David Haber

Tell me about your background.

I grew up in South San Diego in a community of Mexican Jews.

My dad’s mom was in a labor camp in Romania and survived the Holocaust. Her family was split up and had a plan to try to get back together in Israel. Somehow, she made it there and met my grandfather, who happened to be from her childhood village. They got married when she was 18 and tried to get to the U.S., but they were denied because of immigration quotas. They tried to get as close as they could, which was Tijuana. My dad didn’t speak English until the third grade. My grandfather died when my dad was eleven, so my grandmother raised three children on her own and became an entrepreneur, selling leather goods and tchotchkes. She became successful enough that she could afford to have someone drive my dad to school across the border in San Diego.

My mom grew up in LA. Her family has a more traditional story – the Ellis Island path. She went to UCSD, met my dad through mutual friends, and the rest is history. So, I grew up culturally Mexican and Jewish and American.

What were the cultural or religious traditions of your childhood?

My Mexican background had an impact on my flavor palette. My dad’s work was in Tijuana and I would visit him regularly to get tacos in his old neighborhood. I learned Spanish from my dad.

I went to Hebrew School every week from fourth grade to my bar mitzvah. We didn’t keep kosher. Post-bar mitzvah it was very much like, “OK, we’re gonna go to synagogue for the High Holidays.” My mom liked hosting Hanukkah parties with latke making and arts and crafts projects with dreidels. My dad cared a ton about Israel. That’s almost his country more so than Mexico or the U.S.. If you’re the son of a Holocaust survivor, you have a particularly strong point of view about a nation state that basically allowed this exodus to happen. At least, that’s my thesis.

What’s the story behind your name?

It’s pretty Jewish. My middle name is Ezekiel. He was my great grandfather. I think my parents always wanted to name their first son David because it’s a Jewish name and a pretty easy one. I lucked out not having Ezekiel as a first name, although I kind of like it. You can call me EZ or something.

What did you want to be when you were five years old?

For a long time, I thought I was going to be an orthopedic surgeon. I have flat feet and went to this pretty famous orthopedic pediatric surgeon in San Diego and I was like, “I wanna be that guy.” I realized pretty quickly that I didn’t want to be a doctor. I loved science, but I’m too much of a people person and, as a kid, I was always fairly entrepreneurial. There’s this Steve Jobs quote that says once you realize the world around you was created by people no smarter than you, it changes your perspective on what’s possible. I realized at one point that you don’t need to be a doctor to run a business, and that’s when my path switched.

What kinds of entrepreneurial things did you do when you were a kid?

My parents said, “You want spending money, you gotta go figure out a way to make it.” I was in a very suburban neighborhood where you could paint the numbers of the houses on the curb, so I did it for my parents with stencils and then went door to door asking if people wanted numbers painted on their curbs.

I spent a summer working at Target making minimum wage stocking shelves and fronting bottles, which means you’re rotating the bottles to make them face the right way on the shelves. I was working eight hours a day and not walking away with a lot of money. I was like, “There has to be a better way.” My dad was a partner in a duty free business and a retail department store in Mexico. At the checkout counter, there were always impulse items like gel candles, lighters, and incense. I convinced the manager at my local Walgreens to place an order for $1000 of this stuff. The margin was 50%, so I’m walking away with 500 bucks.

I was in Student Government in high school and convinced them to allow me to sell tacos at the Friday night football games where there were a few thousand people. They had been selling microwaveable pizza and popcorn. There was a taco guy at my dad’s work and I was like, “Alright, I’m gonna hook you up.” He brought one of his kids and set up a grill. I must have helped this guy make millions by this point. He’s still there 15 years later. This guy would get hired for every single sports team and quinceañera and family event or BBQ, and then he started going to every other public school in the region. I was cut out from the deal pretty quickly.

How does Judaism fit into your daily life now, if at all?

I still culturally identify strongly with being Jewish. It’s part of who I am, something I think about. We’ll light Hanukkah candles, but we didn’t fast on Yom Kippur – none of the typical stuff I did when I had a parent who was holding me accountable. I’ve heard that ceremony often brings Jewish religion back into your life. I wasn’t going to get married without a rabbi or a kippah or not have a chuppah or do the hora, but we served non-kosher food. It’s a playful relationship to Judaism. We’ve hosted Passover for the Jew-ish and invited non-Jews and Jews. We’re eating non-kosher for Passover food and watching the Rugrats Passover special on TV.

What has been the key for you and your wife to have a good partnership?

Communication. I credit Julia for that. She has a very limited filter, which I think is an attractive quality, and she doesn’t let me hold things inside either. If there’s an issue, it’s like, “Alright, throw it out there, let’s talk about it.” I can’t say that we’ve found the perfect balance in life. I still struggle with that all the time. How do I become a good entrepreneur, a good husband, and take care of myself physically?

What are the qualities you most value in a friend?

Loyalty. If shit hits the fan, there are a handful of people I could call and they would drop everything and fly across the country to help me. There’s a difference between a friend who has your back and an acquaintance. I cherish those relationships.

Do you have a personal mantra?

It’s a Hebrew quote that means “we strive harder.” It’s like “Just Do It” for Jews. I remember my dad asking me after the 7th grade promotion into 8th grade, “Did you try your hardest?” and saying “Honestly, no.” He told me that quote. This was something my grandparents told each other to survive the Holocaust, life, and so it seared into my brain this idea of pushing yourself constantly and a sense of pride in doing that and it’s okay to fail if you try your hardest.

What’s an immediate turn-off for you?

Arrogance. The most successful people I’ve ever met are the most humble. I like people who are intellectually curious. I love to learn. If you’re too insular, that is a turn-off, for sure.

What’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever done?

I don’t embarrass that easily, but, sophomore year of college I ran for Student Council President and I spelled sophomore wrong and plastered the school in posters that said “Sophmore.” The girl that I was running against came out with posters that said “SophOmore,” and that was pretty embarrassing. She won by a landslide.

What are you reading right now?

I recently read Alec Ross’ book “The Industries of the Future.” He was Hillary Clinton’s head of technology and innovation when she was Secretary of State. His job was to travel around the world with her and meet with different pockets of entrepreneurs and governments. He wrote this book to show how embracing technology and women in leadership positions has massive economic impact. He told the story of Estonia vs. Belarus after the Soviet Bloc. Estonia embraced the Internet and open government – you can create a business in, like, 4 seconds, they have a digital passport system, and they created Skype and a bunch of other interesting companies. Belarus was controlled by an oligarchy and shunned the Internet and kept their country in poverty and massive wealth striation.

What’s your favorite place on earth?

The beach somewhere. I love La Jolla Cove.

What’s one thing you can’t live without?

Julia. My iPhone. The Internet.

Favorite small business?

It’s like asking, “Who’s your favorite child?” I love Gin Lane because they were our first customer, so there’s a nostalgia there. That’s the thing I love most about this company. I get to meet hundreds of interesting entrepreneurs who are really passionate about what they do.

Photos by Tim Gibson.