Why Create the NY ECommerce Lounge Group?

To connect with other ECommerce Nuts in NYC.

When I came to NY, I expected to find all types of people in all different industries.  I have.  The challenge I have is that even though the city is so big, that there are surprisingly few venues that focus on a narrow topic and do it well.

That’s what I want to do here.  I created the NY Ecommerce Lounge to provide a venue to meet other ECommerce professionals in the area.  There are so many great people in the industry, and everyone has something to learn.  If you believe this as well, then you would be a great member.

What this group is not

I hope you come to help others and to meet some interesting people who have broad experience in the industry.

I don’t want to be a NY Tech Meetup or a NY Tech Drinkup.  Tech is too broad.  Although I consider myself a geek, when I want to talk about ECommerce, I want a narrow group.  If you want more, definitely join another group.  I can recommend several.

I will curate the member list fairly carefully as this is an exclusive group.  That will ensure quality conversations.  The quality of any organization is a function of its people.

This group is also not a lead-generation service for your recruiting, consulting, or other type of business.  If you come for new clients instead of trying to help others and share information, you are in the wrong place. 

Who am I?

My name is Rick Watson, and I’m an ECommerce professional living in Manhattan.  I moved up to New York City earlier this year and took a job as a General Manager at BN.com, in particular heading up their online marketplace initiative.  BN is Internet Retailer #44 in the 500 list.  I love my new job, as well as the city.  

I moved up from North Carolina, where I’ve lived since 1998.  I’ve spent the last 10+ years at ChannelAdvisor, a SaaS company which helps online retailers sell their products on various marketplaces, comparison shopping engines, and search engines.  I was one of the first 10 employees at the company and was there until the company approached 300 people.  My primary role was running Product Management and Software Engineering there, especially the last 4 years.  ChannelAdvisor’s customers include anyone from single-owner businesses to some of the top retailers in the IR 500 index, so over the years I developed a deep knowledge of online retail and ECommerce.  I have a particular fondness for inventory management, warehousing, tax (yes, I’m a masochist), marketplaces, online channels, digital publishing, platforms, and ecosystems.

I run a public blog at Rick Watson’s ECommerce Blog.  There, and on my twitter feed @rickwatson, about 80% of my content is ECommerce focused.

I grew up in New Orleans and still consider it “home”.

Why “lounge”?  Why over drinks?

A couple of reasons:

1. I hate fake, forced meetings.  My agenda may not be your agenda.  Guide your own conversations with group members.  I help provide a venue.  Members provide the knowledge.  I want to help people build long-term relationships.
2. Conversations over drinks get to the real details.  Stuff you won’t learn on a twitter feed or blog.  An old friend taught me this.  It was his primary mode of communication and I learned a lot from that.

So there you have it.  If this sounds interesting, feel free to join the NY ECommerce Lounge Meetup.