I was fortunate enough to finally get to meet Scot Wingo of Channel Advisor at the eCommerce Summit a few weeks ago. Although we only chatted briefly, he did promise to take part in a special “5 Minutes with…” feature for Ink. True to his word, he obliged last week and I’m happy to share the results with you now. Enjoy.
Cheers,
RBH
5 Minutes with… Scot Wingo
Full Name: Scot Wingo
Nickname: scotrover on eBay
Official Title: CEO and Co-founder
What You Really Do: Work to keep ChannelAdvisor on the cutting edge of ecommerce
Your First Day on eBay: I believe it was in mid ’97, my account says ’99, but I started a new one then.
Education/Schooling: I have a Computer Engineering background with undergrad from the University of South Carolina and Masters from NC State University
Interests: Personally – I pretty much spend non-work time hanging out with my kids – sports, ballet, Gymboree, etc. I’m also a huge Star Wars fan. Professionally – I love the ecommerce space and am more recently really interested in the various social network sand platforms.
Favorite Quote: “Do or do not… there is no try” – Yoda
Most memorable eBay experience: Post 9/11, there were many charity auctions and at ChannelAdvisor we helped run many of them raising millions of dollars. We also invested quite a bit to support GivingWorks and have brought tons of GMV through that platform and on to a host of charities.
Most recent eBay purchase/sale: A classic Nintendo 64 system for my son’s bday (shhh)
Favorite Albums: (I like more current stuff): Silversun pickups – Swoon, Only by the Night – Kings of Leon
Favorite Movies: Make mine sci fi: Star Wars, Terminator, Matrix, Spidey
What You Wanted to Be Growing Up: Luke Skywalker
Fill in the blanks:
I should have _not stayed up so late working__ yesterday.
I wish that I could _spend more time talking to customers. eBay sellers are a great bunch – smart, hard-working and very entrepreneurial_________.
The first thing I do when I get to work is: Play ball with my dog, Kit.
Some additional Q’s
Congrats on what I hear was another successful Channel Advisor Catalyst. For those unable to attend, what were the 3 main takeaways?
1. Dinesh did a great job explaining where eBay is going and admitting they had made some mistakes. That was a refreshing message.
2. The recession has hit everyone hard, but the survivors are going to come out stronger.
3. This is a great time to take share in ecommerce. If you are growing at > 5% y/y you are taking share – think about how to ratchet that up.
I receive emails and comments from folks with regularity, stating that they miss the “old eBay”? What do you miss about it? What don’t you miss?
I think of eBay as the original social network [editor’s note: couldn’t agree more. This is something I relay repeatedly when asked] . There was always an ecommerce element, but eBay built a great social graph around affinity groups. For example, I collect a very specific type of comic book art. 5-10yrs ago on eBay there was a lot of auctions going on, lots of discussions around this and the site was much more open. I could follow what other buyers were doing, track the sellers more closely, etc. That intersection of true-auctions, affinity groups and the social graph was special and that has left eBay.
Would you be interested in contributing to Ink in the future? Recommend individuals both inside and outside the company I should be interviewing?
Sure
What’s the elephant in the living room that I’m not addressing? Is there one? Many?
Too many to go into