So I have been starting in this new CTO Job… At The Real Real. Last time I felt so good about an ecommerce Business model was when I left Microsoft in 2007 to join the inventor of Flash Sales vente-privee.com. 6 years later, when I thought that the eCommerce industry could hardly find new ways to innovate, the founders of The Real Real explored the merge between Utilities and Commerce. And I totally bought that approach: In a world where the decisions we have to make on a daily basis become so overwhelming because of the variety and the complexity surrounding us, utility applications are emerging on our smartphones, our tablets, our PCs and our TVs. They become that abstraction layer that makes our world digestible, simpler to connect with. Need a Cab? use the Hail-O app on your phone, the yellow cab in NYC or the black cab in London will stop right in front of you and call your name. Need a Doctor? Log on to Zoc Doc, find the specialist you need, book your appointment right away and fill out the check-in questionnaire on line. Utility applications like Air BnB make our lives simpler more fun and they curate and personalize their content by leveraging on the social identity we create and grow on LinkedIn and on Facebook. The end of the anonymous web 1.0 made possible the emerging of a new form of trust, and The Real Real understood this at the right time on the right vertical. Nothing is more tied to trust and authenticity than the high-end Luxury industry.
One of the early challenges of my tenure will be to build a Product and Technology team from scratch. Find a proper balance between junior engineers full of energy and good will and senior software wizards, familiar with ecommerce, attracted by the new C2C business model (C2C stands for “Consignor to Consumers”) of this pure player and the multi-disciplinary nature of the roles animating this company. But anyway… during the recruitment process, the round of interviews usually ends with me. I’m in charge of closing the sale and setting the expectations right. And I realized that I had a more and more polished speech. I decided to share it on this Blog going forward. If it can help you in any way, it’s mission accomplished. And I’ll be happy about it.
Enjoy and Debate
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