How Will Strohl Put Love & Integrity Into Tech: The Story of Upendo Ventures

Will Strohl at Laurel Street, San Carlos, in front of the Centennial Mural

Where Technology Slows Down Enough to Listen

On a weekday morning in San Carlos, Laurel Street has its own rhythm. Coffee cups clink. Familiar faces pass by. Conversations resume among kind people. That rhythm offers a useful entry point into understanding Will Strohl and the company he started: Upendo Ventures, a Bay Area based software and consulting firm that operates across three continents and ten countries.

Yet its center of gravity remains firmly rooted in San Carlos’s walkable downtown, where neighbors linger over coffee and share a genuine sense of connection. “The small-town feel where you actually know your neighbors, paired with an entrepreneurial energy you don’t find everywhere,” Will said, when asked about San Carlos.

He calls it “something special”, and that special something has has shaped both Will and his work for years. That story began with a single word. 

The Meaning of Upendo

“‘Love and integrity’ are literally the foundation of my company and my life,” Will says. “Upendo is the Swahili word for ‘LOVE,’ and the company is named in honor of my late soulmate, who shaped the way I see the world.”

Upendo Ventures was built intentionally against the grain of a tech industry that often prizes speed over care. Will describes slowing down enough to ask, “What’s the right thing here? What’s the human thing?” That philosophy guides everything from how his team communicates with clients to how solutions are designed and delivered.

“I wanted a company built on sincerity, fairness, and a sense of partnership,” he explains. “A place where clients feel cared for and empowered, not talked down to.”

That clarity of purpose is not theoretical. With more than 20 years in web and software development, Will has led teams that reached Inc. 5000 growth status and earned recognition across the DNN and .NET ecosystems. Those years of experience led to multiple DNN MVP awards, along with his work as a published author, a keynote speaker, and a long-time contributor to open source communities.

Upendo reflects everything he learned along the way, shaped as much by love as by technical expertise. 

Will Strohl at the San Carlos City Sign

Finding Home in San Carlos

Will arrived in San Carlos in 2011 after staying for some years in Orlando, Redwood City, and San Diego. Like many who land here, he wasn’t sure it would last. “Instead, it became home almost immediately,” he says.

What sealed the decision to stay was the people. “San Carlos is full of families, small business owners, volunteers, and Community Leaders who genuinely care about each other. I felt welcomed from day one.”

“You can walk down Laurel Street, grab a coffee, and run into someone you know every single time. That sense of connection and pride is rare, and it’s the exact kind of place I wanted to build a life, and a business, in,” Will said.

Leadership Under Pressure

Before Upendo, Will led high-growth teams navigating the familiar pressures of scaling. “We were building a product while also building a company, and doing it fast,” he says of his Inc. 5000 experience. “We faced all the classic challenges: scaling infrastructure, hiring the right people, and making tough decisions under pressure.”

The DNN MVP recognition came from a different kind of work. Years of writing, speaking, mentoring, and contributing to the community. “That work grounded me,” Will says. “It reminded me that leadership isn’t about being the loudest person in the room. It’s about serving with consistency, humility, and a desire to make things better for the community around you.”

It’s a philosophy that carries through Upendo today. Steady. Collaborative. A people-first mindset.

2012: Will Strohl holding a lecture about DNN

Global Work, Local Tables

Upendo Ventures works with clients across continents, but local San Carlos businesses gain something extra. “You can literally find me at a table on Laurel Street,” Will says. “If something comes up, we can talk face-to-face.”

There’s also an intimacy that comes from shared context. “I understand this community. I shop here, volunteer here, and build relationships here. I know how local Customers behave, how they search, and what they expect.”

For business owners in San Carlos, that translates into something special: enterprise-level strategy without enterprise distance. Global experience, tailored to a local budget and culture.

