Meet Rodrigo Braun, a Spanish-german multi-linguist living in Sweden. He is a steady pillar in our Salesforce team but started his career as a hostel manager and took a turn to some of Sweden's most classic companies before he dropped anchor at Redpill Linpro.

– If I will work with Salesforce until I retire? I hope so!

Rodrigo Braun has been working with Redpill Linpro since the beginning of 2022 but moved to Sweden about five years before that. Besides being fluent in Spanish, German, Catalan, English, and French, he is also getting by in Italian and Portuguese and is comfortable speaking Swedish in a professional environment. He grew up in Spain and has had a tech interest since he was a kid.

– I used to build remote-controlled cars with my dad when I was little, and I built my first computer from scratch when I was 7. I just want to know how things work, and I still do. I get hyper-focused for a few weeks and learn everything about a topic, Rodrigo explains.

After finishing school, Rodrigo decided to study electronic engineering. But it wasn't quite enough. So he studied tourism management as well. He got a job at a hostel (right by the Oktoberfest area in Munich - cheers!) and soon became the manager.

– I really liked it. I know what it is like to be a backpacker, and it was nice to be able to help the guests and listen to their traveling stories. But I always kept my interest in tech.

When Rodrigo Braun and his partner moved to Sweden, he left the hostel career behind and immediately got a job at Klarna. The HR department had this new, powerful technical tool that no one really knew how to use. Rodrigo, who worked in another department as a data engineer, was asked to set up the Salesforce system and took care of the administration.

– I didn't know what I was going into. But I was just like, "ok, a new system, cool, let's have a look." The journey was quite stressful, but I learned a lot. Before that, I had no idea what Salesforce even was, Rodrigo says.

After moving across the country to be closer to his girlfriend's family, Rodrigo landed a job at Ikea.

– I went for the typical Swedish brands, from one cliché company to another, he laughs.

By this time, Rodrigo had already gotten in touch with Redpill Linpro. The timing wasn't right, there were no relevant openings at Redpill Linpro. But things changed.

– I really wanted to come to Redpil Linpro. I wanted to work with Salesforce again. I like the platform, how you can use it, and everything around it. It is fun.

Rodrigo talked to Erik Ivarsson, CEO of Redpill Linpro CX, and was impressed by how Erik talked about the company, the position, and the future.

– Normally, within tech and when you work with projects, the deadlines are always very hard. And, of course, we still have deadlines at Redpill Linpro, but Eric was so calm and relaxed about it. That made me feel comfortable. People at Redpil Linpro are open, friendly, and happy to help, and I got to see that once I joined. 

Rodrigo describes himself as naturally curious. He spends "quite a lot of time" on Youtube just learning about new technologies, programming languages, and frameworks. From time to time, the focused learning includes subjects other than tech - mostly sports or languages.

– A few years back, I got the idea of completing a full Ironman. I started running and learned everything about it to get the most efficient running possible. I did the same with cycling and swimming. But I have done it with language, roleplay, anime, and so on. Sometimes I burn out, but most of the time, the info just sticks.

So, what does the future hold? Except for a full Ironman?

– Work-wise, I have so much more to learn within Salesforce. I don't understand it completely yet. There is my hyperfocus-thing again. It is like an itch; I need to do this now. And I am really looking forward to it.