🦊 Behind the Fox: Meet Casey Barnett, Executive Director & Chaos-Conscious Founder of TCF Ventures

At the heart of TCF Ventures is someone who doesn’t just lead from the front — they’re also the one configuring the server, calming the chaos, responding to support tickets, and debugging that one weird issue no one else can figure out.

That someone is Casey Barnett: founder, executive director, and the undisputed multi-class champion of “doing literally everything.”

They/them pronouns. 500mg of caffeine per day. Dog always nearby. Vibes immaculate, if slightly unhinged.

🎬 The Origin Story: From Frustration to Foundation

TCF wasn’t born in a boardroom. It wasn’t the result of a pivot from another startup or a rebrand gone right. It was built — stubbornly — from scratch by someone who saw how bad things were and decided to make something better.

"I founded TCF because I was tired of overpriced, bloated options that gatekept small projects and indie creators. I wanted something transparent, affordable, and honest — which is rare in this space."

And that ethos hasn’t changed. From the very beginning, Casey envisioned TCF not as a “platform,” but as a toolkit for builders. Whether you're launching a Discord bot, spinning up a ShareX node, or just trying to get your little side hustle online without going broke — TCF is there for it.

Why? Because Casey’s been that person. They’ve been the underdog. The one just trying to make something work with limited resources and zero patience for corporate nonsense. TCF is their answer to all of it.

🛠 What Does an Executive Director Actually Do?

Short answer? Everything. Long answer? Still… basically everything.

“I manage the entire company from bottom to top — founder, developer, sysadmin, IT tech, customer service rep, emotional support gremlin. I wear all the hats. And sometimes I lose track of which one I’m wearing.”

Casey’s role isn’t confined to strategy or big-picture planning. One day they’re knee-deep in DNS templates, the next they’re debugging a container that refuses to start. In between, they’re checking in with team members, updating pricing models, or rewriting copy on the VPS configurator because “the vibes were off.”

But even on the roughest days, they make time to check in with the team — not because it’s a checkbox, but because that’s what good leadership looks like.

“Some days are smooth. Other days a critical update bricks half your infrastructure and you're running on panic and caffeine. But even then, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

🧠 Favorite Tools, Tech, and Trusty Rituals

Running a lean, independent hosting company takes a lot of improvisation — and a lot of Google.

“I live in docs. I live on Stack Overflow. When things break, my workflow goes: panic internally, say 'what the f—', then open Google.”

• Favorite Product: AppFox, no contest. Clean, modular, made for devs. Bonus points for having a catchy name.
• Most useful tool: Google. And caffeine. Sometimes in that order.
• Can’t work without: Discord, and the occasional 2 a.m. meme drop.
• Desk aesthetic: “Absolute chaos bomb.” A perfect blend of monitors, snacks, notes, and probably a dog hair or two.
• What powers them through the day: Music on full blast and a dog sleeping nearby. (Peak focus.)

Fun fact: when brainstorming names for TCF’s flexible VPS product line, Casey pitched “FlexFox.” It got shot down immediately by the Director of Operations for sounding “too much like buff foxes.” No comment on whether that’s actually a bad thing.

🚀 Career Highlights and Favorite Wins

For Casey, the proudest moment isn’t tied to a single feature or product release. It’s the entire journey of building TCF — and the team that’s now helping shape it.

“TCF itself is the thing I’m proudest of. And the team I’ve built here — I honestly think I’d have lost my mind if I didn’t have them.”

In a tech industry that often burns people out and buries them under buzzwords, Casey is fiercely focused on building something sustainable, transparent, and actually useful. And the fact that they get to do it with a team they trust? That’s the real win.

🎸 The Human Behind the Hustle

Don’t let the high-level tech talk fool you — Casey is also a self-proclaimed chaos gremlin.

“People think I’m all business at first. But stick around long enough and I’ll be sending you random memes at 2 a.m.”

Outside of work, Casey is rebuilding a library of remastered old games — because some classics deserve better graphics. They also wish they could instantly master guitar, and based on their caffeine intake, we’re pretty sure they could learn it in a weekend if they tried.

• Secret skill (or lack thereof): “I wish I could play the guitar perfectly.”
• Side project obsession: Replaying and modding retro games.
• Victory emoji: 💀 — because why not celebrate like a little gremlin?
• Biggest hot take: Pulp in orange juice is a crime. Just… why?

🧡 Advice from the Foxhole

TCF isn’t an overnight success story. It’s a product of long nights, tough calls, and a lot of caffeine-fueled determination. Casey’s advice for anyone starting in tech or hosting?

“It’s not a walk in the park. Be ready for long nights, sleep deprivation, headaches, and a lot of competition. But if you push through, you’ll be proud of the struggle — because it means you made it.”

And if you're ever stuck, wondering if you're cut out for it?

“Look around. If a bunch of us caffeinated nerds can spin up a company from scratch, you can absolutely build your project too.”

📢 Final Thoughts (and a Few Words of Caution)

If you’ve ever interacted with TCF support, spotted a clever Discord message, or marveled at how quickly your VPS spun up — odds are, Casey had something to do with it. And if you’re thinking about starting something of your own, take this as proof that it's possible to do it your way — even if that way involves chaos, duct tape, and a playlist at full volume.

So next time you log into your panel or deploy something on AppFox, know there’s a founder behind the curtain, drinking way too much caffeine, doing 20 things at once, and still making time to pet the dog.

And that? That’s the TCF way.

Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity and flow.

🦊 Think you’ve got what it takes to join the foxhole? We’re always on the lookout for smart, curious, slightly chaotic humans to help us build the future of hosting. Keep an eye on Discord or check out our open roles https://tcf.ventures/apply.