No one is ever quite ready for their first job. There’s confusion. And anxiety. There’s horror. And pocket money.
But in the end, the lessons you learn from that first experience will stay with you. We spoke with five local founders about their first jobs, and what lessons they learned.
Brett Rossmann, CEO, ConsumerTrack
First job: American Welding Supply
Tell me about this gig.
I began when I was 12 (as soon as I could get my worker’s permit). My grandfather founded the company, American Welding Supply, 35 years prior. It was a welding supply and industrial gas distributor. We were the largest independent distributor of industrial gases in CA — so primarily sold oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and to Silicon Valley and the surrounding Bay Area. Not sure I had a title back then, but my initial responsibilities consisted of hard labor — tearing out weeds, cleaning up trash, sweeping floors, stocking the warehouse, unloading trucks and rolling gas cylinders. My pay grade was $3.75 an hour!
Any memories that stick out?
When I was old enough to start driving a forklift in the yard, I loaded about 25 cylinders on a giant pallet and was so excited to drive the forklift that I forgot to strap them down. As soon as I pulled away from the dock with the forklift, all of the cylinders fell off of the raised pallet and slammed to the ground. It sounded like a bomb went off. Thankfully, nobody was hurt. Embarrassing rookie lesson learned about safety at a young age.
What did you learn at this position?
It taught me the value of the dollar. It also taught me about discipline, setting goals and how hard you need to work to earn a living. It inspired me to take on more roles and responsibilities and to learn the business inside and out, so that I could move up into a more attractive role.
What happened after you left this position?
After working in the family business for six years, I graduated from high school and went to college. When I graduated from USC, the internet was booming and I was excited to pursue a role in sales and online marketing. After working at an internet company for five years, I caught the online bug, met my business partner and it was time to start ConsumerTrack.
Ryan Cummins, Co-Founder, Omaze
First job: The Grand Rapids Press
Tell me about the gig.
My motivation for taking the job was strictly to bankroll my addiction for baseball, football and basketball cards. Back then paperboys were paid on a per-home basis, so the goal was to get as large a territory as you could win. I scored a 100+ home route, which was a major coup in the competitive world of paperboys, and I quickly realized that the fastest feasible transportation to go door to door was rollerblades. So each day I’d factory-assemble multiple giant side satchels worth of pre-rolled papers, and then unload my inventory on wheels. I can only imagine now how ridiculous I must have looked. That said, I felt pretty baller amassing my hard-earned collection of Barry Sanders rookie cards.
What did you learn at this position?
Initially, my father wasn’t too pleased I’d secretly applied for and got this job. I think he was concerned that all of our neighbors might look to him if their papers stopped arriving seven days a week, but I was dead set on nailing this role, and within a few weeks had earned a reputation for getting folks their paper in time to read it with their 7 a.m. coffee.
That’s when I learned that the quality of your work speaks volumes to your personal brand, which in turn makes collecting bills much easier. It also kept me perpetually hired for odd jobs around the neighborhood. Also, cultivating an image as a rollerblading paperboy unknowingly kept girls from being the least bit interested in me, which in turn allowed me to keep focused on the work. It was a vicious cycle of prosperity.
What happened after you left this position?
I quit roller-blading, swore off any future work that directly involves rubber bands and accurately predicted the eventual downfall of print media given the rise of the internet and smartphones. (At least two of these three things are fully accurate.)
Aric Ohana, Co-Founder, Envoy
First job: Sales at a commercial mortgage company
Tell me about this gig.
I moved to NYC in 1999 to attend Yeshiva University. During summer break in 2000, I worked in a "boiler room" for a commercial mortgage company. The office was located in a backroom of book manufacturer in Brooklyn. Along with 50 other college kids, my job was to make cold calls to commercial property owners and convince them to refinance their properties with us.
Any memories that stick out?
My college roommate and I were both hired. On our first day, we were given a chair, a phone and a pile of cards with leads on them. There was no training or any direction on what to do, except to call the numbers on the cards. We legitimately had no clue. We didn’t even know what a mortgage really was. We sat there for the first 30 minutes in complete bewilderment and fear. How do we pitch something we don’t anything about to complete stranger? So, I just picked up the phone and made my first call.
By the end of the second week, I was averaging 200 calls a day. I was using terms like “LIBOR,” “prime rate” and “loan to value,” all which meant little to me just a few weeks prior.
What did you learn?
