This interview with David Rosenblatt, chief executive of 1stdibs, an online marketplace for high-end goods including art, antiques, jewelry and furniture, was conducted and condensed by Adam Bryant.
Q. Were you in leadership roles early on?
A. I was president of my class and co-president of my debating society in high school. But leadership was never my goal. I studied liberal arts, and majored in East Asian studies in college. My father was in Foreign Service roles, and I always assumed I would end up in the Foreign Service. After I graduated, I lived in Asia for a few years.
My first real work experience after school was in investment banking. I learned pretty quickly that that wasn’t a world I wanted to be a part of. What I love about the Internet is the ability to create or change an industry as opposed to simply participate in one that already exists.
Tell me more about your parents.
My father had a lot of work in the Pacific. CLICK TO READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE
