A Day in the Life of a TestLion: Antonio Marinetto, Senior Product Manager

Carina Kärt Mattikas , Employer Brand Manager based in Tallinn, Estonia.

December 10th, 2021

Here at Testlio, we are truly proud of our Pride. In this series, we check in with TestLions from different teams and positions to learn more about what they do every day to power networked testing. This time, our headliner is Antonio Marinetto, a Product Manager in Málaga, Spain.

Starting the day with a roar

I’m an early bird. My body wakes up between 5:00 and 6:00. I then prepare my body and mind for the day and sit to study for my postgraduate degree until 7:30, when the fun begins and I wake up my family, and start working.

First, I get some reading under my belt. There is still so much to learn; I’ve been at Testlio for almost three months, so my onboarding is ongoing. During this part of the day, Marco, my five-year-old son, comes in and out of my working space. Being part of the morning routine of my family while I start the workday has become a key part of my personal happiness.

At 8:50, things quiet down and I take a look at my task list, take some elements out of it and prioritize the activities for the day. I usually aim to do more than is manageable in a single day, so there are often unfinished tasks from the previous day that I focus on until my team’s daily meeting.

Hunting down the challenges

At the moment, there are lots of challenges in my day-to-day work. Testlio is evolving, and we’re in a moment of deep change. We have a validated product-market fit, have “crossed the chasm,” and just raised a healthy series B. But, the success means that we are rethinking teams, processes and products to power us through this new stage. It is a perfect opportunity for growth and professional development, but also means there is an extra layer of complexity. I love it!

On the product side, we’re working on implementing a leaner approach and adapting the teams and stakeholders to this new mindset. We’re also creating the necessary data layer to support a hypothesis-driven innovation process. All while the product team has doubled in the last three months as well as the number of teams. So, not a boring time at all, to say the least!

Connecting with the Pride

One of the things I appreciate the most about my new home is the human side of the company culture. I didn’t necessarily expect tons of human warmth with an all-remote development team, but I’ve found so much of it here. Testlio emphasizes personal wellbeing as a way to build a healthy organization; from yoga to online events to get to know colleagues to a company-wide gift exchange. There are voluntary workshops to improve soft skills, a “reading club” where we select books to read and discuss. There are so many opportunities to create bonds with TestLions around me. Even though I am working from my own home, by sharing a growth journey with delightful people I never feel alone at all.

Winding down & finding balance

Work can be intense, so to relax, I love to work outside. A two or three times a week I take my electric bike and ride to one of my favorite spots to work. I love working while enjoying the beach or a busy town street, mainly in the mornings, or listening to some music and getting deep work going, usually in the afternoon or early evening.

I also laugh a lot with my colleagues, which always takes the edge out of any hard day and makes me a happier human. After work, it’s family time on some days, on others I take a long walk or go for a ride, visit some friends or let my tired mind rest with some random Internet browsing. Marco is almost always jumping, teasing, and talking around me — and that’s the best part of any day.

Being a part of my family’s day-to-day life, while working on my passion, with ample opportunities for growth, in a place where my happiness and that of those around me is relevant has been very rewarding. I’m sure it will continue to be.