Tina Treimane: Empathetic leadership, AI-driven travel, Cross-functional collaboration

In episode 3, we introduce Tina Treimane, a newly promoted Lead Product Manager at GetYourGuide. In conversation with Steve Collopy, Talent Channels Lead, she discusses how we’re reshaping the travel sector through AI, the importance of collaboration, and invaluable tips for empathetic leadership.

Discover Tina’s journey into product management via a variety of roles, from marketing to data analytics. She highlights the significance of unlearning biases, active listening in leadership, and shares how she drives impactful progress through understanding and motivating diverse teams.

• (00:00) - Introduction
• (00:39) - Welcoming Tina to the podcast
• (00:55) - Tina’s promotion and current projects
• (02:26) - Study and early career
• (03:58) - Transition to the startup world
• (05:09) - Moving to Berlin and joining GetYourGuide
• (08:04) - Journey into product management
• (14:25) - The importance of collaboration
• (17:04) - Maximizing impact via collaboration
• (17:19) - A standout project
• (19:37) - How to motivate teams
• (20:59) - Where collaboration meets impact
• (22:32) - Developing collaboration skills
• (24:25) - Empathetic Leadership
• (26:58) - Tips for Building Empathy
• (32:07) - Our approach to collaboration
• (33:59) - The future of GetYourGuide’s product
• (35:08) - Final thoughts

GetYourGuide is hiring
Want to help travelers make memories across the world? GetYourGuide is hiring - visit https://getyourguide.careers/ to explore open roles.

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Creators & Guests

Host

Stephen Collopy

Producer

GetYourGuide

Unlock the world’s most unforgettable travel experiences with GetYourGuide.

Guest

Tina Treimane

What is Behind The Journey?

Listen in as we explore and uncover what it's like to build the experience economy by diving deeper into the journeys of people making it happen, and getting a peek into their careers in engineering, product, design, marketing, and more. A podcast by GetYourGuide Careers.

