#got an email about a 70 page comic book job

[interiorlulus]

!!!!!!!!!! I think my career just took off!????

[justanothersecretfangirl]

His

A/N: This is set in an AU where you stop aging when you turn 18 until you meet your soulmate so you can live out your lives together, which I am sure you’ve heard of. It’s set sometime in the future, but the exact time doesn’t really matter. I know AG Artists is in NY, and I know there are a couple of other things that aren’t exactly 100% accurate, but it’s an AU. Hope you enjoy!

Pairing: Shawn Mendes x Reader

Warnings: it’s very fluffy? All the fluff

Word Count: 5103 😯 (holy cheese nips. what?)

Y/N was perfectly fine being alone. When all her friends were out dating and going to clubs, she was studying at the most prestigious university in London. They found their soulmates and most of them are in their 70s or 80s by now. You hadn’t consciously tried to avoid finding your soulmate, but it just hadn’t happened, and you honestly didn’t mind. There was so much pressure to find your perfect match and you would much rather stay in and watch movies and eat popcorn than go out on dates. Besides, it seemed that all the good guys were taken.

You were currently sat on the couch, watching your guilty pleasure, Entertainment Tonight. Another celebrity was in rehab. A senator woke up 20 years into being married and realized she hadn’t aged a day, while her husband looks 20 years older. Another snobby pop star said something stupid. The usual. Towards the end of the broadcast, the reporter was standing in front of Island Records in downtown Hollywood.

“And our last story of the night, folks. Andrew Gertler is looking for a Head of Marketing Operations at his company, AG Artists. AG Artists is, most notably, the team that manages International Pop Sensation Shawn Mendes. Their former Head of Marketing, Justin Sterling, was let go following allegations of sexual misconduct last week. Gertler has stated they are looking for something pretty specific, but if you are looking for a job, head over to their website for more information. Back to you in the studio.” The screen flashed back to the studio, but you were thinking about what I would take to move to Hollywood.

Your entire life was in London, and had been for almost 100 years, but there wasn’t much left for you here. Your friends all had their own lives, and, if you were being honest with yourself, you hadn’t had friends in a long time. You bought your flat a few years ago, and you were the Marketing Director of a company headquartered here in London. But you lost passion for it a long time ago. You sighed, but opened your laptop to look for apartments in LA. They were expensive, but not any more so than your current flat in downtown London. You flipped over to the AG Artists website, and navigated to the careers page. The first one listed was for the Head of Marketing Operations, so you clicked on it. Reading through, it seemed like a fairly typical Ops level job, and the pay was a little increase from what you were making now.

You filled out the application, and attached your resume. You looked down at the clock and realized it was about midnight, so you decided to turn in. You closed your laptop and walked it over to your charger. You decided to make a cup of herbal tea before bed, then brought it with you to bed. You snuggled into your bed, sipping your tea as you read a couple chapters of your book. You fell asleep with your book on your chest.

The next morning, your alarm woke you from your dreams. You stretched comically, before walking over to the bathroom in your room. You took a quick shower before quickly drying and curling your hair. It was Friday, and you were so very excited that it was. Your walk to the office was quick, but it was mid January, so it was cold. You were bundled up, but still walked pretty quick to get back to the warmth.

Your work day went fine, but you were surprised when you received an international call about the time you were getting ready to leave.

“Hello?”

“Is this Y/N Y/L/N?” the pleasant sounding woman asked on the other side of the line.

“It is,” you responded kindly.

“My name is Elizabeth Sanders. I am Andrew Gertler’s personal assistant. We received your resumes last night and would like to set up a video interview with you.” You were surprised by the quick turnaround, but with the time difference, you realized they had probably received your application before they left the office yesterday.

“That would be great. I would love to talk to Mr. Gertler about the position.”

“Great!” she said, “What time would work best for you? I know you’re located in London, and that is 9 hours ahead of us.”

“Any time Monday works great for me.”

“How does 10 AM our time work for you?” You calculated it would be 8 PM your time.

“That works great. I look forward to speaking with him on Monday.”

“Thank you so much for your time! I will send you over an email with some information, and the link for the video conference.” You smiled to yourself.

“Thank you so much for your time.”

“You’re so welcome,” she said before saying goodbye and hanging up.

You finished gathering up your belongings and said goodbye to your coworkers. You made the short walk back to your flat. The warmth and cozy feeling of your apartment was a welcome feeling.

Your weekend went by smoothly. You went to the grocery store and ran a few other errands. Soon, it was Monday and you were jittery all day. You ended up leaving work early, unable to focus on anything for long enough to get much done. You walked home and, knowing you were video chatting with Andrew later, stayed in your work clothes. You did pull on a King’s College hoodie while you were making and eating dinner.

Too soon, the time came when you were to log into the video call. You were rushing to get your computer hooked up and loaded onto the video conference page. You plugged your earphones into your computer at 7:58, just as Andrew logged in. You smiled when his face came into focus.

“Hi Y/N!” You smiled at him.

“Hello Mr. Gertler,” you waved awkwardly, immediately kicking yourself.

“Please, call me Andrew. I am pretty casual, and I don’t want this to be awkward. I just want to get to know you better.” You smiled at him.

“That sounds great.”

“So, tell me about yourself.” You hated this question, but you had come up with an answer a long time ago.

“Well, I was born and raised right here in and around London. Hence the accent,” you smiled and Andrew chuckled. “I did both my secondary and postsecondary studies at King’s College here in London and I have since gone back and did a few certifications after my Masters degree in visual communication and digital marketing. I am currently the Artistic Director for a London based marketing company, and I have worked in a variety of industries, including medical and legal. While I have really enjoyed learning and growing here in London, I’d really love to dig into an industry that I haven’t worked in, and in a country I have only visited. I bring a lot of experience, and a unique perspective of the foreign markets that I believe will be an asset to your team.” You finished your monologue and noticed Andrew was nodding.

