As part of my series about the “How Business Leaders Plan To Rebuild In The Post COVID Economy,” I had the pleasure of interviewing Bruno Macchialli.
Bruno Macchialli is the Chief Executive Officer at Delchain Limited, a full-service and licensed financial firm that supports a wide range of digital asset services. He is an experienced and knowledgeable Financial and Cryptocurrency/Blockchain Advisor.
Over recent years, he has partnered with a number of high-net worth clients and has built some of the most successful multi-million dollar companies around.
Thank you so much for your time! I know that you are a very busy person. Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
Sure, back in 2016 I started in the digital asset space. I began by providing financial advisory to cryptocurrency projects. At that time the projects that were raising funds were mostly led by tech people, so I became a ‘go-to’ person when they needed strong financial advice. Little did I know at the time -this would be the start of my financial journey/career.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?
I’ve always looked much younger than my actual age, and when I started my first job there were several instances where clients thought that I was an intern. It was a difficult time, because many people struggled to take me seriously at first.
That forced me to develop a stronger presence when meeting clients. I learned to be more confident, clear and concise.
Is there a particular book that you read, or podcast you listened to, that really helped you in your career? Can you explain?
Nothing that I can think about at the moment.
Extensive research suggests that “purpose driven business” are more successful in many areas. When you started your company what was your vision, your purpose?
The vision for Delchain was to create a banking structure within the digital asset space. I wanted to bring forward a company that would not only be respected under a licenced and regulated environment, but also a service that people will need in the coming future that traditional financial tools could not bring solely.The goal was to use the existing banking model yet still add the valuable aspects of cryptocurrency and blockchain to its function.
Do you have a “number one principle” that guides you through the ups and downs of running a business?
Yes, stay positive and never give up. Whatever happens there is always a solution to a problem.
Thank you for all that. The Covid-19 pandemic has affected nearly every aspect of our lives today. For the benefit of empowering our readers, can you share with our readers a few of the personal and family related challenges you faced during this crisis? Can you share what you’ve done to address those challenges?
Like many other parents we made the decision to homeschool during this pandemic. That decision was not an easy one, because we struggled to keep a balanced schedule between work and play for our kids. We had to figure out what worked best for them, and we had to figure out what worked best for us -( as we were also balancing our work schedules at home during this time).
We found that the best way to find that balance was through organization. We created time for the family to play and have fun together, but we also blocked out time to work. Another trick I found works has been to work at night time while everyone is sleeping.
Can you share a few of the biggest work related challenges you are facing during this pandemic? Can you share what you’ve done to address those challenges?
The main challenge during the pandemic for me was trying to maintain a highly motivated environment with my team as we continued to work together in separate locations. This was difficult as there was no more face to face interaction and the lines between personal affairs and work life all of a sudden shared the same space throughout working hours .
When I speak of personal affairs I am specifically speaking of family time, especially for those with young kids.
Since the early stage of the Pandemic, our main concern has been our employees’ health. Since that time until now we have asked all our team members to work from home and we implemented a strong campaign of communication to make sure everyone is working according to their tasks and to take ownership of their duties despite the circumstances. The goal was to give people time to handle their private and professional tasks in their own space and time. We found the results to be more than positive since our productivity and revenues grew tremendously since the beginning of the pandemic.
Many people have become anxious from the dramatic jolts of the news cycle. The fears related to the coronavirus pandemic have understandably heightened a sense of uncertainty, fear, and loneliness. What are a few ideas that you have used to offer support to your family and loved ones who were feeling anxious? Can you explain?
In such tough times, communication is key. This pandemic most certainly proved that, particularly for me as most of my family members are located in France.
France was one of many countries that went through months of lockdowns and curfews and this made things even more tedious when it came to communicating and checking in physically with family and friends.
However I decided to keep in touch multiple times per week with my loved ones and virtually we were able to speak more times a day than we did before.
Communication became therapeutic for us, as we all were going through different experiences during this time.
In a way the pandemic forced us to grow closer and we also were more alert in checking in on each other to make sure no one was going into a potential dark situation.
Obviously we can’t know for certain what the Post-Covid economy will look like. But we can of course try our best to be prepared. We can reasonably assume that the Post-Covid economy will be a trying time for many people across the globe. Yet at the same time the Post-Covid growth can be a time of opportunity. Can you share a few of the opportunities that you anticipate in the Post-Covid economy?
For many companies change will be mandatory Post-COVID. The culture of “normal business” is definitely out of the window. Companies that will have implemented a flexible and agile structure and organization will be the winners.
The economy for many will most certainly be a trying time. However, for those who will change their style of business to be more accessible, mobile, and digital they will reap the benefits of the new economy.
Post-COVID I’m anticipating that companies will grow stronger in mobile communication not just between consumers but also with staff. I also anticipate that companies will begin tapping into more digital services as this is already becoming the norm even now.
How do you think the COVID pandemic might permanently change the way we behave, act or live?
People won’t necessarily work from 9 to 5 but change their personal/professional balance time to fit everything according to deliverables. We will begin to have more balance with our time, and we will begin to cherish face-to-face interaction more now than we did before.
With Covid I think it is safe to say that we have learned to be more results driven with our time.
Considering the potential challenges and opportunities in the Post-Covid economy, what do you personally plan to do to rebuild and grow your business or organization in the Post-Covid Economy?
We are going into the extreme flexible and agile structure of organization. We have team members working everywhere in the world. And we have already taken the initiative to expand our services in a way where our clients can value it during these times . We have worked on serving our clients on a 24/7 basis.
We are now a full flex office: team members can decide to go to the office whenever needed to meet with each other or with clients.
Similarly, what would you encourage others to do?
Being open minded is important. We are all facing issues and this forced us to rethink how we should work in a very short period of time and it’s now been more than a year.It is an opportunity to rethink the type of job you are having. I would encourage others to focus on positions that could enable remote work.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Find a job that won’t make you feel that you are working. That is the only way to work harder, better and always go the extra mile. If you can mix passion and work you’ll always succeed in life.”
How can our readers further follow your work?
People can reach out to me on LinkedIn.