Introduction
Tina: [00:00:00] The future of GetYourGuide's product is helping customers find truly unique experiences that will be life altering for them and really will cater to them instead of having, you know, a generic suggestion list that will find these.
hidden gems or experiences that will change how they think about their lives. And I actually think travel is one of the most wonderful ways of building empathy because you are putting yourself in environments with people you haven't met before.
Welcoming Tina to the podcast
Steve: Good afternoon, Tina. welcome to the Behind the Journey podcast. How are you doing?
Tina: I'm good. How are you?
Steve: I'm great. Thank you. Very, very happy. The sun is out and it's a beautiful day. So always a good day to, uh, to be at work.
Tina: 100 percent
Steve: agree. Cool.
Tina’s promotion and current projects
Steve: And, uh, I hear congratulations are in order. Uh, you recently got promoted to lead product [00:01:00] manager.
Is that correct?
Tina: Yes, that's correct.
Steve: That's amazing. Congrats. Very
Tina: exciting.
Steve: That's very cool. And as the lead, have you got any really cool, interesting projects going on at the moment that you can tell us about?
Tina: Yes. I am, um, as part of lead product manager and I'm kind of a bit of changing with my scope, I'm leaning more into AI ML products.
Oh wow. And within that, I'm really excited about. So one is leveraging ML products, which essentially is helping our customers discover these products in new and exciting ways. And also servicing. Some hidden gems, like truffle hunting experiences, ninja experiences, like did you know that you can get trained as a ninja?
No. And you can book this on GetYourGuide, it's very exciting. That's
Steve: definitely happening.
Tina: Yeah, 100%. Um, you should check it out. And then also we're looking at various data products for improving our marketing efficiency, so. Lots of interesting upcoming things.
Steve: Wow, [00:02:00] that's, that's really, really amazing. And, uh, congrats.
Wish you every success on that. But, um, we're here to talk about you as a whole. And, um, I know we had a, we had a conversation a couple of weeks ago. And, um, you mentioned in that conversation that at the start of your career path, uh, you'd always sort of followed your curiosity. Um, and that had been a theme in your life.
Study and early career
Steve: Could you take us back to your university days and tell us about what you studied or what kind of got you excited and what got you to here, ultimately?
Tina: Yeah, great question. Um, I think my university choice was also very much led by this sense of curiosity. I always rely on what is exciting, what my brain lights up, and that's sort of also how I chose my degree.
I studied a mix of philosophy, semiotics, and literature. I read the [00:03:00] program. I thought, wow, this sounds incredibly interesting. I will read a bunch of smart books and meet interesting people. And I was also excited about it because to me, philosophy and semiotics is a way of It's a way how to structure the world, but also it's a bit of like solving a puzzle and trying to piece things together and kind of looking at what's good and what do we mean by different things and how we use language.
And this kind of, you know, has been a lifelong obsession. Um, but within kind of this period of university, I was very, very excited. One day I had to write an essay and, I mean, I'm a terrible procrastinator. And a friend of mine sent me this, um, job ad. And she was like, oh my god, there's this new startup.
It's an e book company and they need an intern. And it's e book company and you seem obsessed with books. I thought this would be great. And I really didn't want to write this essay.
Transition to the startup world
Tina: So I was like, you know what else i'll [00:04:00] write a job application instead Right and I applied for the startup and I got the internship and that kind of Went to a permanent job and it was a small startup of seven people and did just about everything but I think this is essentially how I got into the startup world and I was really amazed how A group of people can be in a room and hack things together the whole day And there's something at the end of this process That is used by customers and I was just like completely, completely flabbergasted at something like this.
And that's where I put up halls on my academic career and moved into tech essentially.
Steve: Okay, and that was the marketing role?
Tina: Yes, I mean the first start was like a mix of things. Actually my first role was formatting ebook files. Okay. Uh, so HTML, CSS. Yes. Doing Some cataloging partnerships, marketing, uh, working with design.
So it was really all of it, but, um, as more time passed, definitely marketing [00:05:00] became much, much larger part of that role.
Steve: Wow. Okay. That's really cool. And, um, is that kind of what got you over to Berlin?
Moving to Berlin and joining GetYourGuide
Steve: Was it, you know, marketing that made you move to Berlin or was it something else?
Tina: No, no. I moved But then once I moved to Berlin and started applying for jobs, it kind of, it was the marketing path that I chose.
And initially it was actually a few months of SEO, but then I got into performance marketing, specifically paid search. And that has been sort of true for the past eight years.
Steve: Kind of grabs you and doesn't let you go, right? Exactly.
Tina: A very fascinating area.
Steve: And for the last five of those eight years, you've been at GetYourGuide. So what was it that initially drew your interest to joining GetYourGuide as a company?
Tina: My journey, uh, of joining GetYourGuide had a couple of smaller steps.
Uh, [00:06:00] I was at my older job and it was fine and everything else, but I felt like I'm ready for a new challenge, but I was not exactly sure what. And, uh, Mike, who used to actually work at GetYourGuide, was like, you know, I know this guy, he's a product manager there, they have an open position, I think you should talk to him.
And I was like, yes, maybe. And I think he followed up with me, like, about five times, to a point where I was doing nothing, and he got frustrated with me, so he gave my number to, um, product manager who at the time, uh, was working at Paid Search, Mike Silly, and so he reached out to me, and we got in touch, and And I think a few weeks later I came over for a Friday update and pizza and beer.
So I listened to the update and I stayed over and I talked to the team and I talked to different people and I was absolutely amazed by the culture, the passion, how interesting the people were, how smart they were at the same time humble. Yeah. It's a weird mix, right? It's a weird mix. And I was like, wow, they're like [00:07:00] really passionate about what they do, but they're also fun.
And. The team seemed amazing and I think then three days later it was Christmas and After Christmas dinner, you know, maybe having a few too many cakes. I was kind of Thinking about this Friday night experience and I was like, oh, I mean there was something like something really You know was in my brain that was like, I think I should explore this.
There's something And so over Christmas break again I wrote a job application because I didn't want to do other things And, you know, the new year started, I came in for a couple of interviews and yeah, signed the contract. And it's been a happy story ever since.
