Go Zing or Go Home

It was by all accounts a typical Wednesday in April. The sun was shining over a cool, spring morning. Tree buds, determined to sprout, struggled to life as the days began their yearly stretching, growing season. I was dressed to the nines with my shoes sharply polished and my tie perfectly straight. As I paced outside the door of suite 1677, I tried to imagine what I was walking into. I played out the scenario in my head of getting grilled by a potential employer, having an entire office stare as in came the next possible new guy. Right before I walked in I smirked, remembering that I was made for this stuff. What I didn't know was that was the first day of the next chapter in my life. Three months later I look back and do not remember how I thought the days were as good with out my Zinger family. You see, Benzinga is less of a job as it is a lifestyle. All walks of life step foot through our front door everyday to form some sort of unique collage of humans (or futuristic robots, but that is for a different blog) collaboratively working towards a common goal; to disrupt an industry, to create something new, to actually make a difference through our work. This is life for us. Twenty some odd employees plus another dozen or so interns and many more remote working day-in and day-out toward something much bigger than us. Something we have only begun to be able to imagine. I look back on this short time here and see how much we have accomplished. Most companies do not change as much in a decade as we do in a matter of days. Sometimes, it feels as if we do that every other week! Often, outside of work I hear close friends and family speak of their job as if it was the worst eight hours out of every day. I just smile and slip away into an oblivion. In this dream-like state I think about walking into the office being greeted by a posse of good mornings and "what up K Baz". I think about getting schooled on time travel from our vast pool of experts on the subject. Then I shift to a-capella-themed birthday serenades and surprise beer Mondays! When I finally come to I don't bother explaining why I look forward to everyday. They just wouldn't understand. I was always told that an idea means very little if not coupled with great execution; 45 % Team, 45 % Resources, 10 % Idea. According to that equation Benzinga has one hell of a chance to knock it out of the park. I often think of the events that led to my position here. Then I remember the saying my pops used to always say. "The harder you work, the luckier you get." So here's to the next chapter. May it bring as many good times as it does memories. May we create a whole new world and change an industry forever. Because in the end you only have a legacy to look back on, hopefully lived with great people and drank with good beer. K Baz Zinger Enthusiast