ShopRunner Spotlights: Bartosz Leper
Here at ShopRunner we believe that it’s our differences that makes us great. We pride ourselves in being a team full of diverse individuals who all bring their own unique perspectives and ideas to the table. So what does that look like, you ask? Well, follow along as we get up close and personal with one of our awesome ShopRunner team members each month to get a look into their life in and out of the office.
Name: Bartosz Leper
Pronouns: he/him
How long have you been at ShopRunner? A year. Or three and a half, if we count my tenure at Spring.
What do you do all day?
I binge. That’s probably the only suitable definition that can unambiguously cover a longer period. I can literally spend entire months doing one thing. When I get fed up, I drop it on the spot and start doing something else. I used to binge on crocheting, reading about totalitarianism, learning how to make computer games, watching all seasons of “Gilmore Girls”, writing an Atari emulator with my son… Now I’m waiting for another quarter-long writing binge to finish off that novel that I started some three years ago.
Astrological sign. Do you believe in astrology?
Scorpio. And no, I don’t. When I need a prophecy, I ask my wife; her accuracy is unparalleled. I actually like my late grandmother’s attitude towards it: she didn’t care what sign she was born under. She picked Leo, because she identified with it, and if someone didn’t like it, they had to find a problem somewhere else.
What should people know about ShopRunner?
At ShopRunner, your voice matters, whether you joined a month ago, or you have been here from the start. For example, people on my team sometimes have more expertise in online shopping than I do, and I say this without any guilt or shame; listening to them is a part of my job. We all bring our unique qualities — that’s how it works.
What’s your favorite SR retailer?
Doesn’t apply for geographical reasons.
What’s the last thing you bought online?
An SD card — to play with Linux firmware on a Lego Mindstorms set. I wanted to build a robot that would use an infrared sensor as a radar to avoid obstacles. I actually got quite far… before my robot building binge ended.
Tell us about your favorite slack channel at SR:
There’s no other channel like #catsofshoprunner.
What’s your favorite way to shop?
It really depends on what I’m trying to buy and what my mood is. Online shopping is actually a second choice for me. I go online for very specific items like electronics or books, where it really makes a difference whether you buy “Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century”, or “21 Lessons for the 21st Century”. If all I need are a good pair of shoes, I’d rather go to an old good brick-and-mortar store. In my opinion, e-commerce will never replace offline shopping, just like the TV didn’t replace radio, and radio didn’t replace press. Harley Finkelstein, the COO of Shopify, recently said that the brick-and-mortar shops are transforming, not dying. I trust that he knows it better than I do.
Have you ever worked in retail?
No.
Give us your most inspiring bit of advice:
Learn history, embrace politics, listen to scientists. It’s far more important whether you understand your world than how good you perform as an employee.
