Who are You?
Nathan wawruk. Born and raised in Vancouver – one of the few. I have a wife and daughter. And I do technology recruiting.
What do you do for fun?
That’s a good question. I generally focus a lot on food, and I take pleasure in good food. I think that Vancouver is a great city for food. There’s a lot of authentic, well-priced international cuisine. My work is also really fun for me. I am a headhunter for an IT
recruitment firm, so it doesn’t really feel like a job.
What is your favourite community?
Man, I gotta pick just one?! When I was growing up, I was right in the middle of Vancouver. And I was lucky enough to have friends in the West and East. I went to elementary and High School in Kits. I had friends near Britannia. So, I experienced both worlds. But my favourite community is where I grew up, near Queen Elizabeth Park. Great for bike riding, getting outside. Having fun.
What is your Superpower?
I have an uncanny ability to recognize and/or brainstorm and/or recognize a wide range of great business ideas.
How do you use it to build community?
Well, business is about ideas. And I can get people brainstorming different ideas that connect with their skills and interests – I have a knack for recognizing these matches. The ideas usually come from just hanging out and talking, and then – in collaboration – I help people turn their ideas into reality. It’s better to talk about novel business with peopke than conceal them, because that’s how the ideas are going to become real. This partly comes from my experience in Japan [Editor’s note: Nathan lived and taught in Japan for several years], where they’ve made a lot of innovation based on talking sharing business ideas. One idea is a capsule hotel – this is an analogy, basically, for many of the cool ideas from Japan. Don’t be surprised if you see one pop up in Vancouver soon!
My Three Favourite Things About Nathan Are…
1. Executive-style execution of ideas. Nathan’s the type of guy who’s always thinking up interesting business ideas. Ways to do things more efficiently or effectively. But while new ideas are a dime a dozen, Nathan is part of the entrepreneurial people in this world who won’t just think up an idea, but develop a pragmatic way of making it happen. Most importantly, he has the business knowledge and an arsenal of experience to bring to the table – taking the ideas from pie in the sky to potentially workable. Nathan is value added to Planet Earth.
3. His love of all things meaty. Here’s a carnivore that would make a T-Rex look like a vegan. I’ve sat with Nathan at a number of BBQs over the past few years. One involved a slew of Korean basted pork. Another time it was amazing yaki-niku style beef BBQ on Spanish Banks. His enthusiasm was infectious (like the Ebola virus).
John’s Special Bonus Favourite Thing About Nathan is…
He’s just so supercool. Nothing stresses this guy out! I love how – no matter what the situation – Nathan always remains calm, rolls with the punches and has fun while he does it. Nathan is a relaxing, connective force who epitomizes cool and makes everyone else around him feel great.