In Memphis tech, leadership doesn’t always announce itself with a title. More often, it shows up in classrooms, in meetup events, and in quiet conversations where someone is trying to decide whether they belong.
This spotlight is part of a larger Tech Scene Media effort to highlight the educators, mentors, and builders shaping where Memphis tech is headed next.
Career Journey
James Quick didn’t begin his career with a perfectly mapped plan. He began with curiosity.
He chose Computer Science as a college major without fully knowing what it was, and quickly discovered he loved it. That curiosity led him to his first role at Microsoft as a Technical Evangelist, where two defining interests converged: building for developers and teaching them how to succeed.
That intersection became his throughline.
Since entering the field in 2013, James’s career has evolved across roles as a developer, speaker, educator, and now Product Manager at BigCommerce. His work centers on developer experience, education, and product strategy. Ensuring the people building software are supported, understood, and empowered.
But while his title evolved, one commitment remained constant:
Teach what you learn.
Lower the barrier.
Open the door.
Teaching Moment
A Moment from the Community
On July 17, James Quick joined the Design and Code meetup as our guest of honor, delivering a powerful talk titled “Creating and Navigating in Tech.”
The room was packed with Memphis developers, designers, and beginners eager to learn. A snapshot of what happens when experienced builders pour back into the community.
“I love teaching Web Development. It’s the easiest and most exciting way to start learning programming because you can share your work with the entire world.”
For James, web development isn’t just a technical skill. It’s access.
It allows someone to go from “I’m curious” to “I built this” in weeks, not years. That acceleration matters in a city where many are navigating career pivots, economic pressure, or self-doubt.
That’s why he’s invested locally.
He’s taught two rounds of the LaunchCode boot camp at Southwest Tennessee Community College, helping roughly 50 people transition into developer roles. Several of those students have since joined Memphis-based companies like FedEx, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, and AutoZone. Contributing directly to the region’s growing tech workforce.
That’s not abstract impact.
That’s Memphis talent staying in Memphis.
Beyond the classroom, he’s spoken at local meetups like Memphis Design & Code and Code Connector. Spaces where early-stage developers often attend their first tech event, unsure of what questions to ask.
He’s also spoken on global stages and built a thriving YouTube channel for beginner developers, extending his reach far beyond any single city or company.
But the pattern is consistent.
Whether the audience is 15 people in a Memphis meetup or thousands online, the goal is the same: make the path clearer than it was for him.
Teaching isn’t a side chapter in his career.
It’s the architecture of it.
Advice
James’s advice to aspiring developers reflects the lessons he learned firsthand:
Don’t just follow steps. Understand why things work. Avoid treating learning as a checklist. Tie what you build to what genuinely excites you.
And above all: invest in community.
Because in Memphis tech, the future isn’t built alone. It’s built when someone who figured it out turns around and explains it.
This spotlight is one story within a much larger movement. A reminder that teaching is one of the most powerful forms of leadership our tech community has.
And when educators choose to stay engaged locally, the impact compounds.
Fifty students become fifty careers.
Fifty careers become momentum.
And momentum becomes an ecosystem.