Appleton, Wisconsin
I build the things I can’t stop noticing.
I make software products that fix oddly specific problems. Founder of Graf Technology and Chief Digital Officer (CDO) at GhostBed. Husband, father, drummer, and proudly neurodivergent.
on the bench right now
Hourfront
in development
Business hours as a single source of truth. In the final stretch; link arrives on launch day.
things I made
Built because they needed to exist.
The products live under Graf Technology, the company I founded in 2004 and still run. The full shelf, day job included, is on the work page.
from the archive · jacobgraf.com, 2004
“Because I can...”
The tagline on the first version of this site. Twenty-some years and five products later, it still explains most of what you just scrolled past.
- 22
- years running Graf Technology
- 4+1
- products live, one in the works
- 23
- years married, four kids
how we got here
Twenty-plus years, three stops.
2004
jacobgraf.com, version one
The first personal site goes up, with a tagline that explained everything and nothing: “Because I can...” Twenty-some years later, it still holds.
2019
Zapmarks ships
The first standalone product launches on Product Hunt: custom keywords instead of bookmark folders. It would not be the last.
the good part
The rest of the week.
Sundays, behind the kit
Most Sundays I am behind a drum kit, keeping time for a full room. It is the only gig I have where nobody requests revisions.
I keep everything
Photos, flyers, and whole websites, archived and backed up for decades. One box of 2001 band recordings just came back out as Fading Maize.
At home
Married for more than two decades, with four kids. Easily the best part.
as of 2026-07-26
Currently
- Hourfront, the final stretch
- Fresh paint on the family of sites
- Leading digital at GhostBed
- Drums and the archive
Say hello.
Questions, ideas, and oddly specific problems are all welcome. I read every message myself.