Josh Wilks: Today’s Notable Young Entrepreneur

Today’s Notable Young Entrepreneur is Josh Wilks, co-founder of the fast-growing mobile tech startup, TribalScale. We caught up with him to find out what advice he would share with other young professionals, as well as the inspiration behind his work…

WORK

Describe what you do in less than 140 characters. Go.
I manage the engineering team at TribalScale ensuring we follow our agile process to build world-class products for amazing organizations.

What was the inspiration for your career route?
Growing up, I always loved building things. When I started building software, I was hooked. I love building products that people I know can see and use. Building out top brand apps for consumers is something that only a handful of people in the world have the pleasure of doing.

What is the most memorable milestone in your career so far?
Sitting beside NFL hall-of-famers while working in California building out the NFL’s mobile applications and content architecture. Oh, and they sent me to the Super Bowl.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years, 10 years, 20 years?
In 5 years, 10 years, and  20 years, I’ll be building the best engineering teams to build the best products for the coolest companies.

Do you have any advice for other young professionals?
Outwork everyone around you. Never underestimate the value of hard work and continuous learning.

Do you support any charities? If so, which one(s) and why is it (or they) important to you?
As an organization, TribalScale is a huge supporter of the Ontario Association of Food Banks (OAFB) and Ladies Learning Code.

What is one major challenge that you’ve had to overcome in your career? How did you overcome it?
Being the youngest in the room can make it hard to get your voice heard, and managing a team when everyone’s older than you can be intimidating. To overcome this, I collaborate directly with my teams to get stuff done. It’s much more effective than the mentality of having people work for you.

What does the word notable mean to you?
Someone that consistently goes above and beyond to get the right things done at the right time, to both make an impact and achieve their goal.

PLAY

Where is your favourite place to wine/ dine in your city and why?
Libretto for some gnocchi and Nduja Sausage pizza and then over to a bar, preferably a patio, with good music to unwind with friends.

What’s the most visited website on your Internet browser? The most played song on your phone?
Techmeme and HackerNews to know what’s going on in the tech world.

My Spotify is filled with rap and country, J. Cole to Chris Stapleton – it depends on my mood. Or the podcast ‘This week in startups.’

Who’s one person you think everyone should be following on social media?
Benedict Evans – @BenedictEvans

What’s your favourite country to visit and why? And what’s the next one you plan on travelling to?
Israel – I’m heading there next year and then over Europe to travel some more.

What gives you the greatest FOMO?
When I’m not in the office. Building TribalScale, every day there’s something new and exciting. Being out of the office even for a day gives me major FOMO.

What’s your guiltiest pleasure?
Domino’s large pepperoni pizza, cheesy bread, and 2L coke… don’t tell my girlfriend.

What’s something you wish you didn’t spend so much money on? What’s something you wish you spent more on?
Less money on my car, which I barely use, and more money travelling.

And finally, what does success look like to you? Work, play, or otherwise
Success is doing what you love, going to work happy and leaving happy, all while being surrounded by an awesome team and the support of family and friends.

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