Today we’d like to introduce you to Joel Evans.
Joel, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I have always had an interest in technology. I was a self-taught “Geek’, and my first job out of school was tech support for a Waltham-based software company called iMarket. I quickly moved into being the Operations Supervisor for our seminar program, which is how we would sell our CD-ROM based solution. While at iMarket, I started building solutions to streamline my day-to-day work. This also led to me embracing the Internet and the ability to build a website. I started by building a website that was dedicated to my passion, technology, and shortly thereafter created what later became Geek.com, which I officially founded in 1996 with Rob Hughes and my brother, Sam Evans. Geek.com was born because I had a passion for technology and thought that there was a need for a site dedicated to news and reviews of the latest technology.
My writings received recognition from large companies like Microsoft, Palm, GTECH and others, and the Wall Street Journal and New York Times recognized myself and the site as being on the forefront of technology. I was then approached to do consulting for a number of companies around mobility, where I built some of the first apps for a variety of mobile platforms while most people were just using a phone to talk. I then was the Director of Mobile and Wireless Solutions for GTECH, a company that built the hardware and software for lotteries around the world, where I was responsible for building some of the first mobile games for the lottery.
Shortly after selling Geek.com, I started a mobile development and consulting company, Cronk Software. I had always been doing consulting, managing development teams and building apps that other people wanted built, but now I wanted a chance to build out my own vision. I started by building games, including a match-3 game called Cronk, and then myself and my partners were soon building applications for businesses. I also continued to help large companies understand what mobile was going to mean to their business.
In 2011, I was introduced to my soon-to-be co-founders of Mobiquity, who had a history of building companies around technology waves. We clicked with our vision of what mobile was going to do to the world and then co-founded Mobiquity Inc., to help companies understand how to navigate the latest wave: mobility.
Since our founding of Mobiquity, I’ve held a variety of roles, including VP of Development, where I led teams that built mobile applications for more than 200 global brands. These days I serve as an emerging technology expert (Alexa and voice technologies, bots, IoT), and help companies understand how to leverage the latest technology. I was also recognized by Amazon as an Alexa Champion, of which there are less than 30 worldwide. I’ve been very fortunate in that I’ve been able to make a living doing what I love.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has been a wild ride. We went from being one of the only ones in the space, to seeing smaller companies spin up, and even new competitors from overseas. As expected, competitors came in all shapes and sizes, including the big consulting firms. We have persevered, though, sticking true to our mission of delivering quality applications that we can be proud of.
We have stayed true to our original vision, evolving over time to embrace the latest digital technology, which these days includes voice, bots, IoT, and more.
The biggest challenge has been keeping up with demand. As we offer our clients the ability to “start where they are,” we provide a wide variety of services, which requires experts in a variety of areas. We learned quickly that we needed to retain and train, to secure and retain the best talent.
Now that voice is the new digital engagement channel, we’re seeing similar patterns arise, where competitors of all sizes are surfacing. Again, though, we have stayed true to our values and our mission, and have yet again risen to the ranks of being recognized as a top partner in voice, as well as mobile and digital solutions.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Mobiquity is a digital engagement provider that works with the world’s leading brands. We have a team of consultants, designers, developers, cloud advisors, and data scientists that builds digital experiences across channels – mobile, web, voice, IoT, chatbots, etc.
Our solutions are inspired by the human experience. We believe that the best solutions overcome our pain points, satisfy our wants and needs, and deliver added value to the user. It’s the human experience that leads us to these understandings.
We are proud that leading brands, including Nestlé, IHG, and Amica, trust us to transform their businesses with digital innovation. We are also proud to have deep and broad expertise that allows us to address all aspects of our clients’ digital objectives. From being named an Amazon Web Services Premier Consulting Partner to gaining recognition for our voice expertise, we bring a wide range of capabilities to any client engagement.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I think that Boston is an amazing place to start a business. There are incredible universities and access to some of the top talent in the world. There’s also access to other entrepreneurs, co-working facilities and even venture capital. Most important, there’s a great work / life balance, with a ton of meetups for just about anything that you’re interested in, both work and personally.
Contact Info:
- Address: 51 Sawyer Road,
Waltham, MA 02453 - Website: http://mobiquityinc.com
- Email: jevans@mobiquityinc.com , sfenkell@mobiquityinc.com
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/mobiquityinc
- Other: http://www.linkedin.com/company/mobiquityinc
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