Steve: Very cool. I do actually remember that because I was here, I joined at the beginning of 2019.
Um, so I do, like, I remember working with, with Mike, uh, shout out to Mike, he's now in Zurich. Um, but yeah, that was, um, It was an interesting time as well because it was just before we moved to our new office as well So there was so much going on and [00:08:00] like all this change So wow, very exciting. Okay, cool.
Journey into product management
Steve: So you joined then as a marketing specialist analyst in the paid search team um Which is quite different to your original kind of Ebook startup experience to a certain degree and now you're a lead product manager So what happened like how did you find your way into product management?
Tina: Yeah, great question. I mean it was uh, it was a journey actually when I joined get your guide I joined with Intention of becoming a full time analyst, right? Because I really enjoyed this this inquisitive process of looking into data digging up insights and sharing them And I thought, well, this is the company to truly kind of craft that skill.
I had been also to a couple of meetups organized by GetYourGuide, and I was really amazed by the data infrastructure that was here and the level of analytics that was happening, which I thought really made GetYourGuide stand [00:09:00] out compared to different companies. But then I joined the team when it was going through a lot of change, and there were some missing positions, and the team's product manager at the time, Paul Bertin, who's now the director of Paid Seach.
was managing both kind of the marketing business side and also the product side. And there was opening for working on some of these more engineering heavy topics. And I joined them on day one. Essentially my scope changed entirely and okay, we had to like implement a bunch of new things and I was just told, here are engineers, work with them and shoot these things.
And so instead of doing analytics, I was sitting down with engineers, whiteboarding, defining requirements. Testing things, implementing them, managing stakeholders, making decisions. And throughout this process, I was like, huh, I'm enjoying not just the analytics part, I'm also enjoying this ideation, working with engineers, running experiments, having [00:10:00] these incredible discussions, but also being in the decision table.
And I realized that I actually want to do more things than just analytics because I'm also someone who gets very bored from kind of doing the same thing day in, day out. And after a few discussions, I realized that there's a name for these different things I had been doing and it was called product management.
And I think after three months, I went to my manager and I said, listen, this gig is amazing, but I'll be honest with you. I think I want to be a product manager. I don't know when or how will this happen, but this is what I would love to do. And then, you know, Universe works in mysterious ways, and the product manager at the time moved to becoming the head of Paid Search, and suddenly the role opened for product management in the Paid Search team, and there was an internal application process available, so I applied for this.
And obviously I had zero product management experience, [00:11:00] but what was incredible that I was offered associate product manager position, which was something completely new. It was kickstarted by Martin Sieber. And I mean, I immediately said yes. And so January 2020, I became associate product manager. I was given a whole team and just give an opportunity to prove myself.
And that's essentially how I landed myself in product management.
Steve: That's fantastic. And you mentioned a couple of names there. So obviously like Paul, uh, director of paid search, Martin, who's one of our co founders. Um, who else, if anybody, you know, kind of helped you in this journey that got you to this, this promised land of product management.
Where did you have any external motivations or sort of inspirations off of people that maybe you'd met or worked with?
Tina: Great question. I mean, I think first of all, it was just kind of the nature of product management, which is always no day is the same. [00:12:00] It's very exciting. You work with different people, you're building something, you're generating value, and there's also a lot of freedom that comes with this.
You can decide how you run your work yourself. So it's just the whole thing was very exciting. Um, but then in terms of like getting into product management, I was also very lucky when I joined my buddy was, um, Sarah, who was a product manager at the time for the on trip experience. So she shared a lot of insight with me about product management.
It's like, also Mike was incredible, um, in terms of like how you figure out if that's a wonderful lunch and discussing this. And then I think I'm just really grateful to Paul and also Wouter who's our VP of marketing who, you know, kind of vouched for me as a as a potentially good candidate Um, and and you know, I was considered I still had to go through the interview process, but that definitely helped him And then Martin Sieber, he was fantastic and kind of, you know, taking this person with zero experience And getting me up to speed and teaching me the ropes of this [00:13:00] craft And also I was very lucky that at the time I was given a mentor Josh Gransbury, who's now the group product manager for customer acquisition and growth and also happens to be now my manager.
And yeah, I mean, I feel very blessed to have these wonderful people who were willing me to teach the craft, support me, um, and kind of give a chance to this like 20 something rookie. And yeah, I think this is not very common. And again, here, I think that's what's incredible. I'll get you that. We have these lateral moves and people can, you know, learn new skills.
I mean, have folks, you know, from care, becoming engineers, folks from marketing, becoming product managers. And I mean, that to me is outstanding.
Steve: Absolutely. No, I agree. I think it's absolutely incredible that you're just surrounded by these people that are just super passionate about. Growth and development and their willingness to share their knowledge and work with people Like just to bring them up and and kind of you know That's [00:14:00] saying there's an old maxim and it's a rising tide lifts all ships And I genuinely think that so many people that get your guide get that because everybody just wants everybody else to get better with them so that everyone's just growing at the same time and it's It's amazing this journey that you're describing is it's absolutely fantastic And you touched on obviously growth trajectory and this development that you've had.
The importance of collaboration
Steve: Um, and I think in our previous conversation, you mentioned collaboration. Skills have been quite an integral part of your development. Why is that?
Tina: Love this question.
Steve: I think primarily
Tina: because collaboration puts us in a room with different people. And the moment you're in a room with different people, listening, observing them and Any kind of massive impact we can have only by having multiple teams and parts of organization work together.
