Jobs: Alex Lazorenko, BlaBlaCar leader in Russia and Ukraine

What do you do in your work?

I run BlaBlaCar service in Russia and Ukraine. Responsible for the growth of the project, coordinates the work of the team. My task - to prioritize and shape service development strategy.

In the previous project - podorozhnik.com - takes about the same. When this product has become noticeable in the market, we have absorbed a larger company. Now this is called BlaBlaCar in Russia and Ukraine.

What is your occupation?

I finished mekhmat, that is the specialty - mathematician. But scientists did not. Not because, as it is often said, in science there are no prospects. Prospects have in any case, if you are a pro, love their job and doing it with absolute dedication. I am convinced of this. Just on the second course the first time I really came into contact with the world of technology, consumer electronics and Internet services, and realized it was mine. This is what makes me sincerest emotions, and something that I want to be involved.

Our academic education, of course, there are downsides. In particular, the knowledge invested in the minds of future mathematicians, programmers and other technicians, often lag behind reality. Too much theory and little applied knowledge. But I do not regret the five years spent in university. They gave me an invaluable social experience, and brain - Good analytical pumping.

I am grateful to the University. I am surrounded by a lot of smart and interesting people who took part in my development as a person and a professional. Established a student communication is still helping me. In terms of networking the university - the best place for a young man with ambition.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

My main strength - is the ability to get things done, not to leave, even if you suddenly start to feel that everything is meaningless. This taught me "plantain". The project developed a sine curve, often wanted to give up. I think the thought "Why am I doing all this ?!" occasionally occurs in any entrepreneur. It is therefore important to learn how to overcome the negative extremes in the sine wave of success. In my opinion, I get it.

I really like how one of the founders Fred BlaBlaCar Masella in an interview spoke about the business:

For an entrepreneur, there is no elevator, only stairs. Starting your own business, do not expect to quickly ascend to the top. When you see someone on the eleventh floor, you know that this person is on foot stomped on all the steps. When you realize that you can only move step by step, you will be much easier not to lose their enthusiasm. After all, no other way simply does not exist.

My weak point, perhaps, is that I am not able to switch the operating mode in the holiday mode. Partly because they do not want it, because you love doing and immerse it completely. Thoughts on matters do not let me in the holiday or at the weekend, and sometimes it's not the best way affects productivity. Brain elementary need unloaded when just relax for a while and forget about everything. Otherwise, inevitably emotional burnout. In general, follow the principle of "wash cup - think of the cup," I have not yet learned. But I am learning.

How does your workplace?

I move a lot between Moscow, Kiev and Paris, so my workplace is constantly changing. But no matter where I was, with me always MacBook Pro and iPhone 6. I am a fan of Apple and do not see alternatives from other manufacturers in terms of convenience and reliability.

On my hand as Apple Watch. I bought them as an experiment, but did not understand how to apply them correctly. As tracker they have already played enough for notification there are many other tools. If they kept charging at least a week, perhaps, my opinion was different. And from these Velho hours close to zero. But inertia still wear them in the morning.

As for software, the daily work using the full Microsoft Office package, an email client 2 Airmail, Chrome, and a number of messengers. All documents, including the workers, live in Google and Dropbox clouds. Practically I do not use mail through a browser, as I have multiple accounts, and I love, when all collected in one place and structured. In this regard, Airmail - the perfect solution for me.

Messengers: Google Hangouts, Facebook Messenger, Skype and Viber. Slack in our company are mainly technicians, so there I talk to when you need something to discuss with the engineers. From WhatsApp refused - all contacts from there somehow naturally flowed in Viber.

Pushes off almost everywhere except the mail, Skype and Viber. On notice there react almost instantly - is the specificity of action.

In the social networks I'm a passive consumer. Twitter almost do not use, and use Facebook as a working tool. It allows you to quickly reach the right person - not to look for his number or email, just open your friends list.

As a CRM we have internal development, but to personnel records and search employees use third-party services. For example, thanks BambooHR employees can directly through the app to request leave or sick leave, and with the service SmartRecruiters I can browse through the phone and all candidates to conduct the whole process of recruitment. Accounting for corporate costs employees use the application Expensify. In general, many administrative things we have to optimize and automate the expense of just such services. This saves a tremendous amount of time and increases efficiency.

Also recently mastered a mobile shopping - the last five orders on eBay did with the phone. It turned out, it is very convenient. I do not see why not do it earlier.

The most frequently used applications on your phone (other than sotsialok and messengers)

• Uber, GetTaxi, «Yandex. Taxi», «Yandex. Navigator», BlaBlaCar - can be mobile and due to this bring new emotions in life.
• In traveling: Skyscanner - to search for tickets, Booking, Airbnb and Ostrovok - for booking hotels TripAdvisor - for walks in an unfamiliar city.
• Velib - bicycle rental in Paris.
• Apple Music - subscribed, as it seems to me, cool as for adequate money is available to you almost the entire global music library.

