Dave Mackey - Eccentric Quality Solutions
Augusta has long been a city full of possibility. The talent is here, the energy is here, and there is no shortage of big investments, events, or new ideas. Many say the city often feels “perpetually on the cusp” of reaching its full potential. But the first thing to know about Dave Mackey is how he chooses a more optimistic. "Augusta is a city with real momentum -- full of talent, energy, and creativity,” he says. "We have unique businesses and organizations doing amazing things in our city."
For Dave, the question is not whether Augusta can succeed, but how. His answer begins with trust.
“Communities grow when people trust each other enough to collaborate. You can have a lot of activity, but if it’s siloed or fragmented, it doesn’t add up to something bigger.” He has seen how a small group of people who enjoy working together can create something powerful. Dave has also seen how fragile trust can be, and how difficult it is to move forward without it. As he puts it, “Forgiveness is necessary, but it’s not the same as rebuilding trust. People need to feel safe enough to work together again.”
This challenge shows up in Augusta all the time. Every month, community calendars are packed. New organizations launch programs, and local businesses open their doors. But much of that energy never connects. “I meet people who are excited to be involved,” Dave says, “and then I realize they’ve never even heard of other groups doing very similar things.” The result is duplication in some places and missed opportunities in others.
Dave Mackey speaking at Tech Talk Augusta
Dave’s perspective is shaped by his professional work as well. As the founder of Eccentric Quality Solutions, he helps organizations build systems that make information easy to manage and retrieve. He has worked across industries, from medical visualization to legal tech, but knowledge systems are where his passion lies. He recalls spending a year with a large European bank, helping them design internal search tools so employees could actually find what they needed inside massive stores of company data.
That same instinct for clarity, he argues, can help Augusta. “What I’d love to see is a kind of living map of the city,” Dave says. “Instead of just showing restaurants, it could highlight businesses, nonprofits, and events. Right now there are amazing things happening, but most people don’t know about them.” In his view, information systems like this don’t replace human connection, but they give people the foundation they need to collaborate and grow.
This vision aligns with Dave’s role in helping to organize Tech Talk Augusta, which creates space for coders and technologists to share knowledge and spark projects. At the same time, he recognizes the important role other groups play, such as theClubhou.se, which has long provided a home for entrepreneurs and startups. Dave explains, “I started coming to theClubhou.se because I was working remotely and was looking for community. I’ve stayed for the last three years because it’s been an important part of that community and provides me with a space that keeps me in proximity to downtown Augusta, where I often take advantage of opportunities to share a meal with folks at local restaurants.”
Startup Champions Network Fall Summit Planning Committee
Still, Dave returns to the theme of trust. “The human side and the technical side have to go together,” he says. “If trust is missing, no amount of technology will make collaboration work. But if people are ready to trust, systems can give them the tools to align and scale their efforts.”
Looking ahead, Dave wants Augusta to become known for both its strong tech talent and the way people support one another. He is less concerned with attracting every company to relocate here, and more focused on creating a community where local people can thrive in tech jobs, whether remote or in person. “I’d love to see us become a place where you don’t have to leave to find opportunity,” he explains. “Where people plug into the ecosystem, support each other, and help Augusta stand out as a hub for talent.”
For him, the way forward will not come from one big event or outside investment. It will come from the steady work of building trust and creating systems that make knowledge easy to share. If people commit to both, Augusta can finally move from being a city on the cusp to a community that realizes its potential.
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