Friday Five: Ruslan Kogan

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Every Friday we’ll profile a prominent figure from Australia’s IT, telecommunications or video gaming industries in the Friday Five. This post is going up early this week because of the Easter Friday holiday tomorrow.

If there’s one individual who’s currently shaking up Australia’s consumer technology industry, it’s Kogan Technologies founder Ruslan Kogan. But who is the man behind the media appearances? We find out in this week’s Friday Five.

1. What was your first job ever?

I was my own boss at the ripe age of ten. I lived in the commission flats near Elsternwick Golf Course. I would walk around the fence lines of the golf course in the evening and collect all the golf balls people had lost. I then took them home, washed them, put them in egg cartons, and went to the golf course on Saturday and Sunday mornings to sell them to players at 50 cents a ball.

My first official job was the day I turned 14 and 9 months when I began working at the deli in Coles.

2. What do you most like about working in the technology/telecommunications/video gaming industry?

Getting to try out new gadgets all the time. I’m very hands on with all new products that Kogan sells. I’ve tested each and every product we sell, and this will never change. Just this week I had a play with an Android powered TV being developed by our team in China. The constant innovation and evolution of the consumer electronics industry keeps me on my toes and makes every day a fresh challenge!

3. What’s your hobby?

I love playing tennis, as well as jet-skiing, running, and playing with new and exciting gadgets.

4. If you had to take one book, movie or music album with you to a desert island, what would it be?

Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead. It formed the basis for many of my objectivist beliefs and influences me each and every day of my life.

5. What/who has been the biggest inspiration in your career?

Richard Branson. His entrepreneurship and innovation has had an impact on every industry he enters. He fearlessly goes up against the biggest brands in the world and always creates extra value for consumers, which is what we try and do at Kogan Technologies.

Image credit: Kogan Technologies