Meet the Team Behind Boxiki
We realized recently that we talk a lot about our products and not enough about the people who make Boxiki what it is. So today, let me introduce you to the team. We're a small group — seven people as of this spring — working out of a modest office in East Vancouver that we're slowly making our own.
Stan Kuzmin — Founder
You've heard enough from me in these blog posts, so I'll keep it short. Belarusian-Canadian. Former product manager. Started Boxiki at a kitchen table in 2015 because I was frustrated with online shopping and too stubborn to let it go. I still personally test products, which means my kitchen looks like a showroom and my suitcase is full of prototypes. My kids think everyone's dad spends weekends testing baking mats. They'll learn the truth eventually.
Rizwan Ahmed — Operations
Rizwan was our first hire, joining part-time in 2016 and going full-time that fall. He was born in Karachi, grew up in Dubai, and came to Vancouver for university. He has a supply chain management degree and an almost supernatural ability to organize anything. His desk is the neatest surface in the office. His spreadsheets have spreadsheets. When the warehouse pallet went missing last year, Rizwan built the tracking system that makes sure it never happens again. He's the reason our operations run smoothly, and he'd be embarrassed by this paragraph, which is partly why I'm writing it.
Victoria Chen — Customer Experience
Victoria joined in late 2016 and immediately became the heart of our customer interactions. She grew up in Richmond, BC, and has this gift for making people feel heard — even through email, which is harder than it sounds. She turned our customer service from "adequate" to "the kind of thing people mention in reviews." She's also our unofficial product tester for anything kid-related, thanks to three nieces who serve as a demanding focus group. Victoria is the person who reminds us, daily, that behind every order number is a human being.
Priya Shah — Marketing & Brand
Priya joined in fall 2017, and she brought something we desperately needed: the ability to tell our story. She's from Mumbai originally, studied communications in Toronto, and moved to Vancouver because — in her words — "I visited once and the mountains made it impossible to leave." Priya is responsible for our social media, our email communications, and increasingly, the voice of our brands. She's the one who insisted we write blog posts that sound like humans, not corporations. If you enjoy reading these, thank Priya.
The Newer Additions
David Park joined in January to handle product sourcing. He has a background in manufacturing and an obsession with material quality that borders on fanatical. He once rejected a supplier because the zipper pull "didn't have the right weight." We love him for it.
Sarah Thompson handles our bookkeeping and finance. She works part-time and keeps us from making financially irresponsible decisions, which happens more often than you'd think when someone gets excited about a new product idea.
Marcus Williams is our newest team member, handling logistics and international shipping. He joined in March and has already untangled a customs issue that had been haunting us for months.
What Makes Us "Us"
Look at the list above. Belarus, Pakistan, China, India, Korea, Canada — born in different places, drawn to the same rainy city on the Pacific coast. Vancouver's multiculturalism isn't just a brochure talking point for us. It's our daily reality. Our team meetings sometimes drift into three languages. Our holiday celebrations include food from four continents. Our product testing reflects perspectives that no homogeneous team could offer.
We're small, but we're intentional. Every person here was hired because they care — not just about doing a job, but about doing it in a way that matters. That sounds idealistic, and maybe it is. But idealism built this company, and we're not letting go of it now.
— Stan