Nice to Meet You!
We’re a small, passionate team based in Leipzig, Germany. Marcus Fehn and Max Seelemann, who both founded the company in 2011, have a 14-year history of creating writing software for OS X.
Back in 2003, Ulysses’ predecessor was the first text processing software on the market aimed specifically at creative writers.
Max
Founder, Executive Director
Max started programming when he was still in primary school, and he has never stopped. After graduating (with distinction) in computer science, he decided against a career in academia. Instead, he jumped into the development of Ulysses full-time, together with his partner Marcus. Today he enjoys the many upsides (*he’s involved in almost everything*) and accepting the few downsides (*he’s involved in almost everything*) of being in the captain’s chair.
Marcus
Founder, Creative Director
In 2002, while working as a staff designer in a web agency, Marcus wanted to write a novel, but struggled to find a suitable tool. He came up with a design of his own, and convinced Max, who was still in high school, to take over the programming part. That’s how Ulysses came to life, and that’s basically how things have worked until today – the only difference being that there are now more people to make Marcus’ impossible ideas become reality.
Friedrich
Head of Development
After graduating from the computing faculty at the Dresden University of Technology (where he met Max), Friedrich was the first to join the team as a full-time developer. At the age of 6, he inherited his older brother’s C64 and discovered a passion for coding. To date, Friedrich loves to delve into complex programming problems, and to take his time finding not just *any* solution, but the *perfect* solution.
Götz
Developer
Götz is the third "gang member" from the University of Dresden. While majoring in computer science, he took on occasional jobs for Max and Marcus, but also gained comprehensive professional experience as an ice-cream maestro, supermarket cashier and adventure course instructor. Besides being involved in Ulysses’ development, he sometimes provides support... for the Ulysses customer support team: If they’re at a loss, Götz usually still has an ace up his sleeve.
Florian
Developer
When he was little, Florian liked the sound of the word Ingenieur (German for engineer), so he wanted to become one. Now, with a master’s degree in computer science in the bag, he may call himself a software engineer – a childhood dream come true! After having finished university, Florian searched for a small company with a friendly atmosphere where he could program for Apple platforms – and found Ulysses. Coder at heart, he enjoys solving problems and isn’t held back by difficult hurdles.
Jingya
Public Relations China
Chinese users, who are no small portion of Ulysses’ user base, like to be approached in their native language. Fortunately, Jingya can bridge the language gap. Jingya’s journey began in Germany, where she embarked on an academic pursuit, earning a Master’s degree in American Studies. Immersed in the diverse tapestry of transnational relations, she has developed a keen understanding of cultural nuances and communication dynamics.
Max
Developer
Max shares his first name and a passion for programming with one of the Ulysses co-founders. He even chose the Dresden University of Technology for studying computer science, where the elder Max is an alumnus. After both Maxes met at WWDC 2017, Max the younger joined Ulysses’ development team, first as an intern, now part-timer, eager "to learn from the best". If he is not studying or working, Max likes to cook, photograph or travel – and program some more.
Alexander
Head of Customer Support
As a student, Alex preferred DJing rather than studying for exams: He spun indie rock and electronic music as resident in Germany’s second oldest student club. By chance – or was it fortune? – he ended up working in customer support. These days he manages Ulysses’ support team. Alex is a jack-of-all-trades, interested in anything and everything from photography to 3D printing to psychology and politics. When time allows, he likes to practice Foosball in the company’s meeting room (He’s already pretty good).
Antje
Customer Support
Antje spent her childhood in a small German village, but always wanted to venture out into the big, wide world. As an adult, she spent six years in Japan. An industrial clerk by trade, Antje has worked, among other things, as a translator for video games and a purchaser of costumes and party products; with Ulysses, she’s a member of the support team. Together with her family and a greedy Golden Retriever, Antje lives in Leipzig – and is still longing for the far away.
Andrea
Customer Support
Andrea has a passion for learning new things which has helped her achieve three master’s degrees. She has worked as a German teacher (in Egypt and the Netherlands, among others) and copywriter. Now, with Ulysses, she enjoys the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of software and computers, alongside the friendly colleagues in the team. Andrea is interested in a sustainable lifestyle, makes her own yoghurt and soymilk. Pets: One dog, two cats and around 2000 compost worms.
Kristin
Administrative Assistant
After finishing her studies in media engineering, Kristin worked for a tv production company, where she learned to juggle five different tasks but had no private life. As a – supposedly temporary – alternative, she took on her first job as an administrative assistant, which surprisingly turned out to be *her thing*. In addition to a mysterious passion for paperwork, Kristin’s got a profound knowledge about healthy nutrition and is unbeatable in the discipline of finding the perfect GIF.
Sebastian
Developer
Holding a master’s degree in computer science, Sebastian gathered nine years of experience in development for a popular e-commerce platform for customizable T-shirts, which is based in Leipzig. The thing he loves about coding is that, with only giving some thought, he’s able to create something of value for other people.
István
Customer Support
After earning a degree in vehicle engineering and working as an intern in the field, István chose to rather pursue his dream of becoming an author. He established a couple of blogs, earned money as a copywriter, and wrote his first non-fiction book. When he’s not working as customer support for his favorite writing app (Ulysses, of course), István is reading philosophy, psychology, sociology and sci-fi, goes hiking... and keeps on writing.
Leo
Interface Designer
Leo is an interface designer by trade, and a philosopher at heart. He helps us find elegant solutions to complex problems, by uncovering the simple truths that lie behind every use case. His guilty pleasure is chocolate, and he himself is made up of surprisingly large portions of Huel. He says he is never not working, and that he is an idealist and a realist at the same time. He is also the only one on the team to ever receive a private email from Craig Federighi.
Luke
Graphic Designer
As a child, Luke amused himself by scribbling moustaches on people in newspapers and magazines. Eventually his brother introduced him to Photoshop and he upgraded to creating composites on the computer. Luke found he really enjoyed seeing ideas that had only existed in his imagination come to life. He undertook training in visual arts at London College of Communication and became a professional at trying to make things look nice while being easy to understand. When hes not producing graphic design for Ulysses, he’s either listening to – or writing and recording music.
Sofia
Communications and Marketing Manager
After graduating with a Filmmaking degree and working in the art, culture and media industries, Sofia is now responsible for all-things-communication-and-marketing at Ulysses. It feels only logical, because despite being passionate about (way too) many things, writing was her first love, and it was love at first sight, too. When she’s not thinking about writing, Sofia is... writing, reading, diving deep into other creative pursuits, or daydreaming about a life in the mountains. Her biggest weakness is pop culture knowledge, but she has an impeccable track record when it comes to listing Japanese 80s minimal synth bands, so you can always ask her about that instead.