Today, Gogoprint proudly announces that it is launching a new series of blog articles, focusing on (drum rolls, but you might have guessed already) the Gogoprint staff. To make our customers happy, satisfy their needs, and become the No.1 online printing destination in South-East Asia, we have to be a forward-looking, innovative, and dedicated company that puts its customers and their purchasing experience above all else. This involves sound structures and processes within the company but mainly, requires people with the right mindset and commitment to a shared vision and mission. These people are the backbone of our website and service.

That is why we (the blog team) have decided that it was time that you be able to put a name and face on the people who make it possible to conveniently print online, and who strive to continue making your printing-life easier and more convenient. The aim of this new blog series, therefore, is for you to become closer to your online printing company and the people behind it, by giving you exclusive insights into daily operations, responsibilities, and challenges. Like we said, our company is nothing without the people making it up, and that is why we want you to know us!

First up is David Berghaeuser, the first of two co-founders and Managing Directors at Gogoprint, the first of two patres familias. We’ve asked David a couple of questions to give you insights about what it’s like managing half of the Gogoprint operations.

Hi David, we’d like to ask you a couple questions for our blog’s readers. First one: what’s your position here at Gogoprint?

Hi! I’m Managing Direct and co-founder of Gogoprint

The big boss! Please walk us through your typical day at the office

My typical day starts at around 7:30am. Coming to the office early gives a bit of a head start to plan the day. With a glass of water (because it's hot in Bangkok) and a cup of coffee (because it's still early), I will plan the tasks & meetings for the day to come.

At 8:30am when work officially starts, things become a bit more lively and our teams dive deep into their work. We decided to have an open space office, which means the atmosphere is very open and conducive to good communication. As a Managing Director, I do not have any separate room, big table, or any other fancy privileges. In my opinion, it's important to live this attitude as a young company, because we need to be lean & humble to become successful, and as a co-founder I want to lead by example.

Normally, we will go out for lunch at around 12-12:30pm, in little groups. Depending on the temperature (narrowly ranging from hot to very hot) and the resulting perspiration of our bodily fluids (read: the extent of our sweating), we might find some food close to the office or venture out a bit further. Lunch is always a pleasant part of the day, as it allows us a short break and is the opportunity to refuel for the rest of the day. In the afternoon, I continue my work at the office or sometimes will have outside meetings.

I will normally finish my work at around 7:00pm or 8:00pm. If I manage to leave early, I will use the evening time to run in one of Bangkok's beautiful parks or exercise in the gym (which are both great ways to burn some calories and clear your mind at the same time).

How would you describe your role to an outsider (a friend for example)? What are your responsibilities?

Overall, I oversee three parts of Gogoprint:

1. Production: Production starts with receiving customer files, and making sure that they are ready to print. It continues with the actual printing and the subsequent post-press processes (post-press is everything that happens after the printing, for example cutting & folding), and finally ends with shipping the printed goods to our customers on time

2. Development: As an online printing company, our website has to function well, be fast, easy to use, and efficient. Everybody who ever worked with IT knows that getting there is a rocky road. Together with my development team, I plan which features are most important, and make sure that things always work smoothly for the customer

3. Marketing: What use is a great product or service if nobody knows about it? Marketing is about getting the word out to whoever needs to hear it, and making sure that we are on top of customers' minds whenever they think about promotional printing

That seems like quite a bit! What would you say is the most important part of your job?

In a certain way, it changes over time. When we started Gogoprint one year ago, the most important thing was to get everything working at all costs, so I had to be very hands-on with everything, and therefore did many things by myself.

Now, with the Gogoprint-team growing to currently ca. 30 people, I see my roll shifting to get the right people on board, who understand and are excited about our vision, and make sure that they have everything they need on their hands, to learn, improve, and master their arts.

What are the main challenges associated with your job? Do you have an interesting anecdote to share?

The main challenge is never to accept the status quo and keep challenging if we are already doing things in the best and most efficient way.

When we expanded our business to Malaysia one month ago, and were setting up the business from scratch for a second time, I realized how important it is, to take a step back and ask yourself: "Is this already the best way of doing things?"

Starting the business in a second market, with a new team and a lot of fresh ideas, certainly helped to put that into perspective!

What do you like most about working at Gogoprint?

The most rewarding aspect of working at Gogoprint, is to see how hard work is rewarded with success & growth. That is why I would never want to work anywhere else!

David, thanks a lot for sharing these valuable insights about Gogoprint and its daily operations. To close off the interview, I’d like you to share a little thought of the day for our blog readers.

Sure: success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out. To me, these are words to live by, both on a personal and professional level

There you have it readers: a day into the work life of David, our MD. If you have any questions that you would like to address to David, please post them in the comments section, and David will get back to you asap! Keep posted to learn more about the rest of our staff!