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James Quigley
Multi-Time Entrepreneur, Board Member, Economic Development Wonk, Community Builder
James Quigley is a prominent figure in the Fairfax County business community, serving as the Chair of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) Board since June 2016.1 He brings a wealth of experience in technology entrepreneurship and economic development to this role.
Professional Background
Quigley is best known as the co-founder and former CEO of GoCanvas, a Fairfax County-based mobile technology company that creates cloud-based software.12 He's also the co-founder and partner of Refraction, a creative co-working community in Reston focused on fostering startups and scale-ups.12
Achievements and Recognition
Throughout his career, Quigley has received numerous accolades:
- Named one of the Top 50 CEOs by the Center for Innovative Technology23
- Recognized as one of the top 20 global executives in his field by CLO Magazine13
- Awarded the Information Week Business Innovation "IT Hero" award in 201613
- Listed as one of Washingtonian's Top 100 DC Tech Titans in 20173
- Finalist for Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year award in 20183
Economic Development Contributions
As Chair of the FCEDA Board, Quigley plays a crucial role in shaping economic development strategies for Fairfax County. He was part of the strategic team that put together the region's successful bid for Amazon's HQ2.2 His focus on highlighting and growing the business base in Fairfax County, particularly in the technology and innovation sectors, has contributed to the area's significant turnaround in the tech industry.2
Other Roles and Interests
Quigley is deeply involved in community service and industry leadership:
- Chairman of the Board for The Washington West Film Festival12
- Served on boards of the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce and The Northern Virginia Community College Foundation2
- Former U.S. Naval Reserve officer1
His LinkedIn profile (username: quigleyjames) highlights his passion for economic development, board games, and his belief in prioritizing corporate culture and focusing on a company's "why".4
Highlights
Hard to believe that after 16 years and started around my dining room table - our little idea grew up and became a powerhouse and now becomes part of another fantastic team BlueBeam.
This marks my last month with the team going from Co-Founder and CEO for 13 years to board member the last few years as our new CEO - Viyas Sundaram and the entire 300 person team led this last amazing march of growth and innovation. I am so proud of what the team and Viyas have done and proud of their success. Thank you Viyas for being a great partner along the way!
I also wanted to THANK our early VC investors including Osage Venture Partners and River Cities Capital along with every early investor who believed in us and our ideas for mobilizing the work force. As well K1 Investment Management and Simon Yu & Sujit Banerjee who believed in us when we were ready for bigger things!
Last but not least all of our super early team members who joined us when we were young, fledgling and working out of a townhouse in Reston - they bet on our idea with their sweat, innovative ideas, expertise , friendship and impact! Thank you !!
Joe Gatto Kalliopi Vlastos Brent Nieder Michael B. Benedict James Braun Joe Baldwin Jason Good
and of course Chris Morrisette & Matt Warner
my co-founders who stayed even after we stepped on shaky ground together so many times! I am so proud to have done this with you!
Last but not least to my partner, wife, and the reason my heart sings - Rachael (Rae) Stott - she was not only a big part of my life through this, but a big part of GoCanvas - being one of our longest serving team members. Thank You Angel for your hands on my back through this all!
Fair winds and following seas!
https://lnkd.in/eyAWGDdY
I have had the honor to work with so many great investors and partners in my history of working with start-up/scale up companies from our last round working with K1 Investment Management to my earliest stage angel investors who believed in the earliest vision. I am so honored to be able to work with one of my all time favorite partners in my journey- Osage Venture Partners. As one of their Entrepreneur's in Residence I will be helping Osage find new opportunities to invest in and helping their current portfolio of software investments get to new heights. Osage makes early round investments ($1M-$5M) with 2-3x follow-up rounds to help companies get past Product Market Fit to Full Scale up Phase and Beyond. We were Osage's first investment in the DC / NOVA region but not their last - would love to learn more about your start-up and see if Osage is right for you. Drop me a note to learn more!