I learned that the first time only applies to the first time. What you don’t know now is just an opportunity to learn something new. Perseverance and dedication can be all you need to succeed.
What did you do after?
There was a pizzeria on campus that I ate at daily. I became friendly with the owner, who ran the place for several decades. Towards the end of the summer, he told me he wanted to retire and sell the business. I asked him how much he wanted and then I put together a one-page investment Pro-forma and started pitching people I had met through the mortgage company. Within a few days, I raised all the money needed. By the start of the new school year, I owned my first business.
Ori and I have brought all our life lessons to Envoy, both our achievements and lessons learned. Envoy is a testament to perseverance and dedication. Just recently, we were invited to participate in a demo week. It was the first time I would be speaking in front of such a large audience. I had the same feeling of fear as I did on my first day at the mortgage company. However, I didn’t let that stop me; I knew the first time only applies to the first time. The following week I spoke in front of a crowd of 1,500 people.
Ori Sagie, Co-Founder, Envoy
First job: Cashier, cook, coffee maker and owner of an espresso bar
Tell me about this gig.
I grew up in Israel, so right after the Army, I opened an espresso bar in Tel Aviv, where I pretty much did everything myself!
I opened the shop because I recognized that coffee was beyond a trend, it was part of life. There were limited coffee options available in Israel at the time, so I learned everything I could about the industry — from the beans, roasting and best espresso machines — and used all that knowledge to create the perfect space. I was one of the first to introduce high-quality coffee to the Israeli market.
Any memories that stick out?
One morning, it was especially busy and we were super short-staffed, so I was cooking, serving and at the register. One customer asked me if I could let the kitchen know to substitute something in the dish she ordered — I laughed because I literally WAS the kitchen! She was very sweet and said she should talk to my manager to tell him to say how accommodating I was. I said, “Thank you, I appreciate it. Manager just notified!” It was a crazy time but I learned so much wearing so many hats!
What did you learn in that position?
Owning my own coffee shop, I learned that the customer is not always right, but he's still your customer. The consumer experience is what matters most. To create a loyal base of happy customers, you need to listen to the feedback and learn to adjust and react in real time throughout your operation. I’ve taken this idea to every venture of which I’ve been a part.
Massimo Cristini, CEO, BlockFraud
First job: Field technical engineer, Reuters
Tell me about this gig.
I was a field technical engineer for Reuters in 1993, back when the internet was in its infancy and the first mobile phones were "transportable." At the time, Reuters was almost a monopolist in providing IT systems for stock exchange real-time info and trading.
Any memories that stick out?
I was repairing a computer in a bank, and happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Basically, while I was simply repairing the keyboard of a PC in the trading room of a large American bank in Milano, the bank's entire system went down. It also just happened to be election day in Italy. It was the worst working day of my life.
What did you learn at this position?
I learned that I was really attracted to new technologies and, also, that I'm very inclined towards dealing with other people.
CJ Christensen, Founder and CEO, Avenues.Club
First job: Complete Demolition Services
Tell me about this gig.
Right after college, I took a job as the site assistant at a demolition company. Eventually, I rose to the position of superintendent.
Any memories that stick out?
There was the youngest guy on the crew who would hate doing clean up for whatever he thought was a "bad job." His constant complaining about being stuck with what he thought were bad jobs really started to leak and affect the group's energy. One day, I decided to challenge him to a pull-up contest. If he lost, he would get all the bad jobs for the rest of the day and couldn't complain, and, if he won then I'd do the job I asked him to do.
I didn't quite go into this unprepared. I had just graduated from the Citadel, a military college, so it ended up being a pretty effective way to motivate him. Near the end of my time on the site, I caught him practicing pull ups at lunch and on a few of his breaks. Eventually, he did end up beating me a few times, but I didn't care who won at that point, because his attitude completely turned around, and the same stubbornness that gave me such a hard time was transformed into a hugely positive force to help keep everyone going on a particularly tough day.
By the way, it's not feasible or recommended for everyone, but smashing stuff all day leaves you pretty stress-free by the time you go home.
What did you learn at this position?
I learned that as a leader, your team will only work as hard as you do. You can't push them and go easy on yourself or work yourself to death and go easy on your team trying to do everything for them.
Set a standard and don't fall below it. Work hard and hold the people under you to the same standard. Sometimes you don't know if you've made the right decision; that's ok. Stay fluid, and if you made a mistake, never make it again and learn the lesson.
Images via participating companies, social media and Shutterstock. Responses edited for clarity and length.
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