Carl Smith is co-owner and customer service representative for nGen Works, a full-service web development and technology company in San Marco that opened two weeks ago in the old Beaute A Go-Go space.
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
“We went through 150 names. It’s actually two things: nGen is an abbreviation of next generation and engine is a driving force.”
HOW BIG IS THE COMPANY?
There are four partners: Carl Smith, Bruce Cooke, Stockton Eller and Varick Rosete. “Bruce, as the perfection proponent, handles quality control involving everything from pinpoint pixel accuracy to consistency. Varick [whose title is design matters] is an amazing designer. He is on the forefront of the look and feel for what we do. Stockton is our multimedia Magellean. If you need it to be done online, Stockton is the one to get it done. All the guys are involved in design, but Stockton makes it work.”
WHAT DOES HE DO?
“My role is to keep an eye on the customer and make sure their experience throughout a project is good and to make sure commitments are met and any changes in the scope of the project are addressed so that there are no surprises. The other part is making sure that I am the eyes and ears to our customers’ customers when they come to the website or whatever the project may be. I ensure, from a user perspective, that I can use it. A lot of times a company will build a website and they will lose sight of the fact that it’s for somebody else. I’ve seen companies build websites based on their internal department structure or they get in a big turf war [among departments].”
DOES HE ALREADY
HAVE CLIENTS?
“We have a list of prospects, but I was careful not to pursue business before I left. Husk Jennings knows I left for personal reasons, my growing family. We do have some interest, but we haven’t actually pursued any business yet. We are waiting to get our materials together.”
WHAT DOES HE LOOK FORWARD TO?
“Seeing results from helping people line up their website with their business goals.”
WHAT PROBLEMS DOES
HE ANTICIPATE?
“Most challenging will be getting businesses to look at things from the customer’s perspective and getting away from their day-to-day routine.”
WHY LOCATE IN
SAN MARCO?
“At first we were trying to find a more central location [to all their residences], which would have driven us to Southpoint. But as for this location, everybody knew where Beaute A Go-Go was. Plus, we love the San Marco area.”
HOW DO THEY DIFFER FROM THE COMPETITION?
“In Jacksonville, there are not many firms similar to ours. There are a lot of freelancers who do good design. There are also other companies that may do more as far as back-end service but we offer a comprehensive package. We do all the stuff that makes people’s eyes glaze over [with boredom and/or a lack of comprehension]. It’s a much more complete offering that we bring to the table.”
WHAT IS HIS BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY?
“Our mantra is serious fun. Serious is how we approach the work and fun is how we execute it.”
HIS BACKGROUND?
“I was at Husk Jennings for almost 14 years as the media director, senior vice president of interactive and was also doing account service. At Barnett Banks, I worked in direct response with basically anything that involved mail. Then I worked for Hilton hotels, launching their time-share product.”
HOW DID THE
FIRM ORIGINATE?
“What happened was we [he and his wife] had a second child. I told the president [of Husk] that I needed more flexibility with my time. I needed to be home more. In the meantime, Stockton called. He had been freelancing and wanted to do something different. Bruce is my best friend and had been working with Stockton on some things. Varick worked at Husk Jennings with me. He was planning to go to animation school in San Diego, but decided he’d rather stay with his friends.”
HOMETOWN
Jacksonville.
EDUCATION
Smith graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor’s degree in advertising.
FAMILY
Mandarin residents Smith and wife Kathie recently had a second daughter, Elissa.Kali is their two-year-old. Smith is a professed video game junkie and enjoys off-beat comedies such as the independent film “Waiting for Guffman” and the HBO show, “Six Feet Under.” His favorite restaurant is Cafe Europe in Palm Beach.
ANY BRUSHES WITH FAME?
While in Las Vegas, Smith partied with Drew Carey and Colin Mockery from “Who’s Line is it Anyway?” and musician Joe Walsh from the Eagles.
WHO’S YOUR HERO?
“Spider-Man. He was the first superhero that wasn’t an adult, wasn’t rich and wasn’t self-sufficient. He was a teenage kid with girl problems. He showed that ordinary people can do extraordinary things — if they’re bitten by a radioactive spider.”
— by Monica Chamness