After graduating from Harvard in mathematics, Sam Nelson worked as a teacher at the Casablanca American School in Morocco. Returning to America, he studied at Teacher's College before becoming the Senior Software Engineer at Small World Software, a startup Web development company, and helping it grow from three employees to more than 50. He then became the Director of Software Development at The New York Times Electronic Media Company, helping to develop the Times' web properties in a rapidly changing media environment. He left the Times to for Clever Name Here, a consulting company providing open-source solutions for not-for-profit organizations and labor unions. In 2014, he started The Daily Panel.