To highlight our team members, sometimes we put a Bizzers in the spotlight. Today is the day of Giovanni Bernardi, Head of Sales in Barcelona. Fasten your seatbelt and embark on the journey with us!

  1. Tell us a bit about your professional journey and how you became part of our company. What motivated you to join our team?

I moved to Barcelona to study for a Master in Finance, but during that year I fell in love not only with the city, but also with the vibrant start-up ecosystem, and all my plans changed. I was fascinated by entrepreneurs and founders who were building products from scratch, and I understood that I wanted to do the same, but first of all I needed to learn. After joining Glovo, one of the fastest growing start-ups in Spain, I joined (together with my ex-manager) BizAway, a 15-people company with a small team and a huge ambition. After a couple of conversations with Luca (the CEO) I knew that I couldn’t miss this opportunity. Many of my friends called me crazy, because I was leaving one of the hottest companies around, but a couple of months were enough to know it was the best decision in my professional life.

  1. In addition to your work, what are you passionate about in your personal life? How do you find a balance between your professional and personal life?

I am a very simple guy: I love traveling and playing sports. I am a big fan of How I Met Your Mother (which I probably saw 5 times), and my moral code prevents me from saying no to a beer. 

  1. What do you enjoy doing in your free time? Is there any activity or hobby that helps you recharge and makes you more productive at work?  

I love traveling, playing football or tennis (with horrible results), and strolling around Barcelona with my fiancé and friends. Even if I have lived in this city for 6 years, I still get surprised every day by its beauty.

  1. Has there been anyone in particular who has been a source of inspiration or mentorship throughout your professional career?  

Someone said we are the average of the people we spend our time with, and I am very lucky to share my life with amazing people, both at work and at home. My goal is to become an entrepreneur, and having the chance of working directly with Luca, the CEO and co-founder of BizAway is definitely a privilege, because I’ve experienced first-hand the main challenges of going from 0 to 1 and then scaling from 1 to 100. On the other hand, I learn every day from every single one of my colleagues, who always bring a fresh perspective to the table, thanks to their diverse backgrounds.

  1. Could you share a funny or interesting anecdote you’ve experienced during your time at the company?  

It’s so hard because so much happened in 4+ years… If I have to pick a couple of them, I will tell you about something awkward and something extremely fun. The first one is my encounter with Flavio, CTO and co-founder of the company. On my way from the airport to our HQ, I spilled a coffee on myself, staining my fresh-white shirt, and on the same night, while we were having beers together, I spilled half a pint of beer on Flavio, so definitely not the best first impression… The second one is more exciting, and it’s a 6am swim in the sea of Mallorca with our Sales Team, after a night out in a disco and way too many drinks. It is definitely one of the best memories of our first Sales Offsite.

  1. How do you define yourself in terms of values and principles? How do you believe these values are reflected in your daily work?  

I’m a very diplomatic person (except for dark humour jokes, which I really can’t help but loving) and I am strongly convinced that the truth is usually somewhere in the middle. That’s why, when there is a conflict, regardless of how harsh and polarized it may seem, I always try to understand all the parts involved and find a solution, and I still get too frustrated when it’s not possible. My favourite quote is from the British mathematician Bertrand Russell: “I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong”.

If we have intrigued you and you would like to work in a travel scaleup, submit your application here!