Feb 24, 2014 8 Questions with Benjamin Lotan
A vast and endless sea of photos lie on your phone and tech devices and Benjamin Lotan was one of the co-founders of Social Print Studio a company set out to bring physical copies of photos to you. The company has various photo printing options that vary from printstagr.am the online print shop for your instagram flicks, Print Studio app which allows you to print from your iPhone, and Blueprints the Facebook printing site. And a new addition the Print Studio Shop brings various accessories to compliment your prints. But wait there’s more… They also have DBLCAM an app that shoots a photo from both the front and the back camera on the iPhone, They provide live printing at events and have some other services, which can all be found at the Social Print Studio site. For now just take a moment and reach into the mind that help create these projects and services, here are the 8Qs with Benjamin Lotan.
1) What are you currently working on?
I’m currently working on a new photo sharing app called Jupiter that will launch in beta on iOS in early february. I’m also working on the integration strategy to bring our printing services together under one roof. Currently we have a number of apps and web services available, and over the next few months, we need to get them all synched up so customers can understand everything that we have to offer.
2) Where do you find inspiration?
Books. Blog posts and news articles can only get me so far. They are like little pointers, and are useful to keep a pulse on the general zeitgeist of the week. However, going long and committing the time to actually get into something, gives me the deepest sense of purpose and guidance, both creatively and morally.
3) As a kid, what did you want to be when you grow up?
In high school I wanted to go into biotech and design pacemakers and other implants. I don’t remember my life before that. Generally I am only capable of seeing the future.
4) What are you reading at the moment?
The Autobiography of Malcom X, which should be required reading for all americans, and “Exploding The Phone“, a book about the history of early hackers of the telephone networks. I recently finished “The Circle“, by Dave Eggers.
5) How would you describe your job?
Challenging. My main responsibility is coordinating all of our projects and overseeing the details enough to make sure we maintain our voice and standards. It feels like there are seven currents moving at once and my job is to understand the motion and timing, so we can hit the biggest waves and have a smooth ride. Not everyone in the company can understand everything we are working on at once, I need to make sure people are focused on their own projects and immediate tasks, while also having enough of the bigger picture to stay inspired.
6) What does your average work day look like?
I am on email all day, overseeing communication between everyone in the company, weighing in when necessary to keep pace, make decisions and delegate tasks. Recently we have gotten organized into four groups: production, design, engineering, and customer experience. I meet with people from each team each day in person to see the progress being made. I try to spend some time holed up in my office making sure that the vision is on track generally questioning everything many times over.
7) What’s your favorite post‐work destination?
One-on-one dinners with my closest friends. Ideally home-cooked.
8) If you could give some advice to your teenage self, what would it be?
The world is really fucked up, don’t believe the hype. You need to get smarter faster. Spend less time socializing and more time thinking, learning and making. Pay more attention to school. Work harder in english class. Learn more about art and history. I feel like I am now trying to make up for everything I missed in my education. I was too busy gaming the system and finding ways to get A’s without actually doing the work. I wish I could have embraced what an amazing experience learning can be.
*Side note: Everyone at their company gets a box to sleep in.
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