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Nicola Mustonedoes things and ships them

All about me

Hi, I'm Nico.

I've spent over a decade at the intersection of technology, communication, and leadership — learning how clear systems and good writing make both teams and products stronger.

Today I'm a Support Lead at Automattic, helping people and teams get the most out of WordPress.com and WooCommerce. When I'm not in a support dashboard, I'm building small sites, running D&D adventures, or cooking something I have strong opinions about.

16+

years in support & web development

54k+

tickets & chats answered

10+

teams & projects managed

25+

team members coached

150+

articles & essays written

What I work with

Humans

Leading & Coaching

Customer supportTechnical troubleshootingEscalation managementTeam leadershipCoaching & mentoringPerformance managementHiring & onboardingProcess & workflow designProject managementProfessional writingDocumentationTeaching & workshopsCommunity buildingEvent planningMarketingOnline advertisingStore managementOperations managementBudgeting & financeShipping management

Machines

Building & Code

WordPressWooCommercePHPJavaScriptZendeskLookerResin 3D printingAI-assisted developmentSEO

Exploring

Curiosity & Data

PythonComputer VisionNLPReactTypeScriptNext.jsAstroTailwindCSS

My experience

2022 - Today

Support Team Lead · Automattic Inc.

  • Lead a support team day to day — coaching support agents, unblocking them, and helping them actually grow.
  • Took on complex Performance Improvement Plan cases and turned several around, with real jumps in both quality and output.
  • Handle the escalations no one else wants — the high-stakes tickets where the customer relationship is on the line.
  • Create, update, and maintain our processes and workflows so the team moves faster and the metrics follow.
  • Help hire and onboard new engineers, from interviews to getting them up to speed.
2020 - 2024

Founder · Elemental Beacon

  • Founded Elemental Beacon and run a team of three, selling D&D-inspired things — 3D-printed minis, clothing, accessories — plus events, workshops, and live sessions.
  • Lead the team day to day; their well-being and growth is what keeps the whole thing working.
  • Built and ran live events across the EU, online and in person — teaching D&D and hosting games, including DnD Day 2022 in Bucharest, Romania.
  • Handle the marketing and technical sides too: ads, marketing, finances, and keeping the WordPress + WooCommerce site running.
2014 - 2022

WP.com & Woo Support · Automattic Inc. & WooThemes

  • Spent years on the front line of support, with customer satisfaction as the entire point.
  • Built and ran the Zendesk setup for every Automattic division — from scratch, documented so the next admins weren't lost — over about five years.
  • Took the interim lead position for a Woo support team for a few months, mentoring engineers and helping them level up.
2014 - 2014

Project Manager & WP Dev · ECom Lucera

  • Built themes and plugins for WordPress and WooCommerce, plus the infrastructure behind our customers and team.
  • Hired developers and designers and led the new team toward quality products and presence in the WordPress community.
2012 - 2014

Support & WP Dev · YITH

  • Built and shipped WooCommerce themes on ThemeForest as part of a four-person dev team.
  • Handled technical support for YIThemes customers across Zendesk, ThemeForest, forums, and social.
  • Wrote documentation and articles for customers' self-help.
  • Helped hire and train new teammates as we grew.
2010 - 2012

Web Dev · Freelance

  • Built and maintained websites for local businesses.