“I do see you have all the qualifications we are looking for. You certainly have the  most experience of any of our applicants. And, as you know, we need to fill this position very quickly. I have only one additional question. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?” You immediately knew he was asking indirectly about the fact that you had not found your soulmate.

“Well, Andrew, I am no psychic, so I don't know for sure. But I hope to be working at a job I enjoy and that pushes and challenges me. I am always searching for more and that usually means advancing myself in some way, whether it is in my job, or in my education.” Andrew was grinning at you.

“When can you be here?” You smiled at him and grinned.

It all happened so fast after that. It didn’t take much to find a replacement at work, and you were so happy with the choice to promote from within. The young girl who replaced you had worked very hard since she was hired and you were happy she was getting her chance.

The only thing that didn’t happen was an apartment, but your flat in London sold much, much quicker than you anticipated. So you packed up your entire life, reserved a storage unit in LA and hopped on a plane.

Part of the benefits you had discussed with Andrew was a stipend to help with your moving expenses and you figured it would cover a few weeks in a hotel while you tried to find an apartment or condo. You got settled into your suite in an LA hotel the night before you were to report to the office. Jet lag was still very much a problem and you were dreading getting up in the morning but forced yourself to sleep.

You were up and ready long before you needed to be, and you were increasingly grateful for the availability in the hotel just a block from the office. The weather in LA was so different from the weather in London, and you just put on a cardigan before your walk.

You walked into the lobby of the building and were greeted by the receptionist. You smiled at her, explaining who you were.

“Oh! We are all so excited for you to be here. Follow me and I’ll take you up to Andrew’s office!” the chatty woman said then scurried down the hallway behind her desk to the elevator. She pushed the up arrow.

“How are you liking LA?” she asked. You smiled at her.

“I am loving the weather. I left 1 degree weather in London to come here to 15 degree weather.” She looked at you like you had grown a second head. You realized it must have been the difference between Celcius and Farenheit. “Oh, that’s Celsius. I keep forgetting I’m in America.” You giggle and she laughs out loud.

“That makes more sense! The weather here must be much different than the weather there though. Do you have snow?”

“Not too much,” you said as the door opened and dinged. “Usually just have freezing rain.” The receptionist shuddered.

“That sounds cold.”

“It definitely is.”

“I love your accent,” she said with a smile.

“Thank you,” you replied. “I rarely remember I sound different, but I have gotten so many comments on it.” You laugh. “I guess that’s what happens when you’ve always lived around people who sound just like you.” The door slid open and you followed the receptionist out into a large room with a few tables. People were sitting at them, clicking away on keyboards or listening to their computers through large headphones. You followed the woman through the room to an office with glass walls. She knocked quietly on the open door and a man you recognized as Andrew looked up. He smiled at you and popped out of his seat.

“Y/N! We are so excited you’re here!” He walked over to you and shook your hand. “Thank you so much for bringing her up here, Savannah.” The receptionist, Savannah, smiled and walked out of the office.

“So, how was your trip out here?” Andrew asked, motioning you to the chair near his desk.

“It was pretty crazy, but I’m here and that’s what is important,” you said with a smile.

“That’s great to hear,” Andrew said as his phone dinged. He glanced down at his phone. “So, we’re going to jump right in today. We have a meeting this morning. But before, let me show you to your office and I’ll let you get settled.” He stood up and looked back down at his desk quickly. “Oh! I almost forgot.” He opened one of the drawers in his desk. He pulled out a box with an iPhone and a box with an macbook. “These are yours. We have already loaded most everything you’ll need on each. Your work email and calendar are both synced onto there, as well as all the phone numbers you’ll need. Work with Savannah to get you a case you’ll like for each.” He handed them to you as you followed him out of his office. You followed him a couple doors down and to another glass walled office. He opened the door for you and let you walk in before him. Along one wall was a long desk with 2 computers and drawers. The other wall had an L shaped desk with the workspace facing out towards the common area. You walked over and sat your computer and phone down on the desk.

“It’s beautiful,” you said, smiling to Andrew.

“Thank Elizabeth for that. She designed your office. We like white and clean lines here. As we had discussed on the phone, we are definitely a teamwork agency. We thought you might like to have a space where your team can work with you if you need to. They each have desks out there,” he said pointing out to the shared space, “but we thought it might nice to have a space you can work together as well.”

“That is brilliant!” you said, your British showing through. He chuckled.

“Okay, take some time to get set up. We have a meeting in 20 minutes in the main conference room.” He pointed out toward a conference room the size of half of the floor. You nodded to him.

“We are really glad you’re here, Y/N,” he said before turning and walking out.

You looked around your beautiful office before sitting down behind your desk. You thought about where you might put some of your decorations and things from home, but they were currently buried in a storage unit downtown. You chuckled to yourself before opening your phone and computer. You figured you’d need to at least know how to log in and open some sort of note taking app for your meeting. You were able to get them open and looked up just as a woman approached the door.

“Hi! I’m Elizabeth,” the woman said walking toward you, shaking your hand. You smiled at her.

“Y/N,’ you said, and she laughed.

“I could have guessed that much,” she said and you laughed. “I just came to make sure you had everything you needed before the meeting. Everyone is very excited to meet you and hear your thoughts.” You smiled at her, and looked around the office.

“I could use a water bottle? Is there a vending machine or something I can buy one from real quick?” She chuckled at you, but walked around your desk. Below the desk on the farthest side was a small refrigerator, which she opened and handed you a water bottle. You laughed as you took it from her, thanking her.

