Parents will be parents. Even now, my mom asks me sometimes, 'When are you going to go back and get a real job?'
It was tough times in Ohio when we lived there. My dad was between unemployed and just selling random knickknacks at a flea market. My mom was a cashier at a Chinese food restaurant. They both had awesome careers back in Taiwan, and they came here for my sister and I.
Growing up poor taught me a lot. It instilled in me the ethics of hard work.
Every person who starts at Boxed does shifts at the fulfillment center. It doesn't matter if you are the general counsel or the COO.
Working at a fulfillment center is definitely not the most glamorous job. I know because, in the early days, that's what I did, day in and day out. I had a tape gun in my hand, and I taped boxes.
I'm a firm believer in karma. By doing good, good things eventually find you. I don't have an American Express Black Card, but I like to think that I would if I could fill it with karma points.
As ubiquitous as the brands of the warehouse clubs are - Costco, BJ's and Sam's - they're not everywhere. If you have less than a million people in your town, or less than 500K, you might never get access to wholesale savings.
Education was the motor that allowed me to make my way up the ladder.
My management style is one of inclusion, meaning we're all one team no matter if you're making an hourly wage at the fulfillment center floor, if you're a C-staffer from a public company.
I start the day just with the family. I don't check emails until my commute, and I make sure my phone isn't close to me until I'm out the door.
The ultimate goal is to be the leader in mobile commerce. I'm not just saying revenues; if you're trying to find a good experience of buying something on your phone, I want you to automatically think, 'Boxed has one of the best, if not the best, experiences of buying something on your mobile device.'
Everyone is now praying at the altar of every last dollar of profits to please shareholders. If you invest in your people and treat them well, it's a different way to increase profits.
