A Mid-Career Switch: From Massachusetts State Trooper to iOS Developer-To-The-Rescue

After writing about Lovestagram, the app that Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger's girlfriend made for him as a Valentine's Day present, we didn't think we could find a cuter story. But we totally did. Smoopa, a mobile commerce app I wrote about yesterday, is also the by-product of a little love story. Derek Langton, who served as a Massachusetts state trooper for 18 years, picked up programming over the last year and a half to change his career and prove his ex-Googler husband and Smoopa's co-founder, Mendel Chuang wrong. "When you have an economy like the one we have now and when you're trying to change career paths, it's not easy," Langton said. "But it comes down to motivation. It's?like losing weight. People try and fail. But when you see that it's a lifestyle change and you make it part of who you are, you can be successful."

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