Our Team

Andrew Ellis

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Founder and President 

Profile

Michael Kubala

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Chief Technology Officer 

Profile

Matt Blake

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Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer

Profile
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Why Gaudete?

Gaudete is Latin for "Rejoice".

Gaudete Development was founded in 2017 to build mobile applications and we quickly became focused on the burgeoning Cannabis Industry.   With over 60 years of combined experience, founders Andrew Ellis and Matt Blake complement each other like Yin and Yang - Industrialist and Artist - coming together to serve clients with Creative Digital Media.  


Drawing upon our broad experience and foundation as mobile app designers, we have the ability to help Cannabis Industry Participants with Branding & Corporate Identity, Website Design & Development, Graphic Design, Digital Photography & Videography, Production, Copywriting and Social Media.

Andrew Ellis

Founder and President

As Founder and President of Gaudete Development, Andrew Ellis oversees day-to-day operations, manages client and vendor relationships and plays a key role in  determining the company's vision and growth strategy. 


Prior to founding Gaudete,  Andrew served as president and chairman of a regional financial services firm with over $4 billion in client assets.   His background also includes brand development, communications and copy writing.  Andrew earned his B.A. in Economics from the University of Missouri-Columbia.


With 30 years of business management experience, Andrew has the expertise to shepherd Gaudete's growth as a software development, advertising and multi media company. 

Michael Kubala

Chief Technology Officer

As Chief Technology Officer of Gaudete, Michael Kubala is a software engineer and oversees Gaudete's suite of IT platforms and programs, system integrations and software development teams. 

 

Michael earned his B.S. in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Missouri-Saint Louis and has technical expertise in Javascript, jQuery, AJAX, HTML5, CSS3, NodeJS, Gulp, Python, SQL, C# and software expertise in Adobe Creative Suite, Visual Studio and NetSuite ERP.


With over 15 years of experience in web design and management of Information Technology teams,  Michael keeps Gaudete's IT systems running at optimal levels in a secure environment.  His personal projects include video game development and robotics programming.

Matt Blake

Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer

As Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Gaudete Development, Matt creates, produces and edits images, videos and broadcasts for the company and clients.   


Prior to co-founding Gaudete,  Matt served in various creative and marketing roles for Fortune 500 companies.  Matt earned his B.A. in General Studies from the University of Missouri-Columbia with an emphasis on marketing, advertising and graphic design.


With 25 years of advertising industry experience, Matt has the expertise to help clients effectively communicate their message through multiple media platforms.   An artist first, Matt shares his vision and Thought Leadership with organizations such as Conscious Capitalism and the Buckminster Fuller Institute, among others.