在喬伊·茨維林格創建14億美元的鞋履初創企業Allbirds很久之前，他是塔霍湖滑雪度假村的電梯操作員。他回憶道：“這是我的第一份工作，也是最差的一份工作。他們給我的器具并不防水，而且當時正值雨季，我渾身濕淋淋的，還得應對一直排隊等待、怒氣沖沖的父母和孩子?！?/p>

谷歌Chrome瀏覽器的工程高級總監帕里薩·塔布里茲曾經是當地泳池的救生員。他說：“我從漂流河中救起了一只快要淹死的雛鳥，還得清理優惠區灑在地上的墨西哥玉米片奶酪?！?/p>

智能家用健身設備制造商Peloton的聯合創始人湯姆·柯蒂斯曾經做過停車男仆。總統候選人皮特·布蒂吉格曾給人遛過狗。全美橄欖球聯盟的橄欖球業務發展高級總監薩姆·拉波波特曾經在高爾夫球場工作過，為此，她在每天凌晨3點就得離開住所。但這些早期工作能夠提供一些重要的閱歷，而且這40位商界精英也認為，這些工作為其后來的成功奠定了基礎。敬請繼續閱讀下文，了解多位上榜人士對其第一份工作的看法。

卡爾·亨德森，38歲

Slack聯合創始人兼首席技術官

我曾經在當地一家酒吧工作，洗過盤子，上過菜。我們的客戶就住在周邊社區，他們基本每天都會過來吃午餐或下班后吃晚餐。我深刻地了解到，如果要為客戶提供良好體驗，不僅要有好的產品，也要有好的服務和客戶關系。

凱特·格列佛，37歲

Wayfair全球人才總監

我的第一份工作是舀冰淇淋，當時還是個少年。（我最終成為了冰淇淋店的經理?。┪覍W到了很多東西，包括客戶滿意度以及如何與同事共事，以及最終如何管理他們。

胡梅梅，36歲

聯合神經科學公司聯合創始人兼首席執行官

（我的第一份工作是）挨家挨戶推銷刀具。這分工作迫使我直面眾多的恐懼，并讓我學會了如何向陌生人推銷，應對拒絕，并完成交易。

艾莉森·弗里登森，29歲

Modern Health聯合創始人兼首席執行官

我的第一份工作涉及在巖石上用指甲油作畫，然后游說周邊的孩子們把它們當作寵物石買回家。是的，我在9歲就開始做推銷了。不過，我意識到自己的總目標市場僅限于銷售50美分的產品，而這些產品的制作卻需要耗費我數個小時的時間。這也導致我開始了我的下一份工作——我的首個檸檬汽水站。這份工作真正讓我的銷售能力上了一個臺階，

蒂姆·布朗，38歲

Allbirds聯合創始人

（我曾經是一個）擦窗戶的清潔工，但并沒有得到好評。當時我在設計公司擦窗戶，而當時我對設計工作也是越來越感興趣。我曾經試著和辦公室里的人交流，但后來有人告訴我別說話，專心擦窗戶。經此一事，我的感受是，要讓每個人都有存在感。（財富中文網）

本文節選自《全球40位40歲以下商界精英》，該榜單涵蓋了我們選出的年度最有影響力的商業年輕人士。

譯者：馮豐

審校：夏林

Long before Joey Zwillinger founded his $1.4 billion shoe startup, Allbirds, he was a lift operator at a ski resort in Tahoe. “It was my first job and my worst job,” he recalls. “They gave me non-waterproof gear and it was the rainy season and I was soaked and dealing with angry parents and children, who’d been waiting in line.”

Parisa Tabriz, senior director of engineering for Google’s Chrome, was a lifeguard at a local pool: “I saved a baby bird from drowning in the lazy river, and I cleaned up nacho cheese spills from the concessions area.”

Turns out even the movers and shakers on Fortune’s 40 Under 40 list had some ho-hum jobs when they were younger. Peloton cofounder Tom Cortese valet-parked cars. Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg walked dogs. Sam Rapoport, senior director of football development for the NFL, worked at a golf course—a job which required her to leave the house at 3 a.m. But those early jobs can offer some important takeaways and, as our 40 Under 40 honorees found, can pave the way for success down the road. Read on to see what several of them had to say about their first jobs.

Cal Henderson, 38

Cofounder & CTO, Slack

I worked in the local pub. I washed dishes, served food. Our customers were part of the community, they would come in almost every day for lunch or after work. I learned a lot about how service and relationships are as important as the product itself when you want to offer a good experience.

Kate Gulliver, 37

Global Head of Talent, Wayfair

My first job was scooping ice cream as a teenager. (I eventually became the manager!) I learned a lot about customer satisfaction and how to work with—and then ultimately manage—your peers.

Mei Mei Hu, 36

Cofounder & CEO, United Neuroscience

(My first job was) selling knives door to door. It made me face a lot of fears and learn how to pitch strangers, deal with rejection, and close a transaction.

Alyson Friedensohn, 29

Cofounder & CEO, Modern Health

My first job involved painting nail-polish on rocks and convincing kids in my neighborhood to buy them as pet rocks. Yes, I was hustling from the age of 9. I realized my total addressable market was limited by selling (for) 50 cents goods that took me hours to make. This led me to my next job, which really took me to the next level of selling—my first lemonade stand.

Tim Brown, 38

Cofounder, Allbirds

(I was a) window cleaner. It was pretty bad. I … was working in a design office—which was a subject area I was becoming interested in—and I was trying to talk to the people in the offices. Then I was told not to talk, just to clean the windows. What I took from that was the feeling of trying to not make anyone feel invisible.

This article is part of the 40 Under 40, our annual selection of the most influential young people in business. Click here to see the additional 2019 coverage of these disruptors, innovators, rebels, and artists.