“If you need anything else, let me know. I go to Costco once a week and I can pick up anything you need.” You smiled at her, nodding. She smiled back. “It’s time to head in there. Ready?” You nodded to her, grabbing your water bottle and laptop, deciding to leave your new phone on the desk, as you hadn’t gotten it turned on yet. You followed her out of your office, which you noticed already had your name etched on the door, and across the room to the conference room. Andrew joined up with you as you approached the door. He opened the door for you, letting you and Elizabeth in the room before he walked in himself. You glanced around the table, not recognizing anyone, but that wasn’t surprising.

Andrew gestured you to the table, letting you know you can take a seat anywhere. You sat down on the side facing outside, the beautiful wall of windows showing the gorgeous LA skyline. You opened your laptop, opening Word and putting the date at the top of the page. After a few minutes, Andrew smiled and stood up. He approached a man who had just walked in, hugging him and patting him on the back. You could only see a head of curls behind Andrew’s head, but as he turned around to the room you immediately recognized him. Shawn Mendes was standing in front of you, a goofy grin on his face. He sauntered over to a seat opposite you and sat down, still chatting with Andrew.

Andrew sat back down in his chair.

“Let’s get started here,” he said. “First order of business. I want everyone to meet Y/N Y/L/N. She is our new Head of Marketing Operations. You all know we have been anxiously awaiting her jump across the pond and we are so excited she’s finally here.” Andrew smiled at you, and you were really trying to keep your attention on him and not on the curly headed superstar across the table from you. “Go ahead and introduce yourself, Y/N.”

“Oh, I, uh, I’m from London,” you said with a chuckle and everyone in the room laughed, “I have been in marketing for quite a while and I look forward to helping out and moving forward. I already know I have a lot to bring to the table and I hope to be able to learn from all of you and add my own insights,” you said with a smile, glancing around the room, finally making eye contact with smooth brown ones across the table from yours. A blush spread across his face and you looked away shyly, hoping one was not on your own.

“Lets go around and say our name and our job around here.” Andrew said, smiling. “I’ll start. I’m Andrew. I sorta run the place.” The room erupts with laughter. Everyone around the room introduced who they were and soon it was Shawn’s turn.

“I’m Shawn. I’m just a rando they let in from off the street.” The room erupted into laughter again. You realized Andrew wasn’t kidding when he said they were a casual office. Laughing and everyone seemed to be in tshirts and jeans. You immediately felt overdressed.

“Anyone have any questions for Y/N before we start?” Andrew looked around the room. Shawn cleared his throat across the table from you.

“How did you find an apartment?” he asked. “I looked for almost a year before I found anything.” The room laughed again, and you smiled at him.

“I, uh, I didn’t. I’m staying that the hotel around the corner until I can find something. I do think I saw Keira Knightley this morning though!” Everyone was laughing again and you smiled, glancing down at the screen in front of you.

“Okay, now let’s dive in,” Andrew said and started talking about Shawn’s new album. You learned it was about 75% recorded and that they had begun planning our marketing strategy. Justin had left a document that you stumbled upon on the laptop that Elizabeth must have made sure you had. You told yourself that you needed to thank her for that later. You opened it up and scanned through it. You made a few notes and then it was your turn to discuss.

“I think we need to change our approach entirely.” The room went quiet, everyone, including Shawn, looking at you with wide eyes. You chuckled. “Now I have your attention, eh?” There were a few chuckles around the room. “Okay, let’s look at the numbers. SM3 did good in most markets. We know the marketing strategy was successful. But we are also looking at a demographic of specifically girls who are reaching 18 and we all know what happens then. We need to market to a demographic of women who are looking for something in life and those who haven’t found it yet. Like me,” you finish with a quiet voice. Looking around you see a couple people nodding. It is Andrew that speaks up first.

“You know what, you’re right. Shawn is growing up and his music is growing up, so why shouldn’t our marketing strategy grow up?” The rest of the meeting went well, everyone leaving on board with your plan to mature the marketing.

“At the end of the day, they may look 18, but we don’t know how old they really are,” you had said and that seemed to strike a chord.

The next few days flew by with meetings and you were more busy than you had ever been. But you loved it. Shawn was in office almost every day, as they were really trying to nail down this plan. He spent quite a bit of time in your office, with your team working away at the table along the side wall.

As you were walking back to your office during your second week with AG Artists, a tall floppy haired boy ran up beside you. You glanced up at him with a smile.

“What can I do for you, Shawn?” you asked as you opened the door to your office. You went in and sat your laptop on your desk by your iPhone. You looked over at him, who had settled into the chair across the desk from you. You wanted to laugh at how comically large he seemed, but kept it in.

“It’s more like what I can do for you,” he said, his hands in front of him akin to the Godfather. You laughed this time.

“And what can you do for me, Mr. Mendes?” you asked, sitting down in your own chair.

“Well, I just so happen to have an extra room in my condo. And I simply cannot let a damsel in distress live in a hotel. It’s not feasible long term.” He looked at you sincerely, but you felt uneasy.

“Well, what is in it for you?” you asked, knowing there had to be a catch.

“I’ve been looking for a roommate. I am gone for long periods of time while I’m touring, and I would rather someone was coming and going than it to just sit there empty.” It did seem like a sound reason for needing a roommate.

“I would have to pay rent,” you said quietly, more to yourself than anything.

“You know it’s already paid for, Y/N…” he trailed off.

“So? I’d be living in your house. You get rent.”

“You can pay for the internet or something. Groceries.” You looked at him inquisitively. It was getting tiring living in a hotel, not having any of your things. Plus, it was expensive.

“Fine,” you said.

“Fine?” he responded. “Is that a yes?”

“I’m paying you something, Shawn. And I’ll be in charge of groceries.” Shawn jumped up and ran to give you a hug. You giggle but hugged the huge child back.

