008
Stack Overflow
-
2011
Trello
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2017
Atlassian buys Trello
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2019
Steps down as Stack Overflow CEO
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2021
Stack Overflow sold to Prosus
Notable works
-
2004
Joel on Software Book
Did you know?
-
1
He met Bill Gates for a famous Excel review meeting.
-
2
The Joel Test has 12 yes-or-no questions.
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3
He lived for a time on a kibbutz in Israel.
Connections
Frequently asked
Who is Joel Spolsky?
Joel Spolsky is an American-Israeli software engineer and writer whose blog Joel on Software influenced how developers think about their work. He co-founded Fog Creek Software, Stack Overflow with Jeff Atwood, and the project-management tool Trello, sold to Atlassian.
Where is Joel Spolsky from?
Joel Spolsky was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States.
What is Joel Spolsky known for?
Joel Spolsky is best known for Joel on Software; the Joel Test; co-founding Fog Creek, Stack Overflow and Trello.
References
- Joel Spolsky — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Joel Spolsky — IMDb. IMDb. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Official website. www.joelonsoftware.com. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Joel Spolsky (Q2387083) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Joel Spolsky”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more
External links
About this profile
- Researched by the TrackFame editorial team; reviewed by Sanjay Sokal under our editorial policy
- First published 4 November 2026
- Last updated
Cite this page
“Joel Spolsky.” TrackFame, last updated 5 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/joel-spolsky
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