Damon Thomas, Partner
QuiqLabs

What we do:
Quiq Labs provides comprehensive mobile Web and app answers for businesses and organizations that have a marketing goal to reach mobile users via Web, email marketing and social media. We help you do it and we help you do it right.

Education:
I attended Ohio State University mastering in economics and entrepreneurship.

Age:
45

Family:
I’m very single yet super busy. I’m a father of two children and two grandchildren. I have a married brother in Ohio and a sister who lives in Stockton. I really, really love them all and they inspire me to do big things. 

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Why did you decide to start Quiq Labs, Damon?
Quiq Labs was an effort to provide a way for companies to reach the increasingly growing mobile phone user base and to be able to track that growth and activity in real-time. Logo branded QR Codes and mobile websites were our flagship products during our launch.

Who else is involved in the company’s ownership and day-to-day management, Damon?
Curlen Phipps is the Chief Technologist and Software Guy. I’m the User Interface and User Experience Architect. Only being two of us, we hold more positions than that. We’re looking to expand this year.

What are the biggest challenges to surviving and thriving as a tech start up in the Central Valley, Damon?
There are many challenges. Most of those challenges involve simply having an opportunity to get in the door to give a dynamic and interactive fifteen-minute presentation. Sometimes the local market does not understand the value in Internet and an online presence so we expand our market while keeping our offices local. Other times small and large companies are working with Web teams from other states, not knowing local web technology businesses are here to help them. We’d love to have the phones ringing from local companies who know we exist and know we are here to help.

What is your company focusing on most in 2015, Damon?
QuiqCourses.com currently; QikAcademy.com starting February 9th! We’re so excited to announce so many things this year, including QikAcademy.com, our new hands-on social media training classes. We are going to teach individuals and businesses how to increase their social media exposure, turn “Likes” and “Followers” into customers and the most effective strategies and best practices for using social media, email marketing and so much more. We’ll also be announcing two new office locations and plan on having our first ribbon cutting at the end of February. Here is a Business Journal exclusive! Our current office location is inside Bitwise Industries at 2210 San Joaquin St. Fresno, Ca 93721. Mark your calendars for February 25th!

What awards have you or your company received, Damon?
Our team has won two 59 Days of Code awards for best software ideas in the entire Central Valley. 2013 was our second and biggest 59DOC win and that year we introduced our QikLead.com logo branded QR code solution. 2014 we won the prestigious Rising Star Company Award at the Fresno Advertising Federation’s 2014 honors luncheon in front of our marketing and media peers.

How important is it for local businesses to understand and utilize social media, Damon?
Incredibly important for one super big reason: their customers are there. Every business and organization needs to have a presence where mobile customers are visiting several times a day, every single day. If you’re not there, your competition could be getting your social media presence.

Does your company have any type of tie up or relationship with big tech players like Google, Damon?
Yes! Thanks to our 59DOC win and our strong relationship with the Fresno Metro Black Chamber of Commerce, California Black Chamber and the U.S. Black Chamber we were invited to Google, featured in a Google video and have connects with two amazing people there. Keep an eye out on some announcements we’ll make this year.

What was the best advice you ever received, Damon?
Never give up. If you stop, you’ll never make it.

What are your roots in the Central Valley, Damon?
My business partner Curlen and I are both from Cincinnati, Ohio so we don’t have roots here per se. However, Curlen’s wife Michele’s family has roots here. Her roots brought them here and I followed to start a technology and graphic design company.

What was your very first job and what did you learn from it, Damon?
McDonald’s. Customer service, hands down.

What do you like to do in your spare time, Damon?
Travel, weight lifting, rock climbing, biking, spending time with friends and family including my nieces and nephews in Stockton, reading, bowling, dinner with a lovely woman, dancing and gettin’ in some controller time on my PlayStation to name a few. I’m working on break dancing again in 2015.