“I’ll send a car by tonight after work. We’ll go get your stuff and you can be sleeping in your own bed this evening.” You laugh at his enthusiasm, but that did sound really nice. You nodded to him and laughed when he waved and jogged out of the room, shouting behind him that he was late for a meeting with Andrew. You laughed as he tripped over nothing and almost fell on his face. You sat back down at your desk, shooting a text to Andrew asking if you could leave a bit early that afternoon. You had gotten much of your to do list done and wanted to pack up all your stuff at the hotel before Shawn helped you move into his house. He responded that that would be fine and to have fun moving that evening. Shawn must have already told him.

The next few days were a whirlwind of working and moving and you were finally moved into the condo Shawn owned in LA. He explained that once Andrew and AG Artists moved to Hollywood, he decided it would be a good idea to get a condo here. He still owned his condo in Toronto and made you promise you’d let him show you around Toronto sometime.

The domestic life was easy when Shawn was around. You’d gotten used to working around each other in the kitchen making dinner. You had your own spots on the couch and Shawn had finally figured out which tea you enjoyed in the morning and which was your night time tea. Neither of you mentioned the multiple times you had fallen asleep on the couch and woken up with your head on his lap or vice versa, and you tried to always have breakfast done for him before he left for recording, knowing the boy wouldn’t eat if you didn’t feed him.

A few months after you moved in, you were standing in the bathroom looking in the mirror. You had felt under the weather the past few days, so decided that the dark circles under your eyes and wrinkles in your forehead were from lack of sleep. You toyed with the idea of calling in sick that day, but you were getting closer to Shawn’s album being ready and it was important you nailed down a few things. You pulled on a sweatshirt that you realized was Shawn’s, but didn’t care. Your jeans were just loose enough to be super comfortable and your boots were lined with fur and were arguably the most comfortable thing you had ever put on your feet.

You walked downstairs to the kitchen to see a cup of tea on the counter. It was still steaming, so you knew Shawn was around somewhere. You sat down on the stool and took a sip of your tea, letting the warmth travel down your throat and warm you up from the inside out. You almost spit out your mouth full of tea when you heard a scream come from upstairs. You took off running up the stairs two at a time, pushing Shawn’s door open, looking around frantically. When you didn’t see anyone in the room, you ran into the bathroom, praying in the back of your mind that he was dressed, though it wouldn’t be the first time you had accidentally walked in on him.

He was standing in front of the mirror, fully dressed, to your intense relief, and his eyes were wide.

“I have a grey hair! A grey hair, Y/N!” He turned to you, his eyes wide, a single hair between his fingers. You stared at him dumbfounded. You slowly walked over to him, before punching him very hard in the upper arm. You yelped in pain, sure that had hurt you more than it hurt him. You cradled your hand.

“What was that for?” Shawn bellowed, rubbing his arm with his opposite hand.

“I thought someone was in our house, Shawn! You can’t just scream bloody freaking murder because you found a grey hair! That’s not cool!” you screamed back at him. He was still rubbing his arm, but his face softened.

“I’m sorry, Y/N/N,” he said, slowly approaching before wrapping you in a hug. You snuggled into his chest for a moment before crying. “Hey, Y/N/N,” Shawn said softly, “what’s the matter?”

“I am wrinkly!” you bellowed into his chest, and you could hear him stifle a laugh. You lightly smacked his chest before giggling yourself. “It’s so stupid, I know. But I’ve been 18 for so long, why am I wrinkly?” you said through dramatic sobs. Suddenly, a thought occurred to you. “Why am I aging?” you whispered. You tears stopped all at once. You looked up at Shawn with wide eyes. “Why am I aging?” you repeated. He slowly reached up to his head, then his eyes went as wide as yours. You jumped when he started laughing.

“We’re aging, Y/N,” he said through belly laughs. You stared at him, before it dawned on you. You were aging together. “We’re aging!” he yelled out, his voice echoing through the bathroom.

“We’re aging!” you scream out, laughs racking through your own body now. He wrapped you in an enthusiastic hug. After a few minutes, you both calmed down.

“We’re aging, Y/N,” Shawn whispered, his lips against your hair.

“We’re aging, Shawn,” you mumbled into his chest. You were quietly crying again, your tears making the front of his shirt wet. He pulled you away from him, looking into your eyes.

“I love you, Y/N. I have for a long time. I love you, and we are going to grow old together.” His voice was soft and sincere.

“I love you too, Shawn. I love you,” you said just as quietly. Shawn looked from your eyes to your lips, before slowly leaning forward, pressing his lips against your own softly. You pulled away, looking up at him.

“I love you,” he said softly, pulling you back into him, kissing your hair softly.

“I am going to be late to work,” you mumble into his chest.

“Marry me,” he says softly. You pull away from him and look at him.

“Are you sure?” you ask softly.

“Of course I’m sure, Y/N! If you weren’t my soulmate, I was going to ask anyways and we were going to reign supreme immortals forever!” You laughed through the tears that had started falling down your face.

“Yes, Shawn,” you said with a smile.

“Yes?” he questioned.

“Yes!” you repeated. “Yes, of course, Shawn. Yes a million times Shawn!” He laughed out loud, wrapped you in a hug and spun you around before setting you back down. You smiled at him before standing on your tiptoes to kiss him. He immediately melted into the kiss and wrapped his arms around your waist. You pulled away, a smile on your face.

“Lets go to work?” you asked.

“In my sweatshirt?” he questioned, a smirk on his face. You looked down at the hoodie. You looked back up at him and just nodded, a grin on your face. “Good,” he said. “Now everyone will know you’re mine.” You laugh.

“I’ve been yours for a long time, Shawn,” you said softly, pressing another soft kiss to his lips.