Making Technology Feel Possible

Many small business owners arrive at Upendo feeling overwhelmed. Will hears the same thing often. “A lot of small business owners tell me they feel ‘dumb’ or ‘behind’ when it comes to tech, and the first thing I do is remove that pressure. No jargon. No judgment.”

The process begins with a simple question. “What are you trying to achieve, and what’s getting in the way?”

From there, complexity gets translated into plain English. “I show them a clear path… usually in two or three steps, not twenty.”

The goal is confidence. “My goal is for them to walk away thinking, ‘Oh… this is totally doable.’ And then we walk the path with them, step by step.”

The Quiet Power of a Good Website

At their best, Upendo becomes an extension of a client’s team. “We often become the online tech arm of our Clients,” Will says. For businesses without a full internal tech staff, that support can be transformative.

The missed opportunity is often hiding in plain sight. “A well-built website can be their hardest-working employee: bringing in leads, saving time, and giving customers a great experience before they ever walk through the door.”

When systems align, momentum follows. Sales grow. Operations smooth out. Work feels lighter.

AI With a Human Pulse

As AI reshapes how companies operate, Upendo takes a measured approach. “AI is powerful, but only if it’s used thoughtfully,” Will says. “We focus on using AI to enhance the human experience, not replace it.”

That means automating the repetitive so people can focus on relationships. Personalizing without losing empathy. Using technology as a tool, not a substitute for empathy, service, and integrity.

Will Strohl at the  Horizon Light Mural located at the North Wall of the Crepe Stop

Giving Back, Quietly and Consistently

Will serves as a Board Member for the Community Foundation of San Carlos, an organization working behind the scenes to strengthen the city’s social fabric. “I believe deeply in the idea that a community grows stronger when everyone has a chance to be supported.”

“San Carlos looks effortless from the outside, but it takes an enormous amount of volunteer work, planning, and collaboration,” Will said, pointing out the unseen work of CFSC. Vetting nonprofits. Coordinating grants. Building programs that connect neighbors across differences. “That’s one of the many things I love about San Carlos. It’s a community whose roots were literally built on this kind of community building.”

It’s that same ethic of community-building that led Will to help champion the effort to turn Laurel Street into a permanent pedestrian plaza. “I accidentally created a campaign that helped make Laurel Street permanently closed to traffic, and today the downtown is more vibrant than I’ve ever seen it. Families are walking, kids are playing, groups of friends are meeting up, it feels alive in a way that wasn’t as common before,” Will said.

Coming Full Circle on Laurel Street

When asked if, by any chance, he became mayor of San Carlos – “Don’t worry, I’m not running,” Will jokingly replied. But as a citizen of San Carlos, he says, “I’ve lived here a long time, and I’ve seen firsthand how much positive change can happen when people come together.”

Like other citizens, He would love to see two things prioritized: 

The first, to create more opportunities for people to actually meet each other. “We only have around 30,000 people here… we should know more of our neighbors,” Will replied. “When people know each other, patience goes up. Empathy goes up. And a lot of the tension you see around traffic, growth, or change naturally goes down.”

And second, make San Carlos safer and more comfortable for pedestrians and cyclists. “Most of us live within walking distance of downtown or one of the local shopping areas, and many of us want to walk or bike. But the truth is, our traffic patterns don’t always show much patience for pedestrians, and those pedestrians are literally our neighbors,” Wil said. “Ironically, it feels safer to walk down El Camino in spots than it does on the narrower parts of Laurel Street. (It would be good) to change that balance so people on foot or on bikes feel like the city is truly designed for them, not just for cars passing through.”

More connection. Safer streets. A city designed for the people who live in it. That idea echoes back to where this story began. A café table. A familiar face. A conversation that doesn’t rush.

Upendo Ventures exists in that same space. Where technology slows down enough to listen. Where business feels personal again. Where love and integrity are practiced.

And on Laurel Street, that practice feels right at home.

PS: Upendo Means Love

Please consider sharing some love with the Community Foundation of San Carlos. Support Our Local Nonprofits: cfsancarlos.org