Wonolo
Let’s meet Naftali!
Hi I’m Naftali Nagar, and I’m the market manager for the East Territory, which includes New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, Washington D.C., North Carolina, and Florida. While my role encompasses a large part of the East Coast, I am based in Manhattan. As the market manager, I am responsible for the overall health of my region. This entails ensuring that our Requestors are satisfied and getting the most out of the Wonolo platform. Additionally, I also work with our Wonoloer community to provide support and sustainable job opportunities. A huge part of my job involves working cross-functionally with a variety of teams to make sure our region is at peak performance and set up for continued success.
What events in your life have brought you to your current role today?
Before working at Wonolo, I was a bit of a career surfer. I went to the University of Massachusetts Amherst to study sports management. However, after a few internships in the music industry, I felt that path would pursue my interests better. After starting in the mailroom at a talent agency to working my way up to a role as a booking coordinator, I realized that the music industry would not be a good fit for me long term. I kissed my dream of becoming an agent goodbye and quit my job to take a chance on myself. After about a year of working at a different tech company, Wonolo found me and the rest is history. Joining the Wonolo team has been by far the greatest professional decision I’ve made. Although many of my team members live all across the country, the comradery and support we had for each other make me look forward to logging on every morning.
When you have to make a difficult decision, what do you lean on?
When making a difficult decision, I utilize all of the resources available to me. While rational and cold hard facts are important, I also incorporate my creativity and values to find a solution. Once I have taken the time to fully understand the situation, I explore all possible decisions and consider their respective outcomes. I will bounce ideas off my team members, family, or friends to see if I’m on the right track. If a decision needs to be made immediately, I’ll use the information I have available as well as my gut instinct to find the solution that works. You may never have all of the information you need, however, as long as the decision is calculated and fall through, you are on your way to success or at least learning something for future decision making.
What is one piece of life advice you can give to anyone?
The one life advice I can give to anyone is: buy the tickets, take the job, be spontaneous. Say yes to any and every experience that life throws at you. If there’s one thing that life has taught me, it’s that growth comes from taking risks and trying new things. I never would have found my place at Wonolo and been so secure in my career if I not explored every opportunity that I was given.
If you really knew me, you would know that…
I’m obsessed with my French bulldog, Judge. To be honest, I wasn’t a huge fan of dogs before I adopted him, but please do not tell him I said that! While he may destroy anything he can get his paws on and hogs the entire bed, he has taught me empathy, responsibility, and how to get a pee stain out of a carpet. 😉 Also, don’t forget to follow him on Instagram @therealjudgedog. Yeah, I’m that kind of dog dad.
