Meet Vladimir!

Current position: Head of Product

  • Currently hanging out in: Barranquilla, Colombia
  • Passions, loves & hobbies: his new baby, movies, finding new challenges, and sitting down to think about how to solve them
  • Thankful for: being a parent and a husband, seeing his baby wake up every morning with new eyes, his parents, siblings, and surrounding family, his group of friends called “the runchos”,  being able to live by the coast in a beautiful climate, and being able to work with people from so many different cultures in a remote environment.
  • Amazing traits that stick out: attention to detail, meticulous, lover of symmetry and order, committed, respectful, conscientious, tenacious, kind, reliable  

Let’s get to know Vladimir. This extraordinary person is proud of/that/for:

Has planned and built a beautiful life he’s proud of.

He planned on getting married at 28, and at 28, he got married. Planned on having a child by 32, and a week after he turned 33, his wife had a beautiful baby. He has a job at a company that he likes, lives by the coast in a gorgeous climate, and whenever this pandemic is over, he can enjoy the ability to travel and work remotely. So, so much to be proud of, and none of it is taken for granted in Vladimir’s world. 

Helped his parents out during tough times while also going to college. 

When Vladimir started college, his parents were going through a tough time financially, like most of us can relate to at some point in our lives. So while balancing classes, coursework, studying, and working, he also was able to support his family. No one told him that he had to take care of them, yet somehow he ended up giving everything he was earning at that moment to help his family rise. If you love the people around you, you start seeing money not as a means, but as a way to help someone else. When we help each other out, we all become better. 

Moved to an entirely new country fresh after being married. 

After Vladimir & his wife got married, they decided to leave the area they’d been living in, had family in, and had grown accustomed to, and move to an entirely new country….as complete newlyweds. It was thrilling! Living in Argentina by themselves was getting to know each other all over again and was one of the best things they could have done. No one around them to tell them how to be, no comforts they’d grown accustomed to, no obligations and regular social routines – not for them. Everything was new, novel, and they were both quite out of their comfort zones. It taught Vladimir so much about himself, his wife, and their relationship, and it was one of the best decisions he’s made. You truly get to know someone when you travel with them and are put into situations neither of you have been in before. Growth together outways comfort any day and creates bonds that surpass what comfort could ever hope to dislodge. 

Moved through tragedy after moving to a new country, and rose from the ashes. 

After living in Argentina and loving it, they decided to move to another new country and repeat the beautiful process. This time, they chose Brazil. As they were looking at coastal cities and scoping things out down there, Vladimir’s mother-in-law decided to come over and visit them in Argentina before they were due to leave. For a little while, it was beautiful. Then, not too long after and near Christmas, she got sick and fell into a coma. The holiday was filled with worried trepidation while waiting in a hospital. Months went by, and she only seemed to get worse, until the unthinkable happened….she passed away, prematurely.

The weight of the sudden death of a loved one, while in another country, and having to support not only his wife but his sister-in-laws during one of the toughest times of their lives, was also one of his. He had no previous experience with the death of a relative, and with love in his heart, he rose.

Rose to support his wife. Found the strength and rose to figure out a situation that was not an easy matter to rectify. Faced any fears and rose to move to where his mother-in-law had lived to take care of everything she left behind, including his youngest sister-in-law who had recently graduated from college. Vladimir and his wife decided to move back to Colombia to support his wife’s family, to help support them as they processed everything that happened,  while also supporting each other through hardship, and grief. Everything, all unexpected and sudden.

Through this all, he found that he had more reserves of strength living within him than he thought possible. It taught him that life will come to you in unforeseen ways, and you have to choose what you will do. Will you find the courage to push forward when things seem unbearable? Will you find the will to move forward when you feel the weight of grief push you down? It is always your choice, and though some days may feel impossible to surmount, you can overcome them and you can overcome this as Vladimir did. 

Helped transform grief into gratitude. 

Losing a loved one is an emotional rollercoaster. Some days it’s bearable, while other days getting out of bed seems a hopeless task. As Vladimir watched his wife find her way through her grief over the months, he knew he had to do something to lift her spirits. Something unique, unexpected, and viewpoint changing. So, he planned a trip to see much of Europe over a 3 month period. Did I mention he had to work this entire time in a time zone very, very far from his own? Ah yes, there was that. And so it began – he visited the cities they were in in the morning, had lunch, and then found a place to work from 1 pm – 12 am, proceeded to get about 5 hours of sleep and did it all over again, day after day, week after week for those 3 months. And it was wonderful. Their relationship transformed, strengthened, and grew into something even more marvelous than before. With a new outlook on life, coming back home was different. Things appeared softer, less harsh than before. Gratitude for the wondrous life they have bloomed through the ashes of grief, and slowly the weight lifted even more. Vladimir was able to recognize and provide a way for his wife to release the breath she’d been holding while holding her hand whenever she needed or wanted it along the entire way. Love is a beautiful gift, that when shared, only expands. May we give, share, and be open to receiving the love we all need, and may it only make the world a better place to be. 

Golden nugget: When giving to others, it’s not how much you spend; it’s what you give and the intent behind it that matters.