Career Path of a Senior Director of Operations at Tend
Mark's career journey began with diverse college jobs and a brief, unsuccessful foray into Hollywood, leading to a pivot into tech at Uber, where "it was like a launchpad for my career". Subsequent roles at Snapchat, Bird, Workrise, independent consulting, and finally Tend showcase a progression through operations, growth, and strategy within the tech and staffing industries, culminating in Mark's current position as Senior Director of Operations.
Operations Management, Career Pivoting, Entrepreneurial Spirit, Tech Industry Experience, Adaptability
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Mark Pesin
Sr. Director of Operations
Tend
University of California, Santa Barbara
N/A
Film, Media Arts, Visual Arts
Manufacturing, Operations & Supply Chain, Technology
Operations and Project Management
Took Out Loans, Transfer Student
Video Highlights
1. Mark's diverse range of early jobs (valet, parking attendant, e-commerce, pizza delivery) demonstrates his adaptability and entrepreneurial spirit.
2. His career trajectory, starting with an unsuccessful Hollywood internship and transitioning to a successful career in tech operations, highlights the importance of identifying and pursuing one's passions.
3. His experience at various startups (Uber, Snapchat, Bird, Workrise) and his current role at Tend showcase the value of gaining experience in different companies and industries to build a versatile skill set in operations and growth.
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path, starting with your experiences in college? Any internships or jobs you had before your current role?
In college, I attended UC Santa Barbara and worked many odd jobs. These ranged from being a valet and parking attendant to working at a hat store and delivering pizzas. I also had an e-commerce business with friends that showed some success.
During college, I focused heavily on my e-commerce business and my jobs. I didn't participate in many clubs or have many internships.
After graduating with a media degree, I initially thought I wanted to work in Hollywood and interned as a producer's assistant. However, I quickly realized it wasn't for me due to the freelance nature and lack of stability, which I valued.
I then decided to pursue my passion for tech. This led me to Uber, where I started in an entry-level operations role. Uber was instrumental in launching my career, and I spent a couple of years there.
Next, I moved to Snapchat and worked in operations for a short period. My former vice president from Uber, who had become the COO of Byrd, recruited me to join the scooter sharing company.
I was an early employee at Byrd, also in operations, and was involved in launching new ventures as the company grew. I stayed at Byrd for almost four years.
After Byrd, I joined Work Rise, a staffing tech company in the energy industry. There, I worked in operations, growth, and strategy.
Following Work Rise, I worked as an independent consultant for several early-stage, seed-stage companies. I was then introduced to the founder of Tend, who gave me a compelling sales pitch.
Since then, I've been running the entire operations department at Tend. Tend is also a staffing tech company, but it focuses on the hospitality space, providing staffing for servers, bartenders, and cooks.