Welcome to On the Spot, our content series where we feature people in the parking, technology, and commercial real estate industries you should know. This week, we're excited to introduce you to Vend’s Chief Operating Officer, . Pritesh has had an impressive career playing a key role in the growth story of several early-stage startups and wears many hats in his role at Vend.

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‍Quick Facts:

Name: Pritesh Chandarana

Role: Chief Operating Officer

Location: New York

Time at Vend: <1 year 

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Q: Hello Pritesh, welcome to On The Spot. Let’s start our interview with something easy… What brought you to Vend?

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A: Three key factors. Firstly I was very impressed with the team and the culture of the company. There is a strong spirit of togetherness and the drive to move fast to build really attracted me as I love to get into the weeds and build. Second, the industry is ripe for disruption with the introduction of technology being able to play a key role in improving the customer experience while improving the profitability for owners and property managers. Finally, this is a role where I can really leverage my years of experience at Uber, Slice, and Oyo scaling complex products and building high-performance teams! 

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Q: That’s some incredible work experience! What were you doing right before you joined Vend?

A: After just under two (very intense!) years at Slice, where I worked on the Accelerate product building the team from scratch to 27, I took a few months to look for the right opportunity while also looking after my new baby daughter. 

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Q: That’s amazing, it’s always important to take care of the people we love. Now that you are back at work, what is one thing that you wish people knew about your job?

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A: At this stage of a company, there is close to nothing that I should not be willing to do. If someone can do it more efficiently and/or better than me, I’ll let them but otherwise, I’ll sign up to do it. 

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Q: How has your role evolved over time since you’ve been here?

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A: I think originally my role was really focused on the three core pillars of operations at Vend, which are customer support, client success, and implementation aka installation at our locations. But as time has gone on, I’ve been able to play a more active role in hiring, fundraising, and company strategy planning. This is because at a small startup, there's a strong need for people to do things that are outside of their scope and that is what excites me! 

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Now let’s do a speed round…

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Q: What piece of advice would you give to your younger self?

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A: Don’t plan too far ahead. Acquire a strong set of skills, always be learning and curious, and then follow what excites you (but isn’t a fad)! 

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Q: If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

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A: To speak any language. And I would define “language” broadly e.g. French, music, coding, etc. 

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Q: What’s the last song you listened to?

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A: I’m listening to a lot of Hans Zimmer right now. 

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Q: What, if anything, are you currently binge-watching? Or reading?

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A: Binge-watching Succession and Mrs. Maisel. Binge-reading, the Three Body Problem trilogy. 

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Q: What’s one thing on your bucket list?

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A: To climb a snow peak mountain. 

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Thank you very much for joining us, Pritesh! If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to reach out.

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