FLM: You started your company at a young age. What accomplishments are you most proud of and what other goals would you like to achieve before 2021?
Eric: In Music Dealers and desirelist, I'm most proud of building something that attracts the world’s best talent to join the team. I can't believe the people who left Sony, Warner, etc. to join Music Dealers because of our vision. The same is true for desirelist, as we've just had Judith Snyder, the head of Global Communications at Coca-Cola, leave her job after 14 years to join our baby startup. It's a beautiful thing to build a team that not only believes in the vision, but makes it more achievable because of their experience and brilliance. I earned some nice awards over the years, but running with the Olympic torch was the single proudest moment of my professional career. I was given the opportunity on behalf of Entrepreneurs Building Companies to Unite the World. By 2021, I hope to have this whole work/life balance thing figured out. I'd also like to have built an ecosystem responsible for reducing the 63 billion dollars of unwanted gifts in the US, which is a more serious issue than it appears on its surface. The returns in unwanted gifts during the holiday season create incredible strain on retailers, and I'd like to help prevent great boutiques from having to close their doors because of unpredictable product return and waste.
"I'm most proud of building something that attracts the world’s best talent to join the team."
ES