It was mid-2014, and the Wix Community team contacted me, telling me to answer some questions about myself, in order to prepare a piece about some Wix employees thoughts and insights.
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We're working on a blog series introducing members of the Wix team in a fun angle, and would love it if you can spare 5 minutes to answer the following questions:.
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This is what I sent them.
The final published piece was different enough (surprized, huh?) from the content i provided, that I feel comfortable posting it here.
You can find link to the final published piece at the end...
What was the most "out of the box" (shoe salesman, window cleaner, drill sergeant, animal trainer, etc) job you've had? During the summer vacation (July) at the age of 10 (?), I delivered "breakfast groceries" to people's doorsteps before they wake up... I would wake up at 4am, get on a van, and travel amongst the rich-and-famous houses of a well-to-do neighborhood. I would hop out of the van, evade the neighborhood dogs who would run loose, race up to the door, and leave a bag with roles, milk, cheeses and other groceries (whatever they ordered) at the doorstep.
What was the weirdest thing you had to do in that capacity? Well, besides evading the dogs? To optimize the time-to-doorstep, I would hop off the van before it fully stopped... Once, I lost my balance after the hop, and the van ran over my arm. Amazingly enough, nothing (and I mean - NOTHING) happened to my arm. We even x-rayed it to confirm. Nothing... (RJS Note from 2015: This was truly Unbelievable. I always believed G-d protects the fools. Now I had proof :-)
What was the key career take away from that job?
That sleep is great, but highly overrated, and surely not as required as many people think... (I got along just fine on sleeping 3-4 hours a night... I think I still do. Y-A-W-N)
That launching a product too soon (read "hopping off the van too soon") has its hazards (read "the van ran over my arm") - but can help you reach the market sooner... So launching a product too soon is worthwhile considering... But be sure to consider the downsides too. And if you choose to launch sooner, be sure to learn what needs fixing, and fix it sooner rather than later.
How did that job or other stations along the way prep you for what you're currently doing at Wix?
No sleep? Totally Wix!
Launching sooner rather than later (and fixing and improving the whole time)? Totally Wix!
Any words of wisdom to share?
Surmera. Assetov! - Good for work. Good for relationships. Simply good.
Always Share. (RJS Note from 2015: Sharing is Caring!)
Appreciate what you have while you have it - and not after you miss it.