Silviu Paunescu wanted to tag his partner in crime for the mindit chat series, and that’s how we got in touch with Cristi Vlad.

Let’s see the mindit.io universe through Cristi’s lenses.  

1. What's something that happened to you that can only happen here? What's a unique part about working here?

I joined mindit.io in 2020, having experienced multinational companies before. The first thing that struck me when I got here was the flat organization model implemented by mindit.io. Being a holocracy, in mindit.io you’re not going to find the standard corporate hierarchies you are normally accustomed to.

You are treated with trust and professionalism, and that’s how mindit.io selects its people. It was a real shock for me to not be bothered by managers with random questions, or unreasonable requests. As long as you complete your tasks and take ownership over your role, you have all the freedom in the world to build your own schedule and to work from anywhere in the world you please.  

This freedom is especially valuable if you have a family and you need to manage your time based on your personal needs, as well as it is for young people who want to travel and work remotely.

I can guarantee that if more people from multinational companies would see what being part of mindit.io is like, they would never work for a corporation ever again. I guess some people are just stuck in their old ways and they’re afraid to take a leap of faith and experience beyond their comfort zone.  

2. How have you grown professionally while on our team?

I’ve learned a lot since coming here because I was lucky joining a team made up of seniors and we shared a lot of knowledge together. I already had my knowledge before joining mindit.io, when it came to Kubernetes, Docker, Linux, CI/CD, Monitoring, Helm

After I started a new project, the entire technology stack was really exciting. I really liked that a lot. Sure, I knew a little something about ArgoCD, Istio, Vault, Kustomize but only after working hands-on as part of the project’s team, I started mastering them.  

Professionally, I think I evolved in many facets, and my colleagues really helped a lot throughout the process. We work in a knowledge-sharing environment, and this is what makes us grow together.  

3. What was the moment you knew you'd made the right decision to work here?

My situation was very simple. I received an email from Andrada Covaci, IT Project Manager | Brand Ambassador @mindit.io and she told me about a new job working with really interesting technology stack that immediately caught my attention. I had an interview with Dumitru Pascu (mindit.io’s CTO from back then) and I received the offer the same day.  

I knew right from the start that I had made the right decision because I was joining a very friendly working environment. I was aware of mindit.io’s organizational culture from before because in the IT world, you either know someone who works there, or you know someone who knows someone.

Either way, you’ll get information about any organization, and I had no doubts about joining mindit.io  

4. What was your best day at work? What are you most proud of?

All days at mindit.io are really cool. No exception. And this is due to all the reasons I’ve talked about until now. Every time I had an issue or needed something to be solved, I either talked directly with Anamaria Bumbar (our COO), or Andrada, and I immediately got things solved.

You get to take advantage of a really organized team and even if not, all days are perfect, 90% of them are, while the remaining 10% are still really good and exciting.  

5. What is your team like?

I’m basically teamed-up with Silviu Paunescu. The person who “passed the mic” to me. We work really great as a team and we resonate on many aspects, even not work-related ones.

Working together side by side we have developed a true friendship in time, and I can say that about all my work interactions.

Our daily calls are a lot of fun, and we talk about anything and everything. We even had a debate about how to improve our daily calls and I said that I wouldn’t change a thing. They’re great just the way they are, and they managed to cement a really close relationship between all of us who are working on the same project.  

6. Which benefits are your favorite and why?

To be honest, I don’t even know all the benefits because I didn’t focus on them. I found out about them along the way, whenever I needed something. I asked and I immediately got an answer and a solution.  

If I were to mention one benefit that would have to be the freedom you have at mindit.io. The fact that you can work from home without losing time in traffic, or from anywhere in the world you like and being able to make your own schedule is without equal.

True professionals can manage their own tasks and schedule, and if you take ownership over your role, you’ll have all the freedom in the world.

Having a flat organization is again something extraordinary. You instantly feel the difference between working as part of a holocracy as opposed to being part of a corporation.  

I would also like to add the DO GOOD initiatives which are really wonderful. Seeing how so many colleagues contribute to changing Romania for the better through cultural, educational, well-being and environmental causes and actions is truly amazing and I enjoy donating and taking part in as many activities as possible.

One of the unique mindit.io benefits is the minditNomad experience. Basically, you get to work from any of the minditNomad homes located in Constanta, Comarnic, Cluj-Napoca, Bucharest, Iasi, or Sibiu, or you can even go on vacation there with your friends and family.  

As we are rapidly approaching winter, I would have to add that mindit.io Christmases are amazing. They’re something special. It’s like the spirit of Christmas feels in the mindit.io offices, and we all come together like one big happy family, as you would usually see in movies. You can honestly feel the magic of the holiday season.  

7. If you could do anything else for a living, in an alternative universe, what would that be? 

I haven’t really thought about what I would do in an alternative universe where I would have to do something else. If I had to choose one thing to do, I guess I would choose to build furniture.  

I love working with my hands and I think that would be my alternative career of choice. Modern woodworking and crafting furniture.  

8. What advice would you give to anyone thinking about joining mindit.io?

I already recommended all my friends here by sending their CVs, and I think that says a lot about how I feel about mindit.io. I tell everybody about what a cool working environment I am part of and how mindit.io can completely change their perspective about how a dream job should look like.  

It is by far the best team I’ve been a part of, and at least for now, in Romania, I really don’t think there’s another company out there that can equal the entire mindit.io experience. Not from what I know of.  

Check out our OPEN POSITIONS and apply today. You don’t have to take my word for it. Come here and convince yourself.  

9. What movie, book, or TV show would you recommend? How do you relax and unwind? 

This is a really hard question. Possibly the hardest you’ve asked me so far. Well, when you have children, you don’t have a lot of time for hobbies. I would start off with that.  

I’m passionate about investing. I’m trying to secure a future for my family, and I want to reach complete financial independence in the future. I want to work just because I like what I do, and not because I must. However, the current geopolitical landscape is not looking that good, but I’m an optimist and I feel like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Otherwise, I’m passionate about airplanes. That’s my passion and I like reading and learning everything about them.

When it comes to movies, I would recommend The Shawshank Redemption, which is an all-time classic and I always rewatch it with pleasure.    

10. Who would you tag next to be interviewed by us?

I haven’t even thought about it. At the top of my head, I would like to tag Andrada Covaci and Ionut Vacariu! I want to hear everyone’s stories and I believe that everybody has something unique to share.

With Andrada I’ve been working on a daily basis for a long while, and I feel like I really resonate with Ionut and I want to hear more about what he has to say. Andrada, Ionut, TAG, you’re it!