Bill Watt’s Blog

Well, I realized there is no list of information or background to me and having one might help folks find me if they were searching the web. I also get that resumes are meant to go from newest to oldest but this isn’t a resume… this is a tale of how I got here so sit back and enjoy.

Some basic details:

Education:
Graduated Perry High School in Canton, Ohio back in 1988
Graduated Gordon College in Wenham, MA back in 1992 with a degree in History

Jobs:

Software, Etc:
June 1992 - sometime in the Fall of 1993

Right out of college, clueless, and uh… I needed a job. I learned a ton about computers on this job because we’d constantly rip apart and reconfigure the demo machine so we could play games during our downtime. Keep in mind this was before the 486 and before the internet was everywhere. For those of you who are really young- this is before I even had a cell phone!

CompUSA:
Fall 1993 to Fall 1994

A step up from Software, Etc was my move to CompUSA. Sure, I went from assistant manager to “guy with red shirt #42″ but the opportunity seemed more fun. I found my way eventually off the floor and into corporate sales where I did ok. Anyone that knows me now would describe me as fairly sales oriented but if you know me in this phase you’d never make that mistake. I met some folks who I’m friends with even today including the Best Man at my wedding.

Athena Design:
Fall 1994 to right around the New Year 1996 (company closed)

Now comes the fun time- my first start-up down in Boston. Life was turning around with what felt like a fun new job and tons of stuff to learn. My friend Paul did me a huge favor by finding this job on the NeXT boards and I got in for an interview. Sure, I was their second choice (apparently the girl that sent in the picture of her pet pig was more interesting) but don’t worry- I made them all regret hiring me. I learned a ton of stuff, experienced the internet, did my first product demo at Comdex and found I had a gift for talking (as if I didn’t know already), learned about web servers and software development, traveled across country to do presentations to packed trainings, suckered my friend Phil into taking the startup plunge (for the first of two times), and added some more of my favorite people to my life.

DPP, Dirk and Dave- who knew we’d still be friends?!?

NECX Direct:
Jan 1996 - June 1997

Sadly, when Athena came to an end I did need to eat. A guy from my CompUSA days was working at NECX and got me an interview with yet another guy from CompUSA who was now managing there. Quick rule of thumb- if you go to work for a guy and he quits in 2 weeks, you report to his boss who then quits 2 weeks after that… you should probably take the hint.

Actually, NECX was really good for me. The job was pretty dull but I again learned a ton of things like EDI and the inner workings of one of the original sites on the web.

I won’t put it online but if you ever want to hear about the thing that finally made me quit… walk up to me and make the “loser symbol” on your forehead. I’ll know what you want and will gladly comply with the story.

CompUSA:
June 1997 - May 1998

My birthday gift to myself in 1997 was to quit the job at NECX and take a job back at CompUSA. This was not ideal since it could have been a step back to go to retail but the guys were cool, the work relatively easy and I pulled down what I thought was decent money. It was here that I learned the difference between being salesy and being a sales guy. I will never be a sales guy but I am quite salesy. The difference? That’s a story in itself.

FairMarket:
May 1998 - September 3, 2003 (Acquired by eBay)
Ah, FairMarket. What to say… I’ll get to this in a later post.

eBay:
September 4, 2003 to Present

After the acquisition I moved out to San Jose, CA to work for eBay and continue to do so now. I’m a Sr. Product Manager still focused on the FairMarket platform but I also get to work on a bunch of other projects based on my experience with FAIM, distributed commerce, and loyalty and promotions. I like to think I do a pretty good job although I wouldn’t want to ask the engineers or the business units I support for confirmation. I work with awesome people, get to work on fun projects, and the FairMarket team as it is continues to make a mark.

All in all it has been a good ride till now and I’ve tried to learn from each job, make the most of getting to know the people around me, and I try to grow each time I take a new job by looking at my performance at the last place and correct the things I didn’t like about me in that role.