Meet SwissDeCode CTO Gianpaolo Rando and learn more about the importance of laziness

04.12.2020 07:55, Isabelle Mitchell

Venture Leader China Gianpaolo Rando co-founded SwissDeCode, a biotech startup that provides rapid food safety solutions that help farmers and food manufacturers to grow and produce food that is safe to eat. Learn more about Gianpaolo’s expectations for the Venture Leader China experience, his most rewarding conclusion as a founder, and why trains are superior workplaces.

The Venture Leaders China 2020 will accelerate their expansion into the Chinese market and build a business network through meetings with top-notch investors and industry leaders. To introduce you to the members of the Swiss National Startup Team, we asked each entrepreneur to complete a short profile and choose six questions from a questionnaire about their personal and professional life.

Name: Gianpaolo Rando
Job title: CTO of SwissDeCode
Location: Renens
Nationality: Italian
Graduated from: University of Milan 
Number of employees: 17  
First touchpoint with Venturelab: in June 2014 at a Venture Challenge

“SwissDeCode helps food manufacturers produce high-quality food by selling real-time certification of food products and premises.”

How and where did you come up with the idea for your startup? 
The horse-meat scandal of 2013. I was surprised to see that elite colleagues, who worked on finding a cure for cancer, joined private labs to do DNA testing of horse meat. I thought: We need to distribute our resources more efficiently. Why do you need scientists when a DNA testing solution could also detect contaminants and adulterants?

What do you expect from the Venture Leaders program, and how will it help you achieve your vision?
Venture leaders China will give us unprecedented exposure to key decision-makers in a country that represents 30%–50% of our potential revenues. Asia represents the fastest-growing market for our solutions, and China is a strategic hub to serve the Asian market.

What is your favorite productivity hack and why? 
The two-minute rule: If it takes less than two minutes, just do it now.

Where and when are you most productive?
Place: a train. Nobody disturbs me, and I have the clock ticking: I need to do the task before getting to my destination.
Time: My peak is in the afternoon.

What are your three favorite apps and why? 
With Google Maps and Waze, I can go everywhere without thinking about the route.
With Slack, I don't need to process the email inbox, which is helpful when the team is growing.
An app that  I will try in the near future: Notion 

How and where do you clear your mind? 
Laziness is a virtue. The most important part of my work is deciding what not to do. Is it important? Is it urgent? Is it mission-critical? 

What is the most rewarding aspect of being a founder? 
Realizing the company can now survive without you.

What is always in your fridge? 
With eggs, you can improvise breakfast or dinner in five minutes.

Last but not least, could you show us your workspace? 



For more information and updates on SwissDeCode and the Venture Leaders China, follow the Venture Leaders China 2020 team with #VleadersChina on social media or subscribe to our newsletter. 
 
This year’s Venture Leaders China is organized in collaboration with swissnex China and supported by EPF Lausanne, ETH Zurich, Gebert Rüf Stiftung, VISCHER, Canton Vaud, and the Canton of Zurich.