一个顶级吃货的创业史

    4. 别人给你的最佳建议是什么？

    身为创业者，Y Combinator合伙人之一、Gmail之父保罗•布赫海特总是说，要做出有些人绝对热爱的东西，而不是许多人仅仅有些喜欢的东西。这对任何一位创业者来说都是最高明的建议，因为拿出较好的东西很容易，但要拿出令人叫绝的东西真的、真的很难。那就是我应该为之奋斗的目标。

    5. 你打算着手的下一个大项目是什么？

    我想，我们真的已经在食品领域找到了把内容和商业结合在一起的东西，特别是通过我们讲述产品的故事以及对那些制作者的介绍。我们觉得自己既是电子商务公司，又是讲故事的人。我一直觉得视频是一种奇妙的媒介。摄影一直是我们用户体验的核心，但我想我们可以借助视频把我们的内容深入到远远超过现在的深度，这是一个令人兴奋的机遇。

    6. 你的公司目前面临着哪些挑战？

    很幸运，我们增长得相当迅速。由此带来的挑战是继续高速增长，同时保持对文化和招聘质量的关注，而且还要为增长速度搞好积累。如果说有什么让我夜不能寐，那就是这件事——确保我们找到了正确的位置。

    7. 无论是个人方面，还是职业方面，你希望自己能够实现的终身目标是什么？

    打造一家能改变整个行业的公司。一个人创造的东西不仅能服务于数百万消费者，还能赋予整个行业的生产者一些能力，确实是件很特别的事。我认为手工艺品交易网站Etsy已经为手工产品制造者做到了这一点，对此我很欣赏。我们正在为精美食品和招牌食品所做的工作和Etsy极为相似。创建一个能提升整个行业的平台让人很振奋。

    8. 你怎样平衡自己的生活？

    从小时候起，如果不到处跑，如果不参加体育活动，出一身汗，我就会坐立不安。如果有几天不运动，我就难以集中精力。可以是任何运动，网球、篮球、跑步或者骑自行车都行。体育馆对我来说超级重要。

    9. 你最近读了哪本书？

    马尔科姆•格拉德韦尔的《大卫与歌利亚》（David and Goliath）。他的书把心理、商业和历史交织在一起，我都很喜欢。这本书特别谈到了处于下风时的优势。在我的世界里，处于下风就意味着建立一家初创型企业，听听历史上初出茅庐的小人物所成就的了不起的大事非常让人受启发。

    10. 你有什么独特或者奇怪的习惯吗？

    我经常请人吃饭，而且喜欢看他们在尝试新食品时的反应。我觉得这个习惯来自我父亲，他总喜欢做饭，请人吃饭。特别是在我尝试了新产品，发现它让人赞不绝口的时候——我就是需要和别人分享。我们很大一部分工作就是通过食品来传播幸福。一道菜也能很怀旧，让人重温美好的回忆。帮助人们更容易地找到这样的时刻，同时和别人分享这样的经历，这确实是件很特别的事情。（财富中文网）

    译者：Charlie

    4. What is the best advice you ever received?

    As an entrepreneur, Paul Buchheit -- who is one of the partners at Y Combinator and the creator of Gmail -- always said build something that a few people absolutely love rather than build something that a lot of people just kind of like. For any startup entrepreneur those are some of the wisest words because it's easy to push out something that's kind of good, but it's really, really hard to push out something that's amazing. That's what you should strive for.

    5. What's the next big project you want to tackle?

    I think we've really hit on something with the convergence of content and commerce in food, specifically in the way we tell the stories of the products and artisans we showcase. We view ourselves equally as an e-commerce company as we do storytellers. Video has always been a fascinating medium for me, and we've just started delving further into video-based content. Photography has always been core to our user experience, but I think there's an exciting opportunity for us to use video to take our content far deeper.

    6. What challenges are facing your business right now?

    We're fortunate in that we're growing pretty quickly. The challenge with that is continuing to grow at a fast pace, and at the same time maintain focus on culture and quality of hiring, while at the same time building for speed. If there's one thing that keeps me up at night, it's that. Making sure we find the right spot.

    7. What is one goal -- either personal or professional -- that you would like to accomplish during your lifetime?

    Building an industry-changing business. To create something that not only serves millions of consumers, but also empowers an entire industry of producers would be something really special. I think Etsy has done this for the crafts industry, and that is something I admire. There's a lot of symmetry with what we're doing for gourmet and specialty food. It's exciting to create a platform that uplifts an entire industry.

    8. What do you do to live a balanced life?

    Since I was a kid, if I don't run around or play a sport and work up a sweat, I get antsy. If I go a few days without exercise, I have a hard time focusing. It can be anything from playing tennis or basketball to going for a run or a hike. The gym is super-important for me.

    9. What was the last book you read?

    David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell. I love his books in general with the intersection of psychology and business and history. This one in particular talks about the advantages of being an underdog. In my world, that means a startup, and it's very inspiring to hear historical takes about little upstarts that can do amazing things.

    10. What is one unique or quirky habit that you have?

    I feed people constantly and love to see their reaction to trying something new. I think I get it from my father, who has always loved cooking and feeding people. Especially when there's a new product that I've sampled that I know is just amazing -- I just need to share it. So much of what we do is spread happiness through food. A dish can be so nostalgic and bring back such great memories. Getting to facilitate these moments and share these experiences with people is really special.