Role: Managing director
Company: Digital DNA
Track Record:
The ability to learn from his mistakes has been just as valuable to Gareth Quinn’s career as any qualification
Give a brief outline of your career to date.
After studying ICT at the University of Ulster, I got a job in the Electoral Office where I became Area Electoral Officer. This was my first step away from IT and into my career in the public sector. I moved to the Lord Mayor’s Office in City Hall before taking on a policy development role and then a role working with elected representatives. It was an excellent job, but it just wasn’t for me and I didn’t get the buzz I wanted from my career. I decided to leave the public sector life to explore a new challenge doing my own thing and Digital DNA was born.
What was your favourite subject at school?
Business Studies. In hindsight it created that little spark that one day I’d like to have a go at running a business myself.
Did you go on to further/ higher education, if so what did you study and where?
I went to the University of Ulster and after failing miserably in the first year of a degree in Computing and Information Systems, I dropped down to undertake the HND which I did part-time over six years. I went back to university in 2008 and completed an MBA which was hugely enjoyable.
How did you get into your area of work?
I just started doing something I had a passion for and thankfully, I was able to turn it into something that could pay my salary and the salary of others.
Is this what you always wanted to do?
To be honest, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do — as a kid I just wanted to wear a suit like my dad!
Were there any particular essential qualifications or experience needed?
My qualifications and experience helped, but they were not essential. Making mistake after mistake and hopefully learning from some of them, proved to be more valuable.
Are there alternative routes into the job?
Yes, follow your passion sooner — do it when you have less to risk and less to lose.
What are the main personal skills your job requires?
Resilience, communication skills, drive, the ability to ask for help, to learn from failure, dependability, honesty, industrious, people-orientated and versatile. If you can bring a mix of those to the table, you’ll be in good stead.
What does a typical day entail?
Every day varies. After we get our three kids fed, changed and off to school, it’s everything from meetings with the team and planning with our senior team to conference calls with sponsors, speakers and partners for Digital DNA 2016. We are doing a lot internationally which commands Skype and conference calls at different times of the day and night. A large part of my day is spent doing what we all do, the grind, emails, calls, reading proposals and various correspondence. I do spend a fair time in some fine coffee establishments which my team like to tease me for, but it’s all very necessary.
What are the best and most challenging aspects of the job?
We are very fortunate to be delivering something very exciting. We have a huge loyalty base who love what we do and a group of stakeholders who believe in our vision. They’re a joy to work with and they help us make Digital DNA impactful and successful. The most challenging aspect of the job right now is resourcing and planning effectively for the large amount of opportunities that we have. We need to make sure that we keep focused on our core objectives and that we execute them effectively and to the high standard for which we have become known.
Why is what you do important?
We employ an excellent team and we are responsible for ensuring that we have a sustainable and profitable business that allows them to earn and be part of something special while allowing them the opportunity to have a good quality of life. In addition, in 2015 Digital DNA positively impacted 3,000 young people through our Digital Futures Programme and we directly engaged with over 1,000 business people to help them grow their business locally and ultimately internationally. This is important as both these elements will help to bring increased wealth into Northern Ireland, improving our economy and increasing the opportunity for and improvement in the quality of the lives of our citizens. It was on this romantic notion that Digital DNA was founded in 2013.
What advice would you give anyone looking to follow a similar career path?
I’d repeat the advice I was given myself when starting a business — be totally focused on what you want to achieve. Padraig O’Ceidigh told me at the beginning of this journey, ask yourself three key questions: What are you doing now? What do you want to be doing? How is what you are doing now helping you to get to where you want to be? My advice is to answer the questions with honesty and you’ll be on the right path with a great chance to succeed. If you weren’t doing this what would you like to do? I’m not really sure, but I do enjoy creating and shaping my own thing so I guess I would like to be building another type of business.
If you could go back, what is the one piece of advice you would give to yourself on your first day?
Don’t worry too much that you don’t know what you want to do or ‘who’ you want to be — follow what you have a passion for, enjoy it and it’ll all work out.
Describe your ideal day off.
I love going for a ‘boy day’ with my two sons James and Thomas. Maybe going to McDonald’s for lunch then bowling and the cinema, before we meet up with my wife Lisa and daughter Katie after their ‘girl day’. Then it’s on to dinner before heading home to crash in front of the fire with a glass or two of wine.