Some feedback on our adventure has been long overdue. It’s been 2 months since Philip and I left San Francisco. So much has happened since then that it feels like a lot more. It has been an amazing ride and this is how it all started.
6 months ago, Philip and I were roommates, both working in San Francisco. We were both somehow frustrated with our day jobs and craving adventure. We both knew it was time for a change and that travel was part of the equation.
At that time, we started taking on consulting projects with a few local startups. One pay check following the other, we quickly realized this could become a full-time activity. With the help of third friend, we created The Bakery, with the mission statement of building rich web apps with a strong emphasis on design and user-experience.
From the beginning, we wanted to take our business on the road. Our unspoken dream was to travel the world while working with international startups along the way.
Around mid-April, we heard about Techpeaks, an accelerator program in Trento, Italy. The idea is to attract talented entrepreneurs from around the world to spend 6 months in the Italian Alps and offer equity-free grants to the most promising projects.
We were accepted beginning of May and everything went very fast from there. I submitted a one month notice at work and planned my move to Italy. Within 3 days following my last work day, I flew to Paris and drove the 1200km between Paris and Trento. After a few weeks of visa issues, Philip arrived in Trento while our other friend decided to accept a position at a large (and evil) corporation.
A month later, Skilltide was born as gateway for others to do what we are doing: use their skills to travel the world and work with local talent.
One month later, we obtained Techpeaks’ 25K euro grant and began building our platform. Meanwhile, we are experimenting with our model, shipping ourselves to various european companies and sharing our skills for hospitality. Our adventures have already taken us to Croatia, and throughout Italy.
In a couple weeks, we’ll be visiting CicerOOs, an Italian company based in Salento, one of the most beautiful parts of Italy. But more on that in another post…