Jim Fowler

Founder/CEO of InfoArmy. Formerly Founder/CEO of Jigsaw (purchased by Salesforce for $175M).

Website: www.jimfowler.com
San Mateo, California, United States
Member since August 12, 2009

About

Education

1987 University of Colorado, Boulder , BA , Central and East European Studies.

I am a(n):

Entrepreneur

Companies I've founded or co-founded:

Jigsaw, InfoArmy

Companies I work or worked for:

NetGravity, Personify, Digital Impact

If you're an entrepreneur or corporate innovator, why?

I want to change the world.

My favorite startups:

InfoArmy, uTest, Twitter, Square

What's most frustrating and rewarding about entrepreneurship/innovation?

Frustrating: The ups and downs. One minute you think you'll conquer the world and the next minute you think you've got a house of cards.

Rewarding: being able to take an idea and make it real. Nowhere can you do this faster and with less B.S. than the internet.

What's the No. 1 mistake entrepreneurs/innovators make?

Lack of focus.

What are the top three lessons you've learned as an entrepreneur?

1. Focus relentlessly. You can't solve all the world's problems at once.
2. Watch your cash closely. You can see cash problems coming a mile away.
3. Fix your hiring mistakes quickly.

Full bio

Jim Fowler is Founder and CEO of InfoArmy and serves on the Board of Directors of CrowdFlower. Prior to InfoArmy Jim founded Jigsaw in 2003 and was CEO until it was acquired by Salesforce in May, 2010 for $175M. Jigsaw is best known for pioneeringCrowdsourcing in the BtoB information industry and for creating the business category ofData-as-a-Service (DaaS). Before his career in technology Jim was owner and operator ofLookout Pass, a ski resort in Idaho, and served in the US Navy as a Diving and Salvage Officer. Jim is a graduate of the University of Colorado and lives in San Mateo, California with his wife and son.