What You Don't Know About James Quigley

Title: Co-founder/CEO, Canvas and Refraction (co-working space)
Company: Platform replaces paper forms for businesses.  
Job focus: Continuing to scale and maintain company culture.
Customers: Subscribers in 56 countries – from Fortune 100 firms to one-person shops in healthcare, construction and retail.
2015 predictions: Another year of well over 100% growth for Canvas. The terms social, mobile and cloud will start to disappear as companies look at these as proven tools in their arsenal.
Inspiration to launch Canvas:Wanted to empower an organization’s ability to collect and share data that was typically held in the last bastion of analog tools like paper forms.
Career milestones: First release of Canvas in 2009 after challenging startup and business environment in late 2008; creating a company culture that’s home to 50 (and quickly growing) employees around the world; and seeing the impact of Canvas’ not-for-profit program, Ante Up.
Why pursue a tech career: Fascinated from a young age with how tech could empower anyone to change the world. Love turned into a career. 

Grew up: Rural upstate New York
Current home: Reston, Va. – 10 minutes from Canvas’ office in Reston Town Center.
Why DC: Moved here during first tech boom in late '90s--was focused on wireless aspects of data communication using satellites and modems.
School: US Merchant Marine Academy
First job: Worked on large supertankers in Persian Gulf during Desert Shield.
Daily habit: Tea aficionado – get to the office and make a pot.
Favorite vacation spot: Australia – we have an office in downtown Sydney.
Favorite DC restaurant: Estadio – awesome take on modern tapas.
Bucket list item: Get to last continent not yet visited: Antarctica.
Family: Two daughters (ages 8 and 9) – oldest already started her own businesses and enlists younger sister to act as the business arm to her creative.
Free time: What you’re passionate about becomes a hobby, an obsession, an occupation. Also a closet gamer.