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From Pooper Scooper To Millionaire: Here Are 82 Odd Jobs A Tumblr Investor Had Before He Struck It Rich

From Pooper Scooper To Millionaire: Here Are 82 Odd Jobs A Tumblr Investor Had Before He Struck It Rich
Tech2 min read

rick webb guitar

Flickr via Scott Beale

Rick Webb, at his wedding in August 2013.

Rick Webb came into wealth a few years ago, when his company Barbarian Group was acquired. Or, as Webb describes it, he became "wealthy. ish."

"Like rich people wouldn't consider me rich, but I did some research and I'm in like the top .5% or something now, well into seven figures, won't have to work ever again," he wrote in response to a question on Quora.

Webb didn't always have money. He worked tons of odd jobs before he became a successful entrepreneur and investor. Webb has since backed startups such as Foursquare and Tumblr.

This week, Webb turned 42 and he listed all the jobs he's ever made a salary from. The list begins with "berry and rhubarb farmer" and ends with "house cleaner." In the middle you'll find things like "pooper scooper" and "guitarist/singer in space rock band," to more recent roles, "board member" and "COO."

Even now that Webb has money, he doesn't spend it in a crazy fashion. He wrote a really thoughtful post about what it was like to come into wealth, here.

Below is his full list of jobs.

  • Rhubarb & Berry Farmer
  • Bartender on a roving karaoke palace
  • Christmas tree decorator in a christmas shop (the trick is to individually wrap every branch with lights from the trunk outward and back, one branch at a time. Use about 10 strings. Looks amazing)
  • Railroad car cleaner on the Alaska Railroad
  • Guy who waves those paddles for airplanes
  • Baggage handler at the airport (notable for being allowed to play on baggage claim belts)
  • Founding music director of a commercial radio station
  • Dishwasher
  • Busboy
  • Line cook
  • Copy shop lackey
  • Offset press man
  • Bus washer
  • Bar owner
  • Club promoter & host of illegal raves
  • Designer of annual reports for genomics companies and microchip manufacturers
  • Video editor for startups and ad agencies (dot com boom 1)
  • Record label owner
  • Rhythm guitarist and keyboardist in a country band
  • Guitarist and singer in a space rock band
  • Power electronics operator in a noise band
  • Purveyor of corn dogs at the Alaska state fair
  • Seller of admissions tickets to the Alaska state fair, 3 years running
  • Paperboy (boy that one did not last)
  • Lawn mower
  • Driveway snow shoveler
  • Hotel Housecleaner at Sophie's Station hotel in Fairbanks, AK
  • Photographer of bands, fetish nights, etc.
  • Macromedia Flash animator and actionscript programmer
  • Pre-press operator for financial reports at a major printing press (FRAMEMAKER)
  • Tour manager for goth bands
  • Merch boy
  • DJ
  • PA
  • PowerPoint expert for audit and financial firms, including Putnam, KPMG, Deloitte, Fidelity.
  • Web designer
  • Web developer
  • Macromedia Director Lingo programmer (Coincidentally I met one of the authors ofLingo last night!)
  • Photoshop production artist
  • Color corrector of photos of automobiles
  • Copywriter
  • Art director
  • Bookkeeper (oh man do NOT hire me as a bookkeeper I am terrible)
  • Columnist
  • Book Author
  • COO
  • Web producer
  • "Mechanical Supervisor" (whatever that means. I am still not sure)
  • Information Architect
  • Quark and Pagemaker Page layout designer
  • Film producer
  • Agfa Accuset Imagesetter Operator
  • Full time designer of record covers
  • Bed and Breakfast breakfast preparer and housekeeper
  • Professional decorator of techno/electronica nightclubs
  • Venture Capitalist & angel investor
  • Co-working space owner
  • Advisor
  • Board Member
  • Revenue consultant
  • Advertising product designer
  • Salesperson
  • Account manager
  • Vague, undefined "strategist"
  • Design studio owner
  • Advertising agency owner
  • Proposal lackey
  • Professional buyer of tickets to concerts for resale via a legal scalper
  • Attendant at a pop up store for the Nintendo Game Cube (actually this might have been the best job I ever had)
  • Alaska state legislature campaign manager (man it's crazy there is NOTHING about this on the web)
  • Parade pooper scooper
  • Subway busker (for one day, bauhaus covers only, harvard square stop)
  • Professional speaker
  • MacTemp
  • Game designer
  • Recruiter
  • Ebay seller
  • Gas station attendant
  • Guy standing on a street corner handing out flyers
  • Envelope stuffer
  • House Painter
  • House cleaner

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