3VC Venture Partners: Introducing Marius Istrate
Growth Strategist, ex-Chief People Officer at UiPath
Marius Istrate is a hybrid work advocate and ex-Chief People Officer for UiPath, where he grew the company from 120 to 3000 people in the span of 3 years.
Marius is supporting our portfolio founders to build great teams, to set them to perform and to scale the company culture. As tech companies increasingly shift towards remote work, he also guides them through the transformation process in order to reap the benefits while managing the potential pitfalls.
Why 3VC?
The most important question for me, after I left UiPath in February 2020, was “How can I contribute to grow the start-up ecosystem in Europe and in the region, while at the same time getting to know new people and building new meaningful relationships?”
With 3VC, I have met a team I am “in tune” with, but, also, a group of people who can challenge me and who I can challenge. I believe the critical path to growth requires vigorous and civilised debate with people who have similar objectives but a diverse background.
What’s the journey that led you to where you are today?
For me, every step in my life journey has been about expanding my views and gaining understanding beyond my current “bubble”. This is how I got into management and then into HR, although I am a software engineer. This is why I have travelled the world and connected with hundreds of founders and tech company leaders.
I am constantly looking to understand what drives people, what makes them work well together and what 21st century leadership should look like. It’s funny that my journey has led me back to Romania: it’s because I continue to believe that the most significant upside is up for grabs for those who choose a more challenging environment, more adversity and less obvious chances for success.
What did you discover on this journey, what are you curious about?
It’s interesting that the more I travelled the world, the more I discovered that the things that bring us together as “humanity” are stronger than the cultural differences dividing us. In a sense, I think that anyone involved on the tech scene today has an amazing challenge ahead: to build a global culture of kindness, humbleness, equal opportunity, and, why not, excitement for what lies ahead! As a technologist, I cannot settle for the status quo. As a leader, I cannot accept that simply turning things upside down is the right thing to do. And as a human being, I find it fun to be caught in this conundrum.
What drives you? What’s your outlook?
The most exciting thing for me is to meet people who think that the world should not continue to exist without their idea or product or piece of work. I am inspired by them and I like supporting them in any way I can. The more we help such people succeed, the more we create a virtuous circle of trust, sustainable growth and ultimately value for all those involved. It was natural for me in this journey to turn to people like the partners at 3VC, who share a similar view on what our role in society can be and who don’t see success uniquely through a financial lens, but more so through the lens of created opportunities.
Follow Marius on LinkedIn & Twitter
About the 3VC Venture Partner Programme
We work closely with a selected team of Venture Partners who share our belief in entrepreneurs with big ideas and the determination to drive humanity forward. Venture Partners are renowned entrepreneurs and leaders, complementing our team and supporting our founders on their journey with knowledge, experience and a valuable network.