Also, regularly use mobile banking and occasionally distracted from the bustle of some game-puzzle. Very much I love to make words of one long word. :)

Is there a place in your paper work?

I tried a lot, but have not been able to accustom themselves to the effective use of electronic Task Manager, so more and more actively use a paper notebook and pen. They are almost always with me. Planning on a paper for me effective software solutions. But in parallel still absorbed in Trello. Do I have enough for a long time is difficult to say.

How do you organize your time?

I do not use any of the popular techniques, read about in books (or maybe just do not know what to use). My method of working is very simple with the objectives and work out empirically. Every two or three days (about twice a week) I make a list of tasks in a notebook and expunged them as they perform. If any problem is not implemented for this time, I stand it in the new list. Usually in such my to-do-list no more than 20-30 points. There are still a lot of notes in the native application epplovskom "Notes" - them I am also very active use. And, of course, calendar - all scheduled meetings and events I have there.

On tasks I try to work as much as possible to focus on. But the specifics of my work is that the phone calls, email, and messages often require immediate responses - are diverted. While I understand that the brain - a piece rather single-process. When part of the switch, decreases the efficiency.

Many problems I delegate. Properly formulated and set the task - is half the battle. To control the execution do not use any software or services. It is easier to three minutes to chat with someone, you read some reports: the technology is not yet provide a level of interactivity as the live communication. So far we do not have much in the Russian and Ukrainian team, so I remember who's working on what.

What's your daily routine?

I am an owl. My working day starts between 10 and 11 o'clock in the morning. I want to be a morning person, so I consider it wrong that the whole day is spent on the job. I want to spend more time with family and friends.

My morning ritual - a glass of water with the juice of half a lemon. I drink it even before they get out of bed. On me, it works better than coffee: invigorates and helps to wake up.

I am happy, probably, almost always, but in a different way simply uninteresting and meaningless.

Day I'm running very late. Sometimes linger in the office till 10-11 pm.

How to pass the time in traffic jams?

There are two easy ways:

• or phone, where rages online life;
• or listening / reading books.

What's your hobby?

I like to travel. But lately my travels are related more to the work - about 50% of the time I spend on the road.

I like to walk a lot, about something thinking.

I dream of flying to the moon. I am sure I will be able one day to fulfill this dream, without resorting to psychotropic substances. :)

Quite a lot of reading, mostly sci-fi or futurology books and articles.

What place sport occupies in your life?

I am a supporter of a healthy lifestyle, but do not go in for sports in the proactive mode. My workout - it's horizontal bars, push-ups, sit-ups. In short, what can be done anywhere without going to the gym.

Of applications using Just 6 Weeks and nike Training. They help build a training program for every day.

Also watch on the hand I still periodically remind us that, for example, for a long time sitting, you need to get up to look like.

Layfhakerstvo from Alexei Lazorenko

books layfhakerskie not quite, just a couple of those, which I now have in the phone and somehow deposited in the head.

• «future Physics"And"The future of the mind"- Michio Kaku.
• «third wave"- Alvin Toffler.
• «Black Swan. Under the sign of unpredictability"- Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
• «Future"- Al Gore.
• «The Martian chronicles" - Ray Bradbury.
• «A Brief History of Time. From the Big Bang to Black Holes" - Stephen Hawking.

Also I read the book Ken WilberWhen once again I want to think about fundamental things and PushkinWhen you want to relax and enjoy the syllable.

I do not watch TV. More precisely, there are only three channels that I can watch: National Geographic, Discovery Science and Nickelodeon. But here are some movies and TV shows that I love.

Movies:

• «The Man from Earth»;
• «moon 2112»;
• «K-PAX»;
• «Matrix»;
• «Interstellar»;
• «The yield through the gift shop»;
• «transcendent man"(Paper);
• «House. travel story"(Documentary).

TV series:

• «The Big Bang Theory»;
• «Black mirror»;
• «Entourage»;
• «Two and a Half Men»;
• «Alf»;
• «Spongebob"(Multiplication);
• «Space: Space and time"(Documentary).

on YouTube Subscribe to:

• TED;
• «PostNauku»;
• Vsauce.

Also regularly review performance and Neil Tyson lectures and debates with Lawrence Krauss.

As for blogs and websites, paid subscription would have like only Smart Reading. There you can get acquainted with the ideas of popular books, they are presented in summary form. But I have noticed that, no matter how interesting was a book with such a readable format from the head all very quickly disappears. So I can recommend this service only as a way to get acquainted with the book before reading the original.

Not very often, but it happens when you want to relax on the progress and technology, look down on the "Arzamas"To get the" cultural dose. " Feed quality and the content is real respect and the desire to be enlightened.

What is your life motto?

Perhaps it I still do not fully formulated. My credo is still being formed. But if you try once very briefly and succinctly, and at the same time with the intent to express my main life principle, then perhaps it would be something like "Continuing to push the boundaries."