Peter Scholzuk talks about Picalike in the CRM Podcast!
9. October 20205 Fragen an Timo
13. October 2020We would like to warmly welcome another new team member. Although, he is not completely new. Timo has been part of our team before, at the very beginning from 2013 to 2017. Now, at the beginning of this year, he joined us again for a few months as an external. He obviously enjoyed it: instead of accepting a new offer from a large company afterwards, he decided to rather support SMEs during this time and continue the ongoing project. Working with old acquaintances also had its appeal. So Picalike became an attractive employer for him again and he returned to the team – as a permanent member! It goes without saying that we are very happy about this.
Dear Timo, you are not a newcomer at Picalike, but a comebacker, which we are very happy about! Nevertheless, most of the team doesn’t know you from the “early days of Picalike”. Therefore we would like to ask you a few questions. Tell us something about you. Where did you grow up? What are your hobbies?
I was born and raised in a small town near Hamburg. I often spend my free time cycling or hiking. I also collect classic sci-fi literature and comics. If there’s still time left, I’m tinkling at the keyboard to further develop my AI recommendation system for movies, because movies are also one of my passions, and of course AI.
What has changed about your tasks at Picalike? What did you do before, what do you do now?
Even though I was hired with a focus on Machine Learning + Software Engineering back then, working in a young startup naturally means that the areas of responsibility are quite diverse. And since I was lucky enough to contribute knowledge from many different areas, I was able to help on many fronts. Almost everything probably sums it up quite well, there would be classic software development, building an AI environment, DevOps and also customer support. Today, my job is a bit more narrowly defined, but one thing I have in common is that I need knowledge from different areas, which is of benefit to me. In English, it’s probably “Jack of all Trades”, which is also what I put down as an activity in my LinkedIn profile.
When you look back in six months, what do you hope to see?
That we’ve come a long way, that the work is bearing fruit, the company is growing and thriving, and that our customers find the new products as fragrant and useful as we do.
Are you more of a home office or office type?
At that time Timo was already part of the team: Christmas 2013
It depends. In the good old days, I already found it relaxing to pursue my work at home on Fridays in a concentrated manner and without many distractions. In general, I find home office useful when it comes to working on tasks that require little or no consultation with other colleagues. Otherwise, I appreciate the contact with the other picalingen, also because there are otherwise no “coffee kitchen synergies” and ideas in the home office can also be discussed less efficiently.
We’ve been told that you have an outstanding expertise in the art of brewing, you were even once a “beer commissioner” at Picalike. What would be your drink of choice when meeting with work colleagues after work and why?
It’s impossible to give a blanket answer here, because the appropriate drink depends on the person, the time and the place. Indeed, it is difficult to find the right beer for one person and for a group it is almost impossible, as tastes are very individual. An easy entry and best suited for a beer after work is a Helles, as it is mildly hopped, thus not very bitter and tremendously drinkable. But to be more specific, at a Christmas party, the Sweet Seduction worked well because the beer is comparable to an aperitif, so smaller glasses can be used, which lowers the barrier to tasting, and thanks to the honey, the complexity of the beer becomes a bit more manageable for the novice palate due to the sweetness.
Who knows, maybe there will be an opportunity to do a little beer tasting sometime. I, for example, would definitely like to try the Sweet Seduction. Who knows, maybe one or two of the team will find a new favorite drink there!
Great to have you back!