The CTO and Co-Founder of LocalBini, Thomas Picariello, discusses his position at the start-up and shares his personal insight on the value of success, travelling, and meeting people from around the world.
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Can you tell us how you became LocalBini’s CTO?
It was actually a fortunate coincidence! After finishing my studies, I was looking to do an internship as part of my degree. I met Mateusz Mierzwinski, the CEO of LocalBini, through a common friend during a casual dinner. That’s when we first decided to work together. It really happened by chance. I wasn’t looking for work specifically in the field of start-ups. But I knew that I didn’t want to work in a big company because I like it when things are moving fast and I enjoy taking on challenges. I was actually the first employee of LocalBini. I really enjoyed the work and stayed on, eventually becoming CTO.
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What do you like about working in a start-up?
I like the fact that the possibilities are endless. You are not limited by schemes or pre-established processes and practices. You have to create everything by yourself and build things from the ground up.
I also enjoy the challenge of taking on different responsibilities at the same time. Naturally, when you are working as part of a small team, you have to fulfil a lot of roles and duties. It can be very stressful, but it is very rewarding when you manage to come through.
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How do you define success and how do you measure up to your own definition of it?
The greatest success anyone can achieve, in my opinion, is personal success. I believe that success can only occur when the person succeeding deems it as success. When someone is satisfied and happy with what they have achieved, that is success. Whether other people consider it so is irrelevant. Apart from that, I think that the greatest successes are the ones that are preceded by a lot of errors and a lot of perseverance. That is why I would say keep on failing until you succeed and don’t be afraid of making mistakes. That is what will bring ultimate success.
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Does your activity/passion involve travelling or meeting people from around the world?
It does, and that is why I wanted to study abroad in the first place. I enjoy meeting people from different backgrounds who were raised as part of different cultural systems. I find it interesting to see how individual people from all around the world are actually quite similar, even though their cultures are so different. I’m also interested in observing what makes individuals so similar, yet so unique at the same time. But, I wouldn’t say I travel to meet individual people. I travel mostly to understand different systems, different cultures, and practices different to my own.
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How much do you value travelling? What does it mean to you?
Travelling means new opportunities. It means new knowledge and new experiences. It means becoming more cultivated as a person. You get to learn a lot from travelling: from the places themselves, but also from the people you meet. You find yourself in situations that wouldn’t you be in, had you stayed in one place. And it is these situations that give you valuable lessons. They teach you new things, new capacities and new skills that always prove very useful at some point in life. So yes, I do value travelling. I think that everyone with the ability to travel should be doing so as much as possible.
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Which was your most memorable travel experience?
I would say that my most memorable travel-related experience was studying abroad. I was actually in a different country every one or two years, and it was during that time that I developed the strongest and the most lasting relationships with people. When you go somewhere just for one week it doesn’t really affect you that much. But, studying at a place and being there for months is different. During my studies, I met some very impressive fellow students with whom I still keep in touch. I also had some very interesting teachers and over time came to realise that teaching approaches vary depending on the country. For me, meeting people from different countries and getting to learn about their culture, while sharing your knowledge with them, is one of the best parts of travelling.
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