Josh Richards
Private Investor
Richmond, Virginia, United States
Summary
🤩
RockstarJosh Richards is an information technologist and private investor with over two decades of hands-on experience designing and operating Internet-based services across startups, corporates, and public institutions. He founded and leads Josh Richards Consulting, applying deep expertise in IP network architecture, data center operations, Linux/Unix systems, and information security to solve stubborn infrastructure challenges. As CTO and co-founder of Digital West and an early engineer in the late-90s dotcom era, he blends entrepreneurial grit with disciplined operational practices shaped by multiple market cycles. An active open-source contributor, he has improved functionality, security, and documentation for Nextcloud—ranging from server bug fixes and performance optimizations to clarifying user-facing docs. Based in Richmond, Virginia but originally from San Luis Obispo, he also publishes practical guidance for independent consultants and selectively manages his own investment portfolio informed by long-term mispricing opportunities. His background reveals a rare mix of low-level systems craftsmanship, technical writing, and investor intuition that helps teams move from brittle to resilient operations.
10 years of coding experience
10 years of employment as a software developer
Stackoverflow
1reputation
0reached
1answer
0questions
Github Skills (17)
file-management10
back-end-development10
sphinx10
security10
php10
documentation10
nextcloud10
debug9
open-source9
desktop8
grafana6
amazon-web-services6
terraform6
cprogramming-language5
cpp5
Programming languages (21)
Github contributions (5)
nextcloud/documentation
Jan 2023 - Mar 2025
📘 Nextcloud documentation
Role in this project:
Technical Writer
Technical WriterContributions:127 reviews, 169 PRs, 204 pushes in 2 years 2 months
Contributions summary:Josh primarily contributed to the documentation of the Nextcloud project. Their commits focused on refining and expanding various sections of the documentation, including installation guides, server tuning, and user manuals. The contributions involved adding clarifications, fixing typos, and updating the documentation to reflect the latest features and changes in the software, improving the overall usability and clarity for users and administrators. They also added instructions on how to enable specific features and troubleshoot common issues.
manualnextcloudsphinx
nextcloud/desktop
May 2023 - Feb 2025
💻 Desktop sync client for Nextcloud
Role in this project:Technical Writer
Technical WriterContributions:2 reviews, 12 PRs, 10 pushes in 1 year 9 months
Contributions summary:Josh primarily contributed to the project's documentation by updating and clarifying existing documentation files. Their commits involved adding warnings about sensitive data in logs, updating configuration file options, and correcting parameter defaults. They also addressed documentation relating to whether a setting was Linux-specific. This suggests a focus on enhancing the clarity and accuracy of the project's documentation, enhancing user understanding.
cppnextcloudsyncc-plus-plusdesktop
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