Married to the market
June 20, 2000
Web posted at: 5:43 p.m. EDT (2143 GMT)
Name
Gino Heilizer
Position
President, StockGift.com, Washington -- an online brokerage that functions as a gift registry.
Years in position
Seven months
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White lace and stock certificates
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Instead of a blender, you give the newlyweds stock. Instead of a tie clasp, the graduate gets an investment. The StockGift.com registry is a patent-pending operation. The company was incorporated in January 1999 and its Web site was launched a year later.
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Age
31 (a Sagittarian)
Education
MBA, Georgetown University
BA, English literature, Northwestern University
How did you get your current job?
I started the company in a class at Georgetown University. After asking my wife to marry me a few months before the class started, I realized there was a need for this particular product, online stock giving, in society. We did not want to register for household items because we already had been living together and had all the dishes and toasters we needed. We wanted to register for stock, but there was no good way to do that.
How many hours do you work per week?
About 65 hours. Monday through Friday, it's usually 8 to 6, and then on Saturday and Sunday 9 to 3.
What's the first thing you do when you get to work in the morning?
I try to read the paper in the morning and drink a cup of coffee.
What time do you have lunch? What do you usually eat?
Noon. I eat cheese sandwiches.
What time do things get tense around the office?
Right about 9 a.m. when I arrive. (He laughs.) That's what time we usually figure out everything that has to be done during the day and get started on it.
If you're having a good day at work, what is it that makes it good?
Getting things from the "To Do" list to the "Done" list.
How much work do you take home?
On average, about a half hour a night.
What does your work contribute to society?
Through the use of our Web site, we are facilitating people to easily give and receive what they really want, and at the same time, establish and reinforce a savings mentality among the Generation X culture.
Do you expect to finish your working life in this career?
Yes. And I hope to retire early.
If you could have two more careers, what would they be?
I'd like to be a law student - but not a lawyer, just go to law school - and an Aikido instructor.
What is an unforgivable trait in a colleague?
Lying to me. I couldn't forgive that.
What do you do to relieve stress?
I take long walks with my wife and my dogs on (a rugged, nearby trail).
What have you been reading lately?
A lot of biographies. Most recently, I've read them on Ted Turner and Charles Bloomberg.
When you have one of those days where you don't think you can face the job again, what is it that gets you out the door in the morning and off to work?
You know, I'm just so focused on getting as many things done as possible right now that I don't even think of the smaller things or anything that's depressing about this job at all.
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