This is the tenth post in the 2017 FastMail Advent Calendar. The previous post was about managing a lock on non-existent rows. The next post takes a look at our files support with Dropbox.

The next victim in our series of team profiles is David Gurvich.

Name: David Gurvich

Role: Marketing

Time working for FastMail: 2.5 years

What I work on

I work on marketing. What does that cover? I look at all the customer touchpoints, which when I came on board was just the FastMail product, but that now extends to our full product suite. As someone with a less technical background than many of the team, I try to represent the everyday user.

I work on the websites and videos. I write customer communications, develop partnerships and sponsorships, and provide strong coffee recommendations.

How did you get involved with FastMail?

I'd actually been a FastMail user for about 10 years. One day I happened to be reading the FastMail blog when I read the job ad for a technical writer. While I interviewed for that role, FastMail felt they could make better use of my marketing experience and built a new role for me to help spread the message of their email excellence to the world.

What’s your favourite thing you’ve worked on this year?

The CoinJar customer story video.

I like telling the human story: that's where our product really shines. I'm passionate about finding out how we help everyday people. The CoinJar story explains how we help a company grow their business through providing reliable email.

What’s your favourite FastMail feature?

I use the search functionality all the time, both in basic mode and the advanced search. It makes finding email easy, and fast.

I also use the rules a lot: they make my inbox less overwhelming!

What’s your favourite or most used piece of technology?

My phone! Podcasts and photos fill my phone.

What’s your preferred mobile platform?

iOS. I tried Android once but I had to go back.

What are you listening to / watching these days?

I am a huge fan of podcasts which brighten my long commute.

  • Conversations with Richard Fidler on ABC.
  • Actually lots of podcasts by the ABC.
  • I like listening to interviews with people.
  • Swimming / fitness content.

Music-wise, I enjoy chillout music and 80s Australian Rock.

I also enjoy cooking and food shows.

Cooking

My favourite dish to make is slow cooked ribs. I'm also on a mission to perfect my pizza dough.

What do you like to do outside of work?

I like to stay fit with cycling and running: this lets me eat all the great food!

Any FM staffers you want to brag on?

Nicola, who also has a passion for words. She's great at explaining to customers how wonderful our products are.

Rob N who, from day 1, has been patient, giving freely of his time to explain anything and everything. He doesn't realize how good he is at marketing!

Jamie and I met each other years ago, and I enjoy working with him so much, I got him to apply to work with us at FastMail.

What is your proudest moment at FastMail?

Every day being part of a team with a company that's growing and building a great future. It's such an exciting journey shaping the future of email!

... And beating Jamie at Go-Karting.

You can also find David on Twitter at @dgurvoir