Meet Tyler Patterson, Ever Accountable’s President & Founder

Reading Time: 6 minutes We had the opportunity to ask Tyler a few questions about Ever Accountable. Although this company's growth and financial success is important to him, Tyler's dedication lies in helping individuals ditch pornography for good. Read on about his mission-driven stance to lead efforts in pornography prevention and recovery.

Good afternoon Tyler!

Good afternoon!

Thanks for taking the time to talk to me about your position at Ever Accountable. For starters, what is your view from the computer you use while working?

I have a view out the window of mountains, trees, and buildings.

And tell us a little about where you live and what you like to do.

I love rock climbing and bouldering, as well as hiking and listening to audio books while doing yard work.

Tell us about why starting Ever Accountable was important to you and anything else you can share about getting it off the ground

I believe that life has very much to offer. It can be fulfilling, happy, and beautiful. We can do difficult and rewarding things like building a family, excelling in our work, and being a good friend. Hard and sad times will come, but we can be at peace knowing that God is pleased with us and that everything will work out right in the end. Yet we can't experience any of that if we are mixed up with things like pornography! I believe that even occasional viewing of pornography is toxic. It is also habit forming and can be very hard to break away from. We live in a time where the internet is in everyone's pockets, and we have to take steps to protect ourselves and our loved ones from pornography. When I looked for an app to help keep myself safe, I couldn't find one. I decided to build one myself. I've been building things since I was a kid, and I am energized by the challenge. (Tyler used to build robots and all sorts of machines with constructs, legos, bits of wire and metal--basically whatever he could get his hands on. His interest in computer coding started when he was about 8 or 9 years old) I didn't want my app to block pornography - that felt like compulsion. I knew compulsion would only get in my way and would be too easy for me to bypass anyway. I wanted to pattern my app after the old advice to keep your family's computer in a place where people could walk by and see the screen. The transparency would keep the person accountable, and so no compulsion would be needed. It took a year and a half to finish the first version of my app. I called it "Ever Accountable." I have built a team of people who are passionate about helping those who want to stay away from pornography. We now have Ever Accountable available for almost all popular devices. As people all over the world have used the app, I am more and more convinced that building on the principle of accountability was the right decision. Accountability doesn't only help people to stay honest, but it breaks down the isolation that comes with pornography. It also provides proof to wives and loved ones of someone who has struggled, helping them to rebuild trust that has been broken. I often hear from our customers and their loved ones. The message is consistent - accountability to another person works! Our app works as long as it stays out of the way and encourages accountability. Our app fails if ever it gets in the way of accountability. We work really hard to make Ever Accountable simple to use, impossible to bypass, and encourage our customers and accountability partners to ask questions and be open.

What kind of day-to-day work do you do for this company?

My overarching job is to make sure we are helping our customers to live above pornography. A huge part of that is to attract and keep a great team of people. Other things are to ensure we choose the right features to work on, make sure that bugs are fixed, that our systems are being built in a solid way, and that we're treating our customers super well. I spend a lot of my time answering emails. When I'm lucky, I dive into the code and work on our next features.

And what does a typical work day look like for you?

I try to start every day with a prayer and a run on the treadmill. Next I usually have a meeting or two with people on my team over Skype. Then it is upstairs to breakfast with the family. After that I go into my office. I can work from home, but it is too easy to get distracted there so I have an office I drive into. On the drive to and from work I'll listen to scriptures or an audio book. Currently I'm in the middle of a biography on Abraham Lincoln. I recommend everyone read a book about him. I also recently finished the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson, and a fascinating series of lectures about the search for exoplanets. I read a lot of business and science books. One of my favorites is "How to Win Friends and Influence People." At work I'll plow through emails on innumerable topics. I'll answer questions and make decisions and give instructions on all sorts of things. I'll review code from our engineers, hiring documents, training materials, security policies, and customer concerns. Sometimes our customers or accountability partners will contact me about the positive difference that Ever Accountable has made in their lives. Reading those are the highlight of my days.

Tell me about your emotional connection to your company's mission--helping people live without pornograpy through accountability. How does this focus drive future growth and your leadership of Ever Accountable?

There is zero question in my mind that individuals, families, and our world are better off without pornography. Everybody benefits when anybody breaks away from it. I know it is true for myself. And I've heard from many of our customers, saying how their lives improved profoundly when they removed the pornography.

You must hear loads of stories about how people's lives have been hurt by pornography. Are any of those close to your heart? Have any of them stayed with you over the years, driving you to make Ever Accountable a better and better product?

I will never forget the story a woman shared with me. It was one of the best success stories for Ever Accountable and a huge motivation for me. Her husband had struggled with pornography and couldn't break free. He wanted to quit and she desperately wanted to trust him again, but how could she? Ever Accountable became her proof that he was changing, and helped him to break free. After several months of being free he said the motivation to look at pornography had gone. She told about the new light in his eyes and his countenance, and the change that came over their whole family as a result. Even though he did it in secret, it affected her and their kids so much. This and countless other stories reemphasize to me that the principle of accountability is timeless and powerful. My job is to ensure that our apps build and apply that principle for people.

Ever Accountable's mission includes helping people live their lives to their full potential. What does your life look like when you are living to your full potential?

Happy! The world is beautiful! Our logo with the sun coming through clouds is absolutely how I feel about living above pornography.

What are some of your goals for the future of this company?

I want Ever Accountable to be there for everyone and anyone who wants help overcoming pornography.

What is your favorite thing about your job?

In a recent review in Google Play, one of our customers said "This app saved my marriage". That is my favorite thing about this job.

Thank you for chatting with me today! One last thing..

Favorite book: Maybe "A Tale of Two Cities", but there are so many great ones it is hard to say Favorite food: Whatever fruit is in season on the fruit trees I planted in our yard. Favorite band/musician/musical group: I'm an audio book kind of guy Best part of the day: When I'm with my family If you had a superpower it would be: Fly Favorite movie: As a kid it was Hunt for the Red October. I don't watch many movies now The most fun thing you did recently: Raced go-carts with my brothers Poetry or prose? Not good with poetry Sunshine or shade? Sunshine Early bird or night owl? Early bird Introvert or extrovert? Introvert Think before you talk or talk before you think? Think before I talk. Definitely.

Thanks again, have a great day, Tyler!

Thanks Katie!