John Ostman is currently the Senior Director of eCommerce and Digital Strategy for Jack Link’s Protein Snacks. He is an 18-year eCommerce and digital marketing industry veteran with experience building and leading growth focused B2C and B2B organizations.

John also serves as President for the Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association (MIMA) and mentors startup companies through the gener8tor accelerator program. 

Why did you choose to pursue eCommerce in your career? In 2001, I was working in the import side of the automotive industry and I saw how the internet was starting to disrupt business as we knew it. At that same time I had a friend who was selling MP3 players on eBay (quite successfully) and knew that this internet/eCommerce thing was impacting every industry and wasn’t going away. I dove in and started to learn everything I could about SEO, SEM, building websites, digital strategy and selling online.

What is your biggest strength, and how have you used it for your success in eCommerce? Curiosity: It’s what drove me into eCommerce and digital marketing (among other hobbies). Curiosity made me restless enough to want to figure out how Google’s search algorithm works, how website architecture contributes to conversion and how and why customers choose to buy where they do.

What is the weirdest skill or talent to come in handy in your eCommerce experience? In my 18 years working in digital/eComm-related businesses, I’ve learned that there is no weird skill. What makes us good at what we do is that we bring our whole toolbox with us and get creative when problems or opportunities arise.

How have you most successfully influenced change within your organization (or with your clients)? I think that I have been most successful when I have been able to find commonality between functions, roles and stakeholders. Ecommerce, in general, is still a black box to many both company and client side and boiling down problems and solutions to the most common denominator has built trust and overall success within the organizations I have worked for/with.

What was your most “valuable” career failure, and why? One of my first digitally focused roles was with a small boot-strap startup where I had two other partners. The product vision was good and it was a great fit for the industry we were serving. The venture ultimately failed, but not because of the product or funding, rather the partners were not aligned on purpose and goals. I learned a valuable lesson that the who and why are very much as important as the what when forming an ownership/partnership group.

In the last five years, what new belief, behavior or habit has most improved your life? In the last five years I started asking one question when meeting with friends, co-workers or professional associates: “What can I do for you/how can I help you?”. Regardless of how a conversation or meeting started I try to ask that question at the end. It’s surprising how you can build relationships with that question.

What are you learning right now? I am on a continual learning journey right now with the digital shelf and how different industries are building and utilizing a digital shelf philosophy. 

What are the 1-3 songs that would make up your career soundtrack today?

• I Won’t Back Down by Johnny Cash
• Don’t Need Anything by Glen Phillips

What are the 1-3 books you’ve gifted the most or that have greatly influenced your life, and why? The two books that have been most impactful for me both personally and professionally are:

• Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moore: Although it may be seen as a tech-industry specific or start-up specific book it has deep relevance across industries and helped me foundationally frame how I think about what’s important to the customer.
• Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl: Obviously not a business book, but deeply impactful on my general approach to life.  “They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.”

If you could have a gigantic billboard for the world to see with anything on it, what would it say, and why? “Rise Above”

This is a phrase I learned from a mentor and is a continual reminder to embrace and amplify the positives.

What are the worst recommendations or advice you have heard related to eCommerce?

• Investing in Social Media is a waste of time and money.
• Customers don’t care about content anymore, short bite sized pieces are the best and only content you need.
• The conversion funnel is dead.

What advice would you give to a future leader of change about to enter business, or specifically the eCommerce field? Be prepared to teach/mentor, but be more prepared to keep learning. This field continues to evolve rapidly and no one has mastered eCommerce yet. Understand your strengths and actively seek others who can fill in the blanks where you have gaps.

What specific, industry-related change do you believe will happen that few others seem to see? I believe that consumers will choose to share more of their information as opposed to less in digital spaces. Privacy concerns are real and very sensitive data will continue to get locked-down. However, consumers expect personalized and relevant experiences which can only occur when we agree to allow our preferences, as identified by our behavior/actions online, to be known.

What is the last thing you bought online, and why? LED reading lamp for my daughter. She’s a little bookworm!

---

First Movers is a change leader interview series featuring select industry pioneers who are boldly driving the evolution of digital commerce, the consumer and everything in between.