Forever tag list: @embracehappy @atlas-of-a-human-soul @t-i-n-y-d-i-n-o @super-fire-breathing-girl @yourvoiceislikearose

[perfectirishgifts]

How Tony Hsieh Built Zappos - In His Own Words

New Post has been published on https://perfectirishgifts.com/how-tony-hsieh-built-zappos-in-his-own-words/

How Tony Hsieh Built Zappos - In His Own Words

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – NOVEMBER 28: A tribute to tech entrepreneur Tony Hsieh is displayed on the … [] Fremont Street Experience attraction’s Viva Vision screen on November 28, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Bryan Steffy/Getty Images)

Former Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh tragically died last week at age 46 from smoke inhalation in a Connecticut house fire. While questions remain about his death, I chose to celebrate his life by reading his bestselling, surprisingly compelling manga-style comic book memoir from 2010. It’s called Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose with illustrator Rob Ten Pas.

Hsieh led a quintessentially American Dream life of success and eccentricity. Being in the right place at the right time during the Silicon Valley Internet boom, his strangeness translated to a sometimes cultlike customer-centric culture at Zappos. He describes the mistakes he made – and how he pivoted quickly.

Born to Taiwanese immigrant parents in Illinois, Tony Hsieh grew up in California’s wine country near Sonoma. Like Warren Buffett, he caught the entrepreneurial bug early. During elementary school, he tried out a worm farm business, paper route, and garage sales. In middle-school, Tony started a mail-order button business that brought in $200 per month. “I think the biggest lesson I learned,” he writes, “was that it was possible to run a successful business by mail order without any face-to-face interaction.”

It would be a powerful lesson – and one that in Silicon Valley and Big Tech has had profoundly mixed results.

A standout student, he got into Harvard, where he co-managed the Quincy House Grill with his friend Sanjay. They experimented with the menu, making more pizzas because they were more profitable. His best customer was Alfred Lin – who he later found out was bringing the pizza back to his house and selling slices to his roommates to earn an even higher margin. “We ended up hiring him as our CFO and COO at Zappos,” Hsieh explained.

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. After Harvard, he and Sanjay took jobs with Oracle back in the Bay Area during the height of Internet Mania. On weekends, they started experimenting with coding and built an early web ad platform called LinkExchange. They soon quit Oracle. Within months, a buyer offered them $1 million. They made a $2 million counteroffer that got turned down. Months later, Yahoo!’s Jerry Yang offered them $20 million – and they turned it down. Eventually Microsoft bought it for $265 million. Hsieh, bored with the company, turned down a bigger golden parachute to walk away early. “I had decided to stop chasing the money,” he said “and start chasing the passion.”

Hsieh and friends bought lofts next door in San Francisco, recreating the camaraderie of dorm culture. They started a small investment fund called Venture Frogs with Alfred Lin. One of their first pitches came from Nick Swinmurn: Shoesite.com, which became Zappos. Zappos – derived from zapatos – became the quintessential middleman, the “Amazon of shoes” selling other brands’ shoes with a focus on customer service. Venture Frogs loved Zappos but bigger VCs didn’t. So Venture Frogs – and Hsieh and Lin – went all-in on Zappos.

At this time, Hsieh started getting into rave culture and the acronym PLUR: Peace, Love, Unity and Respect. A woman told him: “Envision, create, and believe in your own universe.” Hsieh and Lin did just that with Zappos, putting in more of their own money to lead it through the dotcom bust, the ensuing recession, and 9/11.

Big mistake: “As an e-commerce company,” Hsieh wrote, “we should have considered warehousing to be our core competency from the very beginning.” Instead, Zappos outsourced their warehouse inventory to eLogistics, who did a poor job. Being unable to promptly fulfill orders nearly bankrupted Zappos – and Tony. “Outsourcing that to a third-party and trusting that they would care about our customers as much as we would was one of our biggest mistakes,” Hsieh recalled. “If we hadn’t reacted quickly, it would have destroyed Zappos.”

Sales rebounded, but they soon faced another big decision. “Our strategy of combining inventoried product with drop-shipped product continued to drive our sales growth,” he explained. Problem was, at least 5% of drop-shipped shoes never made it to the customer. They got refunds but mostly walked away unsatisfied. Hsieh faced a seeming paradox: If Zappos wanted to build their brand around customer satisfaction and become profitable, they needed to turn off their cash cow. “So we made what was both the easiest and hardest decision we ever had to make up to that point.”

Zappos soon got a line of credit from Wells Fargo. Their next challenge: If customer service was another core competency, they needed an extensive in-house call center. But they had trouble staffing those unglamorous jobs in the Bay Area. So in 2004, they moved Zappos headquarters to Las Vegas. In a tribute to the company culture, 70 out of 90 Zappos employees moved to Vegas with them. By 2008, they reached $1 billion in gross sales.

LAS VEGAS, NV JANUARY 14, 2017-At the entrance to Downtown Container Park in the area Hsieh helped … [] revitalize, a praying mantis structure by artist Kirk Jellum shoots fireballs. (Jason Ogulnik/For The Washington Post via Getty Images, 2017)

Secret sauce. Hsieh saw culture as synonymous with brand – people who enjoyed spending time together, making customers happy, and making decisions as a group, what Zappos calls Holacracy. Every employee, Hsieh said, would get trained as a call center rep to start, regardless of title – so customer service would be fundamental to their job.  He said these investments – instead of advertising – drive brand and word of mouth better than any advertising campaign ever could. “Everything else,” he said, “can and eventually will be copied.”

“We put our phone number at the top of every page of our site,” Hsieh explained, “because we want to talk to our customers.” Why? Isn’t it cheaper to interact through email, texts, apps and bots like virtually every other company? “The telephone is one of the best branding devices out there,” Hsieh explained. “You have the customer’s undivided attention for 5-10 minutes, and if you get the interaction right, the customer remembers the experience for a long time and tells his or her friends about it.”

