To Carlo

Early this morning, my mentor and friend Carlo passed away after a long battle with Cancer. I worked with Carlo for almost 3 years, and he’s one of the first people I ever looked up to professionally. I’ve always admired how he carried himself because he made everything look so easy. With his wit and deadpanned facial expressions, he always had the ability to make anyone laugh. And he’s the only person I know that can step on stage in front of 1000 people rocking prescription sunglasses (he left his glasses in a taxi).

The first time he interviewed me, he told me that if I told him I was a Manchester United follower, I would be fired immediately. Thank God I wasn’t.

Over the years, we’ve talked a lot in person and online and I always appreciated the amount of time he spent with a kid like me, and even more so after we stopped working together. He was always there for me anytime I needed anything, whether it was advice or something completely stupid. He always had an uncanny ability to make me laugh. One of the all time favourite moments in my career was the night we spent ordering Seamless to our beat up San Francisco Airbnb. We’ve had the benefit of travelling all over the world for our job, but nothing ever tasted better than some greasy food delivered straight to our door after an exhausting hackathon. I don’t have many regrets in life, but one of them is never being able to tell Carlo how much his kindness, mentorship, and friendship has meant to me. Maybe we should have spent less time talking about shoes and some more time talking about deeper things. Nonetheless, I valued every moment. So here’s to you buddy —

To Carlo,

You taught me how to be professional.

You taught me that what you do doesn’t define who you are.

You taught me that it’s possible to be great at your job and love your wife.

You taught me that August 8th is a great day to get married.

You taught me that just because your team sucks doesn’t mean you stop cheering.

You taught me how to maintain a sense of humour under times of stress.

You taught me how to lead by example.

You taught me that being a strong fighter doesn’t have anything to do with your fists.

You’ll be deeply missed.

Thank you.

Sam