Cezary Pietrzak

Bio:

Part marketer, part business guy, part sales guy, and part funny guy. That's another way of saying I lead biz dev at Wanderfly, the recently-launched travel inspiration site. My job is to create cool partnerships with publishers, advertisers and tech companies - both to enhance Wanderfly's user experience as well as to extend its footprint on the web. It's a super exciting role that plays on my strengths in creative marketing, business strategy, relationship building, and, of course, my oversized sense of humor. How'd I get here? I studied business in college, worked in advertising out of school, and then started a digital marketing consultancy called Living Breathing with a few friends. Everything came together when my mates and I realized we had the perfect team to build a tech startup, and a compelling idea to go with it. Throw in a healthy dose of jetsetting and some strange last names, and we were ready to launch. So here I am today - living the dream!

• Title: Director of Biz Dev & Co-Founder, Wanderfly
• Age: 28
• Location: Williamsburg, SoHo
• Contact: @cezinho

Startups are coming to NYC next week for TC Disrupt - if they manage to get 24 hours free, what would you recommend they do/see/experience?

Here's the short list:

• Visit a co-working space to get a feel for the local tech scene. We sit at Projective Space in Soho, there are several others within a three block radius, and even more in the surrounding neighborhoods and Brooklyn. There's nothing better than hanging with a group of people who are making it happen.
• Go to Brooklyn. If you think Manhattan is still the most happening place in New York, you must be 150 years old. I'm a big fan of my own 'hood, Williamsburg - it's exploding with energy and creativity, has the coolest nerds on the planet, and some of the best bars and restaurants in the city (see below).
• Eat, drink and be merry. My favorites now: Traif for amazing pork-themed dishes (including bacon doughnuts and a bacon-rim drink), La Superior and Mesa Coyoacan for tacos and Latin cuisine, Roberta's for pizza, Rye for American, Pies 'n Thighs for fried chicken, and Dram and Post Office Whiskey Bar for speakeasy-style drinks. If you have a hangover after a big night out, fix yourself up at Blue Bottle Coffee. And if you insist on staying in Manhattan, check out Meatball Shop for the obvious, Vanessa's Dumplings for the cheapest dumplings on earth, and the Ace Hotel if you need to plug in and Wi-Fi.
• Go to a concert. It's so cheap and so quintessentially New York. Our buddies at Songkick have a cool service that tells you when your favorite bands are playing, and alerts you when they go on tour. I'll be at Friendly Fires on Wednesday, but since there are only a billion other shows happening that week, chance are you'll find what you like.
• Of course, if you ever get sick of New York (it happens), just hop on Wanderfly and get some great ideas to get away.

How would you describe the company culture at Wanderfly?  As one of the founders, do you feel as if the culture developed naturally or were there efforts made to craft it in a particular way?

Our culture comes from the people who work here, so I think it has developed naturally as we've grown. We all work hard and expect everyone to do the same. It doesn't matter what time you come in to the office or how you get your work done, as long as you get it done...well. So we all take Fridays off to work from home (often in our underwear), our agile process focuses on time remaining to completion rather than time spent, and we have a big couch and bar at the office to make it a fun place to work (and host happy hours...and sleep, sometimes).

Since we're a travel company, we also put a premium on time off. Each employee gets four weeks of vacation on top of the regular holidays, so they can get out and explore the world. If you like routines and you're comfortable going to the same places all the times, chances are you're not the right fit for us. But if you're the curious, hard-working and always looking for what's new and interesting, check out our current opportunities and drop us a line.

We’ve read that you like to ride your bike around New York.  What are some of your favorite places to ride when the weather is nice?

I'm a big fan of McCarren Park, and I love the ride down from Williamsburg to Prospect Park via the waterfront. This summer, I plan on checking out Queens and Fort Tilden beach, and maybe even racing some cars on the BQE (in the rain, of course). On a regular day, you'll see me on my Black Beast blazing up the Williamsburg bridge on my way to Soho. 20 minutes door to door on two wheels vs. 30 minutes with hipsters on the L train? Can't beat that!

Why do you laugh at your own jokes?

Because they're funny. And if they're ambiguously funny, I'll laugh at them to pre-empt that awkward moment when people are still trying to decide. If I'm lucky, I'll get some suckers to laugh at the fact that I'm laughing, at which point I've won (FTW, Evan!).