Dan Abramov
Born 1992 · Age 33
Russian-born software engineer; co-creator of Redux; member of the React core team at Meta; prolific open-source contributor, teacher and speaker.
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Life & Career Timeline
Started coding with Visual Basic for Applications (VBA)
Began exploring programming via Microsoft PowerPoint automation and Visual Basic for Applications; bought bootleg technical books and practiced macros and coordinates-based animation.
First JavaScript project request
Started learning JavaScript at ~14 when his step-father asked him to build a database to track photoshoots; moved from desktop automation to web technologies.
Completed long-running desktop project for step-father
Finished a complex Visual Basic / C# desktop project he had been working on since early teens; then took a multi-year break from active programming.
Finished high school in Russia
Completed secondary education and enrolled in university in Russia in 2009.
Started university (received a MacBook as student)
Began university studies; later found curriculum had little programming; returned MacBook when he dropped out.
Hired at DataArt (first industry job)
Got first paid software developer job after attending a local meetup; role involved C#/.NET enterprise work and onsite month-long trip to New York to fix a flaky service.
Moved out of mother's apartment and rented room
Used first salary to move out and rent a room (~$150/month); bought an iPhone with his first paycheck.
Quit DataArt and worked on volunteer web projects
Left DataArt in summer 2011; joined a volunteer web-bootcamp-style program arranged by a Russian entrepreneur where he learned Git, basics of Python, Django, CSS and JavaScript.
Learned Git, Python, Django, and web basics
Gained foundational web skills while contributing to mentor's projects with root access to servers; this converted him from a desktop to a web developer.
Joined Stampsy and moved to Moscow
Hired by Roman Mazurenko to work on a DIY publishing platform; moved from St. Petersburg to Moscow and began learning iOS to develop an iPad app.
Started iOS development for Stampsy
Started learning iOS on the job and began building the team's iPad app despite limited prior mobile experience.
Negotiated salary and equity at Stampsy
Earned approximately $30k/year at Stampsy and negotiated some stock (later described as worthless).
Published code on GitHub; started contributing to open source
Stampsy team began publishing internal code to GitHub; Abramov gained early experience with open source contributions.
Stampsy iPad app released; featured on App Store
Released the iPad app in April 2013; Apple contacted the company for assets to feature the app on the App Store; app was featured for weeks.
First contact from Facebook recruiter
Received an initial email from a Facebook recruiter in 2014, but hiring into the US was complicated due to limited experience and having dropped out of college.
Built hot module replacement proof-of-concept for React
Created an early hot reloading POC by modifying React and webpack; demo tweeted and widely noticed; this work seeded later hot-reloading efforts.
Contributed initial pull requests to React
Reached out to React maintainers (Paul O'Shannessy) and submitted early pull requests; began interacting with React core contributors.
Adopted React at Stampsy
After pivoting Stampsy from iPad to web, Abramov started using React; converted UI components (first was a Like button) and migrated the product to React during 2014–2015.
First public talks on React (internal and BerlinJS)
Gave his first talks about React: a two-hour lecture to colleagues at Stampsy and a talk at the BerlinJS meetup (had to learn to rehearse talks after an early poor run).
Stampsy web app exited private beta; company ran out of funding
Stampsy came out of private beta but grew slowly; company struggled to raise follow-on funding, prompting team changes and Abramov's desire to focus on open source.
Implemented Redux (initial implementation for conference demo)
Implemented Redux — a simplified Flux variant with a single reducer function — in time for a conference demo (time-travel debugging demo).
Recorded 'Getting Started with Redux' course
Recorded an educational course (titled 'Getting Started with Redux') to help fund and document the Redux approach and support his OSS work.
Set up Patreon to fund open-source work
Created a Patreon to financially sustain his open-source work during a multi-month transition period while obtaining a visa/role with Facebook.
Gave time-travel/hot-reload demo at Paris conference (Redux debut)
Presented a demo incorporating time travel using his Redux implementation at a technical conference in Paris; the demo attracted attention and led to key connections.
Met Jing Chen; interviewed on-site for Facebook London
At the Paris conference he met Jing Chen who arranged an on-the-spot interview with Facebook representatives for a London office role; he received an offer.
Andrew Clark endorses and later co-authors Redux
Andrew Clark (author of Flummox) publicly favored Redux after the Paris demo and eventually collaborated/co-wrote Redux with Abramov as it grew in popularity.
Married Kseniya Abramova
Married his partner (Kseniya); the wedding was a modest celebration reportedly costing around $100. (Marriage occurred before moving to London later that year.)
Left Stampsy to work on open-source projects
In April 2015 he decided to leave Stampsy; found a company using his OSS project that sponsored his work for a few months.
Arrived in London and started at Facebook (React team)
Dan and his wife arrived in London at the end of November 2015; he joined Facebook's London office, initially planned for React Native but joined the React core team, working remotely with US-based team.
Developed Create React App
Authored and released Create React App (CRA), a widely used toolchain and zero-config bootstrap for React applications while at Facebook.
Redux maintainership transitions to Mark Erikson and Tim Dorr
Around mid-2016, primary maintainership of the Redux project shifted to Mark Erikson and Tim Dorr as Dan reduced day-to-day maintainership.
Worked on React 16
Contributed to React 16 development as part of the React core team (React 16 included many internal rewrites and improvements).
Published various educational resources and blog posts
Continued to write extensively on his Overreacted blog and other platforms — influential posts include guidance on React, testing, and career growth.
Spoke at JSConf Iceland: 'Beyond React 16'
Presented on React's future and features beyond React 16 at JSConf Iceland on April 5, 2018.
Published 'My Decade in Review' blog post
Authored a reflective long-form blog post on Overreacted.io recounting his path from school to React core team and lessons learned across the decade.
Featured in 'Coding Interview with Dan Abramov' video/interview
Appeared in recorded interview content discussing career, React, and interviewing advice (video published Dec 2, 2021).
Continued React core work at Meta (formerly Facebook)
Remained part of Meta's React team; ongoing contributions to React, education, and open source maintenance and advocacy.
Ongoing public speaking, podcasts and educational projects
Continues to speak at conferences, participate in podcasts, and work on side projects (e.g., JustJavaScript mentions in podcast transcripts); remains active in community education.
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