At Tech Nation we’re creating a national network connecting ambitious digital tech entrepreneurs across the UK.

Whether you’re a founder looking for connections or support, a stakeholder embedded in a local community or are simply interested in what’s going on in a region, our Entrepreneur Engagement Managers (or ‘EEMs’ for short) are on the ground in towns and cities and ready to help.

In this series of articles we’re telling you more about our EEMs’ roles and views about tech in the country. Here we speak to Gino Brancazio, our Wales Entrepreneur Engagement Manager based in Cardiff.

Tell us a bit about yourself

I am formerly a customer success manager with six years of experience in the tech sector, building customer success campaigns for both small tech startups and large international tech companies. In my spare time, I design and publish modern board games and I have successfully funded two Kickstarter campaigns. I also run a service that tracks and alerts subscribers to product recalls in different sectors in the UK.

What wins have you had since starting? What impact have they made?

Being able to utilise the expansive network of founders and supporters in the UK tech sector has already been invaluable to the founders I’ve met. I’ve also helped founders to connect to other founders and corporates across the country. As well as connecting Welsh founders to people across the UK, I’ve been able to alert founders to national and international initiatives that they have been eligible to apply for, with some enjoying huge success.

A record number of Welsh companies are now getting onto Tech Nation growth programmes, as well as accelerators from Google and more. I’m proud to champion these Welsh companies and help them find out about exciting opportunities they can join to really help them grow, and also to showcase some of the best that Wales has to offer to the tech world.

Have you met any exciting companies?

I’ve met with so many founders who are working on products that are having real, tangible effects on us in truly significant ways. That’s everything from helping Gen Z to get into the world of work, to tackling everyday cyber concerns and ID fraud. It gives me so much hope to see how much passion our founders have for fixing problems for others.

What challenges are founders facing in your region?

Finding and retaining good talent in Wales is a continuing problem, but it’s improving more and more as exciting companies are starting to scale in Wales. The country is attracting people looking for exciting opportunities in a place that is known for a great standard of living.