Psychologist Jonathan Haidt, founder of the Heterodox Academy for viewpoint diversity and against political correctness, describes the same values that animated Hsieh also went on to define Zappos: “open and honest, passionate and humble, fun and a little weird.”

Amazon bought Zappos for $1.2 billion in 2009, but Hsieh stayed on until this past summer. Despite being worth a reported $840 million, he mostly lived in an Airstrem trailer in a Burning Man-inspired downtown Las Vegas trailer park he owned and called Llamapolis, with a pet alpaca. The trailer park lay at the center of an area he helped revitalize with $350 million and re-define through his philanthropy – a fitting memorial to this great, strange man.

More from Vices in Perfectirishgifts

[cbilluminati]

There have been reports that Marvel Comics will be going under a reset of sorts in order to directly compete with DC Comics and their popular REBIRTH line. This is a good idea! Not only has Marvel’s sale dipped according to the only numbers we’re allowed to see, but DC has overtaken their rivals for months now in sales, market, and quality. Marvel’s overall quality has suffered since the end of Secret Wars, and there are many reasons for it. One of the biggest reasons, however, is the fact that many of their standard, most popular characters are currently unrecognizable to one extent or another.

While Marvel has put crazy spins on their A-List characters in the past, outside of line-wide events I’m not sure we’ve ever seen so many widely famous and popular characters so wildly different from their traditional personas at the same time, and it’s become part of a larger issue for the publisher. This alienates current fans and new readers alike, and these are just the top of list of culprits over at the House of Ideas. So, without further ado, that’s not Wolverine, he’s not really Spidey anymore, and that definitely ain’t Cap, with Outright Geekery’s Top o’ the Lot: 6 Famous Marvel Characters Non-Readers Wouldn’t Recognize.

Honorable Mention: Spider-Man

This article isn’t meant to be a bash or even a critique on Marvel’s line overall. The facts are just that. Marvel’s sales are down, the negative critical reception is up, and changes should be made. But Spider-Man is still Spider-Man…kind of.

Peter Parker is still wearing the suit, swinging around, doing his superhero thing, but he’s also a CEO in control of a billion dollar company, and it’s weird. Gone is the photographer barely getting by with his day job while striving to do well in his night job. He’s not that Peter anymore, and although there’s an interesting story going on, it’s a book that certainly needs more of a traditional tone after Slott’s very long run as writer. Miles Morales is turning out to be a shining star as he continues to settle into the Marvel Universe proper, but having Peter back to where Peter belongs is long overdue.

#gallery-0-7 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-7 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-0-7 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-7 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

6. Iron Man

Because of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, everyone knows who Iron Man is. It’s Tony Stark, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, genius. But those people would be wrong, as Tony has been replaced by Riri Williams, a super-smart firecracker of a character with a lot of appeal. Marvel killed off Tony at the end of their last event, and have replaced the well-known hero with a black girl who has plenty to prove.

Riri as Iron Man has actually been pretty fun, and her A.I. counterpart is the digitized form of Tony Stark himself, but she’s still not the Iron Man most people know. And this is a problem. No, it’s not a problem because Riri is black or a girl, it’s a problem because Iron Man is very well-known as a (wait for it) man. New readers looking to get into a character they learned to love from the movies will have no idea whatsoever who Riri even is. This makes for a huge obstacle for gaining new readers, and the sales numbers support the fact that this partuicular character change simply isn’t working to attract new readers.

5. Captain America

Every aspect of this entry has made big news and caused major uproar, but it’s all unfounded nonsense. Sam Wilson makes a terrific Captain America and Steve Roger’s current predicament as brain-washed member of Hydra is certainly temporary, but it’s not nearly as temporary enough.

There’s a specific problem with this entry that makes it unlike the others. Like the other entries on this list, Steve Rogers was in fact replaced by another character, but that really wasn’t a big deal. Captain America becoming a vile, evil, villainous member of the same organization readers have watched him fight against for decades is very much a problem. How does a comic book fan explain a Captain America who’s now a member of – for all intents and purposes – the Nazis? The more important question, however, is how do you get a non-comic book reader who only know Cap via the movies and his 70 years of backstory to pick up a book like that? Answer: You don’t.

#gallery-0-8 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-8 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-0-8 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-8 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

4. Thor

Thor is a tough addition to this list, but hear me out. The story of Odinson losing his Worthiness via a Nick Fury whisper leaving him hammer-less was a terrific story. His long time co-star Jane Foster picking up Mjolnir and donning the armor, helmet, and name of the God(ess) Of Thunder has always been a spectacular tale penned by superstar writer Jason Aaron. It also makes it difficult for new readers wanting to read Thor to pick up the series and have any clue at all what’s going on, but there’s also the problem that the other Thor never really left.

The original Thor never really left the Thor title. While the new, Jane Foster Thor is indeed the star of the series, Aaron never truly let go of Odinson. He appeared sporadically throughout the series, was mentioned repeatedly in terms of calling out the supposed usurper Foster, and eventually got his very own mini-series (also penned by Aaron) as he searches for his lost Worthiness all alone. The new Thor has been amazing, but unrecognizable to new readers, while the old Thor hung around just enough to keep current readers hoping that the other Thor would be back eventually. And, oh look! There he is. Marvel, of course, wanted to have its cake and eat it too by changing Thor (arguably for the better) but also kept the other Thor around in what felt like an odd insurance policy against a poor reception. The worst part? Old Thor is getting a new hammer, making him a new Thor, which not only puts Jane Foster back in the shadow of the original, but changes the original to the point where new reader aren’t really going to know who he is either.

