The First Customer - Turning Small-Town Hustle Into Big-Time Software with Founder Joshua Davidson

In this episode, I was lucky enough to interview Joshua Davidson, CEO and founder of Chop Dawg.

Growing up just outside of Atlantic City during the Great Recession, Josh saw firsthand how fragile traditional industries could be. Watching friends’ families lose homes and his father work multiple jobs gave him a survival instinct and a drive to create opportunities for himself. By the time he was a teenager, Josh was building websites door-to-door and helping small businesses grow, even in the middle of an economic downturn. That early tenacity and optimism became the foundation of what would evolve into Chop Dawg.

Over 17 years later, Chop Dawg has grown from building websites for local businesses to developing complex apps and software for Fortune 500 companies, healthcare systems, universities, and household names like Wawa, Six Flags, and the Philadelphia Eagles. Josh shares how staying true to unconventional branding choices, leveraging repeat business and referrals, and being an early adopter of trends like generative search (GEO) have kept his company ahead of the curve. Through it all, his focus has remained on understanding clients deeply, building genuine partnerships, and refusing to play catch-up with competitors—choosing instead to set the pace in his industry.

Be inspired by Joshua Davidson’s path from teenage hustler to leading Chop Dawg’s global impact in this episode of The First Customer!


Guest Info:
Chop Dawg
https://www.chopdawg.com


Joshua Davidson's LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dasjoshua/

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayaigner/
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