Wix Stores is a group that provides millions of businesses with all the professional tools and services they need to sell online and in-store. We spoke with 3 of our team members in Ukraine to learn more about how they make it happen
Wix Stores’ mission statement is quite simple: to provide our users with an end-to-end solution to sell anything they want online. It may sound easy, but the behind-the-scenes work that allows the magic to happen so seamlessly, is the result of innovation and lots of work.
Our Stores group is based in Israel and in Ukraine, and focuses on 3 main things. First, they help our users create and design their online stores. Then, they assist them in setting their payment providers, and finally - they help them manage and maintain their business while providing tools to help it grow.
Alexander Gonchar, a team lead in our Stores group in Dnipro, Ukraine, has been working with Wix for about 7 years. He doesn’t remember if he saw a job ad or if he was contacted by someone, but he clearly recalls that he knew nothing about Wix at the time. “Today we’re quite well-known in Ukraine, but back then the situation was very different”, he says.
Tell us about your journey with us
“My first role at Wix was as a developer for our Editor platform - the first, JavaScript based version of it. After several months I became a team lead and we got more responsibilities like enabling websites created on our platform to be displayed properly on mobile devices. After that, I helped developers in Wix’s Media group to develop a video player and a media platform, in order to give Wix the ability to host all media types, and after all that - about a year ago - I decided to take on a new challenge and here I am today. We’re a new team in Stores, located in Dnipro. We’re five people at the moment but we’re growing and looking for more developers. eCommerce is a big domain and we have to compete hard, but when you release features that are needed by millions of users, you really get a sense of satisfaction”.
What have you been working on lately?
“In the past couple of months we've been working on one of our top feature requests, called Back in Stock Notifications. The feature allows merchants to collect requests for out of stock items, and automatically notify engaged customers when the products they wanted are back in stock. With this feature we’re directly helping merchants to increase their sales and collect high intent leads. It was a very successful and satisfying project in which we collaborated with several teams at Wix and made an immediate impact on thousands of users”.
What’s the most challenging thing about your role?
“For me it’s the understanding that you’re not a 100% developer anymore. You're a leader of a team. This switch can be hard since there are days in which you don't write a single line of code. However, there are very rewarding sides - influencing how things will take shape in the future, and growing your team - not only in its size but more in the sense of fostering professionalism”.
Daria Reva joined Wix about 2 years ago as the Stores Product Manager on the Wix Mobile App in Kyiv. “Under my responsibility were all things related to Stores on mobile, and the solutions that merchants would need. After a year in that role I joined the POS (Point of Sale) team which we recently launched. We have two of them - one is a retail POS which is an actual piece of hardware and that’s why it’s a new thing for Wix, and the other one is a mobile POS”, she says.
What gets you excited about working on these products?
“The most exciting thing is that they’re new, and starting something from scratch at a company such as Wix is super exciting. When I joined Wix I couldn’t even dream of doing something like that. Why? Because we have so many users and making an impact at such a scale is something that really boosts any Product Manager’s ego”, she laughs.
“I’m also very lucky to do the work that I do in one of the strongest teams around. People here don’t only have great skills - they’re also great at owning things. They want to make a great product and they always think about our users and how to make things simpler and better for them. Wix has the attitude and abilities to attract such people, and in this team it’s really apparent”.
What are the main challenges you’re facing?
“The first challenge was to choose the language that the system's software will be written in. It may sound very technical, but it was a big deal for us to decide that we need Android developers instead of React Native developers. The second one was to find the right partners for the physical POS, since Wix doesn’t manufacture hardware”.
Why were they so hard to pick?
“Because we didn’t just want hardware. We wanted something that looks stunning! We had to build the product from scratch in a very short period of time, and in 8 months we already had the first version of the product and launched the beta version with real users who have real stores. Any unresolved issues with the product could influence people’s ability to receive payments, so there’s a lot of responsibility in it.
“Another huge challenge was setting up the fulfillment process, because in this case the product isn’t just an app you download. You have to have a partner who can actually fulfill the orders. If we promise a user that their POS hardware will arrive in 5 days, we need to be sure it does”.
What’s unique about Wix’s culture?
“Before joining Wix I worked at a startup company. The main difference for me is that at Wix I’m not the only Product Manager since the company is much larger. For me, it means that I have people to consult with and to brainstorm with and to build a methodology in order to do things right. Wix invests a lot in finding the right people, and the process can take some time, but when you start, you understand why. This is how to create an atmosphere that enables you to grow”.
Oleksandra Kulchytska started with Wix almost a year ago after 15 years of work, mainly as a Fullstack Developer in charge of creating web applications on enterprise projects. “Previously I worked in an outsourcing company on different projects for different customers”, she explains. “I learned many interesting technologies but at some point I understood that I needed to grow as an engineer. Working in those outsourcing companies didn’t give me enough room to grow because in them you don’t get enough freedom to make your own technical choices. Your responsibility in those projects is very limited, so my interest was to have more influence on what I'm doing and to be able to do the full cycle of software development, which would make me a better engineer”, she says.
Tell me a little bit about what your team does
“Mainly we’re responsible for catalog and storefront related features. What sets my team apart from other teams in Stores, is that we’re all in Dnipro, while other teams have people from both Ukraine and Israel. What we’re doing now is trying to grow big stars in the Dnipro office”, she says with a smile.
What sets Wix apart from other companies you’ve worked for?
“I think that Wix is different from others in its values. For me, one of the most important ones is owning what each and every one of us is doing. There is no collective responsibility at Wix. This means that you don’t feel here as if you’re a tiny part in a huge machine, and at the same time it means that you’re encouraged to propose your own solutions since people know that you’ll actually be responsible for making them happen”.
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