Meet Josiah Johnson, a man about town y’all! Josiah is one of those cool persons that everyone wants to befriend. He knows, so it seems, e-v-e-r-y-o-n-e. At least, he knows anyone who went to Western Washington University and now lives in the greater Seattle area.
Josiah is the consummate networker, which has made him an effective salesperson in the service sector. I was once his boss, but it was actually him who recruited me to be the VP of Sales at Endeavor Consulting where we first worked together. Later, we came up with an automation web analytics concept called “ZeroDash1” that eventually sold to Ascentium.
Now, he has recently left Ascentium to start his own technical consulting and staffing agency with a few of his old colleagues. He and his partners have the title “Boss” at Job Mob, but all specialize in different areas. Of course, Josiah will be on the front-end of sales, working his broad and deep network.
Job Mob wants to leverage Web 2.0, Online Community and Social Networking-based platforms to discover and solicit pools of technical talent. Very kewl… after all, he worked at ZeroDash1, a web analytics and optimization company.
So, how about the timing of starting a new company in the midst of the current economic downturn? “Well, one, there is never a good time to jump off a cliff,” he says. “Two, I feel there is still a shortage of technical talent in the Pacific Northwest. The advantage of starting a company such as ours, with very little overhead and a pretty achievable profitability mark, is that when the market upswings you are in a prime position with a good reputation and the right contacts.”
I will miss working with Josiah, and certainly wish him well. After all, he was the one who strongly suggested I redo my wardrobe during a “dress for success” intervention. No matter what clothes you put on me, I will never be as kewl as Josiah — that’s for sure.
Please comment if you have your own stories about the man, Josiah. Or just give him input.