Expanding the idea of what a tech job can be, Sara MacQueen
has forged her own path in the industry. As founder and
president of Big Fish Digital, she strategically chose to specialize
in mobile app development—a niche approach that allows for
a more customized experience for her clients.
So far things are going just swimmingly
as Sara continues to move for ward and
look ahead at what the future—and her
fairly new hometown of St. Pete—hold
in store for her.
You grew up in Canada, what
brought you to Tampa?
Yes, I grew up in Saint John, New
Brunsw ick, on the east coast of Canada
near Maine. In my 20s, right aer
graduating from universit y, I moved to
Australia. I loved it there and caught
the travel bug , so I lived in a variet y of
countries—France, Spain, backpacked
around ailand—before heading
back to Canada for a while and then
seling dow n here a lile over a year
ago. I used to come here for vacation
and I fell in love w ith the area—it's ver y
v ibrant, w ith a great tech scene. A er
more and more trips, I didn't just want
to vacation here—I wanted to live and
work here. So I started the process of
mak ing that happen.
Once you graduated, did you
always focus on technology?
I have a Bachelor of Science in
computer science. A er graduating ,
I was in so ware development but
didn't love the idea of spending my
career behind a computer. I gravitated
toward marketing and took more
of a management role in so ware
development.
What led you to strike out on
your own?
I founded the company in Canada
in 2010. Prior to that I was doing
contracting and consulting , so I was
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Sara
MACQUEEN
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