Box VP Bets on Side Projects

2026-10-23

Side projects deserve attention. Box vice president Rand Wacker likes candidates who build things outside their jobs, and his own Apple TV app offers a pleasantly odd example: it accesses his movie library, chooses a film at random, and starts playing from a random point. Forget the polished pitch. Here is software built around a very particular personal preference.

The oddness is instructive. If you are trying to understand someone's technical interests, a project with such a specific purpose gives you something more concrete to discuss than a declaration of enthusiasm on a resume. Ask about the choices. Random selection and playback seeking describe the app's behavior, although the supplied description does not establish how Wacker implemented either operation or connected the app to his library. That distinction matters here. You can appreciate the idea without pretending that a brief account of its features amounts to a technical review.

Still, resist the shortcut. Wacker's enthusiasm for side projects does not establish that every strong candidate needs one, or that an evening coding habit predicts better work on a team. Personal time has limits. For you as a candidate, the useful lesson is narrower: something you built can open a conversation about your decisions, interests, and willingness to turn an idea into working software. Keep the discussion concrete. Wacker's example is not a grand commercial proposition; it is a movie app that deliberately skips the beginning. What would you build simply because you wanted it to exist?

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