EU-Startups Podcast | Episode 133: Marco Trombetti, Co-Founder & CEO of Translated and Pi Campus
In the latest episode of the EU-Startups Podcast, Marco Trombetti, Co-Founder and CEO of Translated and Pi Campus, shares his views on entrepreneurship that blends raw curiosity, enduring optimism, and the patient craft of building long-term impact.
Hosted by Marcin Lewandowski, the conversation dives deep into how Marco has navigated decades at the intersection of technology, language, and business.
Starting out as a teenage software tinkerer in a small coastal town near Rome, Marco built his first products to solve his own problems – from cassette tape optimisation to barcode software for local shops. That same DIY drive led him to Co-found Translated in 1999 alongside his wife Isabelle, at a time when the idea of online translation services was practically unheard of.
Now a veteran of both startups and venture investing, Marco shares insights drawn from decades working at the crossroads of technology, language, and entrepreneurship. Translated now offers services in over 200 languages and collaborates with more than 500,000 professional translators, combining human expertise with advanced AI.
Throughout the episode, Marco returns to the idea that true entrepreneurship is not a sprint but a marathon. His advice is simple: be optimistic, be naïve, and stay focused on the user’s problem, not your product.
“I love to help young entrepreneurs that are going through what I’ve been going through in my life and especially because I think I grew up very very far from Silicon Valley very far even from a big city … So I have this urge that I want to make sure I leave something, I give a tool to the young entrepreneurs not to make the same mistakes,” says Trombetti.
With Pi Campus, housed in a Roman villa, Marco has cultivated an innovation hub designed to bring diverse minds together. For him, physical spaces remain essential for collaboration, serendipity, and support – especially for those who may not ask for help but need it most.
Video version of episode 132:
Audio version of episode 132:
Key Takeaways:
- Entrepreneurship is a long game: think 10–15 years, not 10–15 months.
- Optimism is an edge in building companies.
- Naivety isn’t a weakness – it’s what lets you try the “impossible.”
- AI won’t replace humans – it will enhance them.
- Founders should fall in love with their users’ problems, not their own ideas.
- The future is built by those who show up to build it.
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