3. Hulk

Bruce Banner is arguably the character who saw the most success in the comic because of Marvel’s series of films (maybe Black Widow). But Bruce is dead in the comics. In his place is the absurdly named Totally Awesome Hulk, a teenage version of the green monster, who isn’t a monster at all. Cool, calm, and collected, this Hulk is a complete 180 from what the majority of new Marvel fans know from the screen. It doesn’t take Hulkbuster armor to beat this kid, while hacking into his online video game account is sure to stop him in his tracks.

This one particularly upsets me because Banner Hulk underwent dozens of changes to his persona, his attitude, his look, and even the language he’s able to use while Hulking Out. Yet, Marvel decided to take the wonderfully appealing character Amadeus Cho and shoehorn him into a role that just didn’t need to be changed. Cho was a terrific teenaged, Asian-American character before Marvel forced him into the role of Hulk. It was completely unnecessary. And, yes again, no one knows who this kid is! Everyone knows who the Hulk is, but no one knows who this Hulk is.

2. The Wasp

This is the craziest one to me. The Wasp is a founding member of the Avengers, although she never appeared in Marvel’s Avengers films. The character has, however, appeared (kind of) in Marvel’s Ant-Man movie, and has earned a title role in the upcoming sequel Ant-Man and The Wasp. Previously The Wasp moniker was adopted by Hank Pym (the original Ant-Man), but is now claimed by Pym’s young daughter.

This change up has actually been a great read, as the young woman in the book is a science nerd with a very high intelligence. She’s a wonderful role-model for young girls, and a great example of what true equality in fiction looks like. But no one is going to know that who isn’t already reading comics, and those people don’t really care. Furthermore, if any movie character needs a bit more of a spotlight in the comics to help push their onscreen version it’s The Wasp. Onscreen she’s a middle-aged scientist with a love interest for Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man character. In the comics she’s a newly discovered daughter to a B-Lister with nothing really at all going for her but a familiar name.

1. Wolverine

The worst there is at being a subject of this list, Wolverine has so many problems in the comics right now, especially when put into the context of how people have become familiarized with these hugely popular characters. Maybe you’ve heard about the Logan movie breaking Box Offices, the internet, and our hearts. This film stars an old man Logan and a young girl called X-23. But instead of these characters doing what they did best on the screen, they’re just being that dead guy in the comics.

Don’t get me wrong, X-23 is an awesome character. But by giving her the Wolverine moniker and the yellow-and-blue suit (soon to be given other classic black-and-greys) just keeps her in the shadow of a dead mutant. She had her own thing going on, it was cool, and this just feels like cheap marketing gone wrong. And Old Man Logan doesn’t even feel like an old man, he just feels like a grey-haired Wolverine. And how does that even work? Plus, neither of these characters even look like their on-screen versions. Hot iron, Marvel: Strike it!

See a mistake? Disagree with the choices? Let us know!

Send emails to OutrightGeekery@Gmail.com Find us on Facebook at the Outright Geekery Page Join the discussion at the Comic Book Illuminati Leave us a comment below

TotL – 6 Famous Marvel Characters Non-Readers Wouldn’t Recognize

There have been reports that Marvel Comics will be going under a reset of sorts in order to directly compete with DC Comics and their popular REBIRTH line.

TotL – 6 Famous Marvel Characters Non-Readers Wouldn’t Recognize There have been reports that Marvel Comics will be going under a reset of sorts in order to directly compete with DC Comics and their popular REBIRTH line.

[outright-geekery]

There have been reports that Marvel Comics will be going under a reset of sorts in order to directly compete with DC Comics and their popular REBIRTH line. This is a good idea! Not only has Marvel’s sale dipped according to the only numbers we’re allowed to see, but DC has overtaken their rivals for months now in sales, market, and quality. Marvel’s overall quality has suffered since the end of Secret Wars, and there are many reasons for it. One of the biggest reasons, however, is the fact that many of their standard, most popular characters are currently unrecognizable to one extent or another.

While Marvel has put crazy spins on their A-List characters in the past, outside of line-wide events I’m not sure we’ve ever seen so many widely famous and popular characters so wildly different from their traditional personas at the same time, and it’s become part of a larger issue for the publisher. This alienates current fans and new readers alike, and these are just the top of list of culprits over at the House of Ideas. So, without further ado, that’s not Wolverine, he’s not really Spidey anymore, and that definitely ain’t Cap, with Outright Geekery’s Top o’ the Lot: 6 Famous Marvel Characters Non-Readers Wouldn’t Recognize.

Honorable Mention: Spider-Man

This article isn’t meant to be a bash or even a critique on Marvel’s line overall. The facts are just that. Marvel’s sales are down, the negative critical reception is up, and changes should be made. But Spider-Man is still Spider-Man…kind of.

Peter Parker is still wearing the suit, swinging around, doing his superhero thing, but he’s also a CEO in control of a billion dollar company, and it’s weird. Gone is the photographer barely getting by with his day job while striving to do well in his night job. He’s not that Peter anymore, and although there’s an interesting story going on, it’s a book that certainly needs more of a traditional tone after Slott’s very long run as writer. Miles Morales is turning out to be a shining star as he continues to settle into the Marvel Universe proper, but having Peter back to where Peter belongs is long overdue.

#gallery-0-7 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-7 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-0-7 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-7 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

6. Iron Man

Because of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, everyone knows who Iron Man is. It’s Tony Stark, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, genius. But those people would be wrong, as Tony has been replaced by Riri Williams, a super-smart firecracker of a character with a lot of appeal. Marvel killed off Tony at the end of their last event, and have replaced the well-known hero with a black girl who has plenty to prove.

