Our Co-Founder and CTO, Daniela Binatti, recently featured on the Robert Walters podcast series, Act Like a Startup.
El proyecto Act Like a Startup series looks at how founders have created, developed and grown startup businesses – and the advice they would pass on to budding entrepreneurs. During her episode, Daniela covered culture, innovation, hiring talent and what Pismo did to help colleagues during the challenging global pandemic.
Daniela and her co-founders put culture at the heart of Pismo from the very start. She pulled from her own previous experience of being in toxic work culture and being a woman in a male-dominated tech team. “We decided to build a people-first, strong foundation,” she comments.
Global pandemic
This foundation helped hugely during the global pandemic, when many people went through very challenging times and, often, personal loss. Daniela explains: “Our focus on being a human-centric company is the main foundation to keep a team resilient during difficult times.” This is why Pismo invested in ways to support its people through the pandemic, from yoga classes to time-out if needed.
When it comes to day-to-day working life, making mistakes is essential for any startup, as it iterates and adapts. Keeping this ethos and allowing people room to learn and grow is embedded in Pismo’s DNA.
“We are a very innovative company, working with cutting edge technology, and we are doing business in a way that is different from our competitors,” Daniela explains. “We have to be willing to make mistakes; otherwise, we cannot innovate or disrupt the space. But we cannot make the same mistake twice.”
Whether a company is a disruptive startup or a global organisation, Daniela believes innovation needs to come from the top and not be kept to a ring-fenced department; “When leadership changes the way they work, it changes the game.”
You can listen to the full interview on the Robert Walters website.
