JackTemplin (Jack Templin )
Interests
About Me
I am an Internet consultant and entrepreneur specializing in online business models and user experience strategy.
I grew up in Burlington, VT, studied economics and architecture at Middlebury, and then spent 2.5 years as a Peace Corps and United Nations Volunteer in the Solomon Islands of the South Pacific.
I returned to the States in 1994, the same year the web caught fire with the debut of the pioneering Mozilla browser. I caught the Internet bug, and enrolled in NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP). I worked as an entrepreneur, consultant, and adjunct professor in New York until 2005 when I moved to Providence.
It's good to be back in New England. I love Rhode Island and the community here. I believe we have great potential to become a hotbed of info-tech and digital media entrepreneurship and innovation. I co-founded Providence Geeks with Brian Jepson. More recently I have had the pleasure of working with the RIEDC on the RI Nexus initiative. I also serve on the Mayor's PEDP.
Through my small consulting firm, ThoughtCap, I build and lead highly skilled "SWAT teams" to provide clients with Internet strategy and web application development services.
I am partners with Allan Tear and Owen Johnson in Betaspring - a mentorship program (and soon to be investment firm) for teams of young entrepreneurs.
I love Providence's arts and culture scene and am on the board of AS220.
Recent Content
Title: Hands-on Hacking with Allison Nixon (Event)
Submitted: March 9th, 2012 - 1:09pm
7 - 9pm Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Providence Web App Security Group
Title: Providence Geeks March Dinner (Event)
Submitted: March 9th, 2012 - 12:58pm
5:30 - 8:30pm Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Title: March Providence Geeks Dinner (Event)
Submitted: March 9th, 2012 - 12:52pm
Title: Cool new Providence Record Label (Forum)
Submitted: July 23rd, 2009 - 1:35pm
What is ANCHOR BRAIN? It is a new record label whose goal is to utilize fresh marketing ideas to bring international attention to the many amazing and unique bands originating in Providence, R.I. Plans include replacing obsolete Compact Discs with limited-edition silkscreened posters that come complete with a download code for the record. The label will also release limited-edition silk screened LP’s, subscription-only unreleased tracks and will have worldwide digital distribution.
Title: Tour 7 Downtown Properties in One Afternoon (Forum)
Submitted: June 15th, 2009 - 4:09pm
This is a really good idea:
Are you thinking of leaving behind the sprawl, packing up your belongings and moving from the burbs to the city? Or, maybe, you’ve just always wanted to live in lovely Downtown Providence. Either way, now is your chance. The Providence Foundation, Live Downcity and the Downtown Neighborhood Alliance are collaborating with seven Downtown and surrounding properties to bring you a comprehensive tour of available residential space.
Title: Young Innovators & Entrepreneurs: How a New Generation is Reshaping their Careers and the Economy Thurs, Apr. 2nd 9:30-11:00am (Blog)
Submitted: March 25th, 2009 - 1:59pm
The good folks at Johnson & Wales' School of Technology invited me to speak, and we've collectively turned the opportunity into a joint JWU and RI Nexus event on a topic close to my heart: innovation and entrepreneurship among college students and recent grads.
I've been thinking about this topic a lot the past couple of years, and have become convinced that these very young entrepreneurs and innovators could and should play a key role in the transformation of Rhode Island's economy.
I've talked with dozens of you in RI's info-tech and digital media community about the possibilities and challenges, and appreciate the opportunity to get my thoughts down and engage a larger audience in the discussion.
Here's the description for the event - I hope you can make it.
Young Innovators & Entrepreneurs: How a New Generation is Reshaping their Careers and the Economy
Xavier Auditorium
259 Pine Street
Providence, RI
Google Maps
Thursday, April 2nd 9:30-11:00am
Innovation and entrepreneurship among college students and recent graduates has surged in recent years. The economic downturn is further fueling this trend, as more members of this new generation realize that pursuing their passions, and starting their own businesses, is the best route to building a more fulfilling, lucrative – and even more secure – career.
Simultaneously, across the nation, academic, business and government leaders are beginning to recognize that nurturing these young entrepreneurs and innovators is key to reshaping their communities' economies.
Using info-tech and digital media – the industry sector at the vanguard of new generation innovation – as our lens, we'll survey these dynamics, their implications, and strategies for taking advantage of them. We'll do so from the perspective of both students and recent grads looking to forge their careers, as well as from that of faculty, business professionals, public officials and others interested in supporting their efforts.
Recent Comments
I don't know much about this but the 2 names I hear frequently are:
VirtualPBN - www.virtualpbx.com
Grasshopper - http://grasshopper.com/
Hope this helps.
Jack
Open Coffee folks, please note that our usual venue - Cafe 729 Hope - has suddenly closed. Therefore we are going to be holding the next Open Coffee at Whole Foods. We will see how everyone likes this and possibly try other venues as well. Also for the Summer, Open Coffee will be Thursday mornings, instead of our usual Tuesdays. We look forward to seeing you all at our new time and venue(s).
P.S. Thanks to Dana Paul for the good suggestion of Whole Foods. They have lots of parking, food choices (duh), seating, and WiFi.
Hi Samir, as long as your interested in talking tech entrepreneurship and drinking coffee :-) you're more than welcome. If you're more interested in talking tech, I'd check out some of the other locals groups including DC401, the Providence Web Development & PP Meetups, and Providence Geeks (all are on the calendar). Thanks for your interest! Jack
Hi Tony, thanks for your message. We've had a lot of updates over the past month - News Radar, Calendar, and Directory, but yes, slow on the blog - apologies, everybody. We're implementing some pretty big homepage changes that will make the current blog area much more dynamic and updated. Stay tuned.
Jack