Great ideas almost never emerge in the most obvious contexts. It is on the “dark side of the moon” – the place where the light doesn’t reach – that often lies the space for those crazy, ambitious, and sometimes truly brilliant insights.
We believe that stories have a unique power: the ability to inspire, connect, and reveal the “behind the scenes” of what drives us. Today, we want to hand you over to our CEO, Andrea, who has agreed to share a piece of his personal journey.
He’s not one to talk about himself – those who know him know that – but this story deserves to be told. It’s the story of how a mix of experiences, insights, and determination laid the foundation for G-RID, the platform we are building together.
From Sales to Coding: A Plot Twist Picture this: 20 years of selling just about everything under the sun. Cars? Check. Tanning salon franchises? Sure. Consulting services? Why not. Software for clothing stores? Been there, done that. Sales was my jam, mainly because it let me control my paycheck. The harder you hustle, the bigger the reward. Simple.
Then, bam! Life throws a curveball. Enter the “dark side” of programming. How did it happen? One too many developers telling me, “Nope, can’t be done,” with zero explanation. It drove me nuts. So, what did I do? I picked up a book on programming basics and dived in headfirst. Before I knew it, I was hooked. Who knew fiddling with code could be this addictive?
The Sales-Coding Mashup: A Secret Weapon Fast forward to today, and that odd combo—sales and coding—has turned into my not-so-secret weapon. Here’s the deal: great ideas are a dime a dozen. They pop up, they fizzle out. Why? Two big reasons. Either they’re all flash and no substance (commercially appealing but technically impossible) or brilliant but boring (technically solid but who’d ever buy it?).
Thanks to my “dual citizenship” in these worlds, I always run my ideas through two quick tests:
- Would I buy this?
- Can it actually work?
If the answer is a solid yes, I’m in. If not, it’s back to the drawing board.
The Magic of the Internet (And a Hint of Nostalgia) Let’s rewind to the early days of Bancomail. My first big project? Building an e-commerce platform—from scratch. It was just me, a second-hand monitor, and some “Programming for Dummies” books. Three months of 12-hour days later, we had a site. The real magic? Two months in, our first customer—an Italian food company—dropped €500 on our products. Cue the fireworks.
And the internet back then? A dream. Google’s spider crawled websites like an eager intern, rewarding quality over keyword stuffing. Simpler times, better vibes.
Developers and the Dazed Look Over the years, I’ve noticed a certain look in developers’ eyes during interviews. It’s this mix of fascination and doubt, like, “Is this guy for real?” When they’d ask, “But can it be done?” I’d always answer, “Of course! Ambitious? Sure. But really, it’s simple if you think it through.”
Never Say “It Can’t Be Done” That belief has been my North Star. It’s what led me to G-Rid, a project born out of another “it’s impossible” moment. After years of hearing it and proving people wrong, my mantra is simple: “It can be done. Just do it.”
Catch you in the next one, Andrea