Jack Templin

Jack Templin is well known in the Rhode Island information technology community as the co-founder of the Providence Geeks and RI Nexus. But the path he has taken to get there is worth reviewing.
After graduating from Middlebury College, Templin spent two years in the Peace Corps in the Solomon Islands.
Upon returning to the United States, Templin said in his 40 Under Forty application, “I had my first experience with the [then nascent] World Wide Web and was completely captivated.” He eventually went to work at iXL, an Internet consultancy riding the wave of the late 1990s.
He and a colleague then did what so many did at the time – they started an Internet company, which subsequently went under when the bubble burst. The painful process of laying off people reminded Templin that he much more enjoyed “actually advising and collaborating with clients, rather than building and managing a team.” So that is what he has been doing ever since through his one-man consultancy, ThoughtCap LLC.
He moved to Providence in 2005, and wanting to “build my local network,” started the Providence Geeks with technology-industry veteran Brian Jepson in 2006. Their monthly “Geek dinners” are now a must-attend event for people in the local information technology sector.
About a year ago, Templin and the R.I. Economic Development Corporation created RI Nexus, an online community that spreads information and hosts events during which entrepreneurs can build their own networks. Turns out that by following his own interests, Templin has helped a lot of other people succeed at theirs. •