Riri as Iron Man has actually been pretty fun, and her A.I. counterpart is the digitized form of Tony Stark himself, but she’s still not the Iron Man most people know. And this is a problem. No, it’s not a problem because Riri is black or a girl, it’s a problem because Iron Man is very well-known as a (wait for it) man. New readers looking to get into a character they learned to love from the movies will have no idea whatsoever who Riri even is. This makes for a huge obstacle for gaining new readers, and the sales numbers support the fact that this partuicular character change simply isn’t working to attract new readers.

5. Captain America

Every aspect of this entry has made big news and caused major uproar, but it’s all unfounded nonsense. Sam Wilson makes a terrific Captain America and Steve Roger’s current predicament as brain-washed member of Hydra is certainly temporary, but it’s not nearly as temporary enough.

There’s a specific problem with this entry that makes it unlike the others. Like the other entries on this list, Steve Rogers was in fact replaced by another character, but that really wasn’t a big deal. Captain America becoming a vile, evil, villainous member of the same organization readers have watched him fight against for decades is very much a problem. How does a comic book fan explain a Captain America who’s now a member of – for all intents and purposes – the Nazis? The more important question, however, is how do you get a non-comic book reader who only know Cap via the movies and his 70 years of backstory to pick up a book like that? Answer: You don’t.

#gallery-0-8 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-8 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-0-8 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-8 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

4. Thor

Thor is a tough addition to this list, but hear me out. The story of Odinson losing his Worthiness via a Nick Fury whisper leaving him hammer-less was a terrific story. His long time co-star Jane Foster picking up Mjolnir and donning the armor, helmet, and name of the God(ess) Of Thunder has always been a spectacular tale penned by superstar writer Jason Aaron. It also makes it difficult for new readers wanting to read Thor to pick up the series and have any clue at all what’s going on, but there’s also the problem that the other Thor never really left.

The original Thor never really left the Thor title. While the new, Jane Foster Thor is indeed the star of the series, Aaron never truly let go of Odinson. He appeared sporadically throughout the series, was mentioned repeatedly in terms of calling out the supposed usurper Foster, and eventually got his very own mini-series (also penned by Aaron) as he searches for his lost Worthiness all alone. The new Thor has been amazing, but unrecognizable to new readers, while the old Thor hung around just enough to keep current readers hoping that the other Thor would be back eventually. And, oh look! There he is. Marvel, of course, wanted to have its cake and eat it too by changing Thor (arguably for the better) but also kept the other Thor around in what felt like an odd insurance policy against a poor reception. The worst part? Old Thor is getting a new hammer, making him a new Thor, which not only puts Jane Foster back in the shadow of the original, but changes the original to the point where new reader aren’t really going to know who he is either.

3. Hulk

Bruce Banner is arguably the character who saw the most success in the comic because of Marvel’s series of films (maybe Black Widow). But Bruce is dead in the comics. In his place is the absurdly named Totally Awesome Hulk, a teenage version of the green monster, who isn’t a monster at all. Cool, calm, and collected, this Hulk is a complete 180 from what the majority of new Marvel fans know from the screen. It doesn’t take Hulkbuster armor to beat this kid, while hacking into his online video game account is sure to stop him in his tracks.

This one particularly upsets me because Banner Hulk underwent dozens of changes to his persona, his attitude, his look, and even the language he’s able to use while Hulking Out. Yet, Marvel decided to take the wonderfully appealing character Amadeus Cho and shoehorn him into a role that just didn’t need to be changed. Cho was a terrific teenaged, Asian-American character before Marvel forced him into the role of Hulk. It was completely unnecessary. And, yes again, no one knows who this kid is! Everyone knows who the Hulk is, but no one knows who this Hulk is.

2. The Wasp

This is the craziest one to me. The Wasp is a founding member of the Avengers, although she never appeared in Marvel’s Avengers films. The character has, however, appeared (kind of) in Marvel’s Ant-Man movie, and has earned a title role in the upcoming sequel Ant-Man and The Wasp. Previously The Wasp moniker was adopted by Hank Pym (the original Ant-Man), but is now claimed by Pym’s young daughter.

This change up has actually been a great read, as the young woman in the book is a science nerd with a very high intelligence. She’s a wonderful role-model for young girls, and a great example of what true equality in fiction looks like. But no one is going to know that who isn’t already reading comics, and those people don’t really care. Furthermore, if any movie character needs a bit more of a spotlight in the comics to help push their onscreen version it’s The Wasp. Onscreen she’s a middle-aged scientist with a love interest for Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man character. In the comics she’s a newly discovered daughter to a B-Lister with nothing really at all going for her but a familiar name.

1. Wolverine

The worst there is at being a subject of this list, Wolverine has so many problems in the comics right now, especially when put into the context of how people have become familiarized with these hugely popular characters. Maybe you’ve heard about the Logan movie breaking Box Offices, the internet, and our hearts. This film stars an old man Logan and a young girl called X-23. But instead of these characters doing what they did best on the screen, they’re just being that dead guy in the comics.

Don’t get me wrong, X-23 is an awesome character. But by giving her the Wolverine moniker and the yellow-and-blue suit (soon to be given other classic black-and-greys) just keeps her in the shadow of a dead mutant. She had her own thing going on, it was cool, and this just feels like cheap marketing gone wrong. And Old Man Logan doesn’t even feel like an old man, he just feels like a grey-haired Wolverine. And how does that even work? Plus, neither of these characters even look like their on-screen versions. Hot iron, Marvel: Strike it!

See a mistake? Disagree with the choices? Let us know!

Send emails to OutrightGeekery@Gmail.com Find us on Facebook at the Outright Geekery Page Join the discussion at the Comic Book Illuminati Leave us a comment below

TotL – 6 Famous Marvel Characters Non-Readers Wouldn’t Recognize There have been reports that Marvel Comics will be going under a reset of sorts in order to directly compete with DC Comics and their popular REBIRTH line.