Rush Doshi

Bio:

I'm the co-founder of SuperGlued, a community for concertgoers. I got my start as an intern at SonicNet in the mid-nineties. They actually had a legit basketball court in their office on Bleecker and Broadway. Since then, I've held product mgmt and marketing roles at various NYC tech companies including Meetup, AOL, Bolt and Interactive One. While at grad school in DC, I did voter outreach for the Kerry campaign. It was an amazing experience in which I got a chance to meet and learn from citizens across the country. I appreciate the human side of things and hope to someday open a tea shop.

• Title: Founder, SuperGlued
• Age: 34
• Location: Brooklyn
• Contact: @rdoshi

What’s the best concert you’ve ever been to and why?

Sonic Youth at the Beacon Theater in 1994

It was my first time seeing them and they've been my favorite band ever since. I became one of those fanboys - buying zines, using drumsticks to destroy my guitar, attending shows at the Cooler and booking shows at school just so I could meet Thurston and Lee. Ah the good old days :) The show itself was an AIDs benefit hosted by John Waters. It included Debbie Harry (Blondie), Lou Barlow (Dinosaur Jr.) and a few others. This was Sonic Youth's only performance in 1994 because Kim Gordon was pregnant. They played an incredible set and the crowd was into it. A few made it on stage and many packed into the aisles - pushing into one another in a non-confrontational way. It was all so new and exciting to me at the time.

What do you like most about the concert scene in NY?

The diversity. The scene is not uniform - there are a bunch of subcultures. On any given night, you can experience something new and inspiring. And with so many artists now living in Brooklyn, there is a real sense of community.

Summers in New York are the best. There is so much FREE music. A few years ago, two of our interns went to 50 free shows in 50 days and documented their experiences. They got a chance to see everyone from Anita Baker, Burning Spear and KRS-One to Yeasayer, Casiokids and Superchunk. No entrance fee to any of these shows. Amazing.

What was most satisfying about doing voter outreach for the Kerry campaign? Do you get to apply those things in running a startup?

Meeting with voters. The goal of a campaign is to get more votes than your opponent. You need to ask for their vote. So outreach is very direct and personal. I got the chance to get to know the voters and understand their concerns. That was very satisfying. It's similar in a startup. You need to reach out and develop a personal relationship with the core members. This is not always easy to do because there's so much to do - product iteration, partnership development, bug fixing, etc. - with limited resources. But it's the best way to build a community that's sustainable in the long run.

What’s your favorite kind of tea? Are there any particular tea shops in NYC that you would recommend?

I love Assam tea. It's one of the stronger black teas so one cup in the morning is as good a pick-me-up as coffee. It goes well with (soy) milk.  I generally drink tea at home because I enjoy the ritual of making it.  But if I venture out, I go to the Tea Lounge in Park Slope or TeaNY in the Lower East Side.