Get to know one of our co-founders and Sales Hero, Tim, in the latest of our Behind the Scenes series where you’ll meet the Heroes responsible for getting New Zealand’s largest range of awesome books to your door overnight, anywhere in New Zealand.
Hi, I’m Tim! I’ve been here from the very beginning (before the beginning!) so I've done a bit of everything at Book Hero, and I’m definitely an all rounder. I come from a marketing background, I write my own code, and I placed all of Book Hero’s opening orders for books, boardgames and puzzles. I also taught Dom (aka The Weapon) everything he knows in the Warehouse…
My superpower? Doing whatever is needed and believing anything is possible. I believe in getting started, taking things one day at a time and just getting through it. There isn’t a role at Book Hero that I haven’t touched at some point. Website development, warehousing, marketing, accounting, buying and category management - I’ve worked across all of it. Getting something started and then handing it over to somebody else I can support, is actually one of the most satisfying parts of my role. I love watching something I created being taken to the next level - and there’s plenty of that happening here, not least of Shirl taking our range of Books to the next level 🚀
A couple of my more recent wins have been launching our Board Games category and selling more than 100 in our first weekend, and carving out time to code some much needed improvements to our replenishment buying system. Our buying volumes have massively increased, so I rebuilt our replenishment tool to work much better for bulk buying. The result? Books arrive back into stock faster so our customers continue to enjoy overnight NZ-wide delivery. That’s the kind of behind the scenes improvement that makes a real difference.
My desk essential is pretty simple: my laptop. I know this because it comes with me wherever I go (luckily my wife Sacha is the same with hers!) and when it crashes, it’s devastating.
The most challenging part of my role is balancing priorities. Like many of us, the to-do list is always longer than the day. The question I constantly ask myself is: what’s the one thing I could do today that would make the biggest difference? That mindset helps cut through the noise.
If I had one “hack” to share with the team, it would be this: you can learn and do anything you want. The trick is simply never deciding that you can’t. Once you believe you can figure it out, you usually can.
If customers want a pro tip for getting the most out of Book Hero, it’s easy: use Marnie’s Book Finding Service. She will track down almost anything for you - and she has fun doing it.
I sit next to Alastair, and he makes me laugh every day. He also helps me a lot with the more technical parts of my role. For my own good, quiet focus is usually the vibe at my desk. I once overheard Dylan describe me as an excitable labrador, which is probably fair. I am easily distracted, so I do my best to tune everything out. In fact, Marnie claims she can have an entire conversation with me without me even realising she is talking to me.
Coffee is the first thing that gets me into work mode - and I’m happy to make one for whoever’s in the mood. I will take coffee any way it comes. I am not fussy, although if I have the choice I will take one of Alastair’s before one of Dylan’s…
Lunch break? I'll be lucky if I get one. Most days it turns into a walk down to the local cafe with Dylan or Alastair. It’s usually part walking meeting, part problem solving session, and more than occasionally just me acting as the sounding board for one of Dylan’s many passionate rants.
What I listen to during the day changes constantly. Business podcasts for the commute into work, all sorts of music genres or sometimes just silence. When it’s time to switch off from Book Hero mode it’s reading, running, the gym and most importantly - spending time with my family.
Outside of work, I have a dream of fixing up an old car one day. That’s a project still waiting for its moment.
If the Book Hero office and warehouse were a movie set, it would be an action movie. Some kind of high speed roller coaster ride.
If a customer asked me for one must read recommendation, it would probably depend on the person. There’s no single book for everyone, and that’s part of what makes books so powerful. I have over 700 books in my personal library so it’s usually not hard for me to suggest something they’d enjoy.
Looking ahead, I’m especially excited about growing our Toys category this year. As a parent myself, I see huge potential there and I can’t wait to see it take off!
That’s a little glimpse behind the scenes with me. I’m right at the centre of whatever new and exciting things we’re building next, helping turn our ideas into something real for our customers. I love coming into work each day and I’m always excited for we’re creating together.
