JC Grubbs

JC started his career in technology after attending Campbell University where he studied classical piano performance. During his junior year, he and two classmates partnered to launch an Internet Service Provider which would serve the university and surrounding area. The business grew to provide dial-up internet access to over 80% of the households in a local 3-county radius, in addition to helping dozens of local businesses launch their first websites. The company would eventually be sold to a regional ISP during the first broadband wave. Through that early entrepreneurial experience, JC was introduced to software development and was hooked by the process and the power that technology has to transform businesses. Over the next 15 years, JC honed his skills as an engineer, architect, consultant, and product leader. In 2011, he founded Tandem (known at the time as DevMynd) with the mission of bringing together the very best software engineers and setting them loose on challenging business problems. Today, Tandem has evolved into an end-to-end product development and innovation firm with services including: business strategy, user research, UX/UI design, product management, software development, hardware design, and managed services. In 2012, JC was honored to be included in Crain's Chicago Magazine's Tech 50 list for his contributions to the Chicago technology community. And, in 2017 JC was included in Crain's list of notable LGBTQ executives in the Chicagoland area. He has worked tirelessly to create a company culture which has allowed Tandem to become one of the most diverse tech companies in the country. In 2015, Tandem was named #481 on Inc. Magazine's list of the 500 fastest growing companies in America. In 2016, Motorola Solutions (a leader in public safety and industrial communications) made a significant investment in Tandem to secure the ability to bring high-quality custom technology solutions to their customers. And, Tandem has been recognized by Clutch.co as one of the top software development firms in the country on multiple occasions. In his spare time JC can be found practicing a musical instrument or developing his hobby as a street photographer. He lives in Chicago, IL with his partner and their energetic Labrador retriever, Lucy.