Like we can all [00:15:00] do small increments, but like truly foundational change comes from all of us coming together. But collaboration is one of the hardest things you can do because you have to work with people from different backgrounds. They have different incentives, needs, targets, everything else. And being able to manage that complexity for me has been a massive, massive, you know, boost of growth because I've learned how to work with different people.
But it has also influenced me in positive ways and I think has made me a better leader because it requires to be more empathetic, understand what drives people. But also collaboration requires being able to align people and inspire them and be a great storyteller. And that's very much around being able to influence people and bring them on board.
And that's actually a core product manager competency. And you can kind of build that skill only when you're forced to have collaboration. And I think the first year of [00:16:00] my product manager career was really just like in this little page search universe was during 2021. There were More and more across the projects and that definitely put me in this zone of discomfort But then, you know being able to bring these people on board It teaches you so many skills because suddenly, you know, you need to align And organize the work of so many people And that just requires an entirely different skill set and I think that the last piece is Through collaboration you are constantly in new contexts and you're solving different problems And every time you need to solve a new problem, you'll learn something new.
Steve: Absolutely. Yeah. And I think I've, I've heard the expression, you don't, you don't grow in your comfort zone. So getting a little bit uncomfortable and taking on these challenges absolutely will, will make you grow. learn something at least, right? Maybe not. Maybe it [00:17:00] doesn't always equal growth, but it will definitely give you experience.
Tina: Exactly.
Tina: And I also think from like an impact perspective, you can scale your impact only by working with more people. Yeah. And kind of spreading ideas and influencing them and all these other things. So that's also like a way to think about it.
Steve: Definitely.
A standout project
Steve: And um, Would you say, I mean, is there one project in particular that you think sort of stands out to you in terms of, you know, using these skills and doing all of this kind of stuff like this?
Could you give us an example? Could you share an experience?
Tina: Yes, I can share, uh, an early experience and then a more recent experience. I think the first big project that required of me Collaborate was this cross team initiative on improving our kind of core location data set that powers every part of our business.
It came from a place of having a couple of insights identifying that there were [00:18:00] some missed opportunities and this was a blocker in our growth. And this required bringing together teams from marketing, supply, um, tech data products. And actually figuring out what do we want to do? How do we organize ourselves?
How do we measure success? And frankly, the first months were chaos. I really didn't know what I was doing. It was more like, learn by doing. And now looking back, I would have done so many things differently. But I learned so much through this experience. By kind of having a goal, being able to define things.
Success getting people excited because some of the things we were doing, frankly, they were not very attractive to do because a lot of what we were doing were cleaning data or coming up with new data models or improving definitions, which is, you know, the not the most amazing work to do. But it is very important.
[00:19:00] So how do you motivate people in that scenario? That was that was like a massive thing to figure out. And I feel like I've learned so much from this experience. And I think the other thing that I truly value is that I build these relationships across the organization because we were all in the trenches doing the hard work.
And so later on when new projects came up, it was very easy to come to the table and discuss them because we had this experience already. So I think this relationship building was so important.
Steve: You had that trust.
Tina: Yeah, exactly. Building trust is very, very important. Nice.
How to motivate teams
Steve: And would you say If you could distill it in one or two bullet points, like how did you motivate people to do the boring stuff for the grind that wasn't very exciting?
Is there a secret?
Tina: Yes. I mean, I don't know if it's the big secret sauce, but I would say there are two things. So one, be a good [00:20:00] storyteller. Whatever you do, it needs to make sense in like the grander scheme of things. So if you're able to take that individual task. And put it in a larger context, it's much easier for people to relate why they're doing this.
Sometimes when we're, you know, in the middle of the workday and focusing on our own task, it's very easy to forget that there's something more than this task. But if you're a good storyteller and you're able to tell like a compelling vision, that's what's motivating, right? Sometimes it's not fun to eat broccoli, right?
But if you tell yourself this is so you feel healthier and better and run faster, whatever is your goal. It's much easier to do. Yeah, and I think the second thing that has been very important and has been my takeaway is really celebrate the wins, appreciate your people, tell them thank you, support them, and make them really, you know, hear that their work is very, very important.
Steve: Feeling valued.
Tina: Exactly. .
Where collaboration meets impact
Steve: [00:21:00] And obviously you've spoken quite a bit about collaboration, And you mentioned impact. I think there's quite a big interplay between those two things. How, in your opinion, does one feed the other?
Tina: You can scale impact only by scaling your influence and the amount of people you can collaborate with. Essentially, audits we ship, for example, it requires It requires input from data, it requires input from platform teams, from design, from engineering. I'm right now working on a data product that we're kind of combining two models that individually they bring zero value.
But when you combine them together they actually have very tangible business impact. Okay. And I think that's like one example. And the other thing is collaboration is the space of discomfort. Where you learn [00:22:00] a lot about yourself and you improve your skills and the better your skills The more impact you can have and i've seen this time and time again Through really great collaboration.
We're able to deliver a customer impact, but there's also so much personal growth happening Also, if you think about you know, then get your guide the things we expect from leadership and people like progressing like higher up in the levels We look at collaboration and being able to effectively work across the teams Because that's
Steve: And obviously, I mean, I think collaboration comes in different shapes and forms, which you say that that's something that's always come easy for you is, is collaboration something you've always just sort of jumped into and been happy about? Or have you had to kind of develop that skill set for yourself?
Tina: I would say definitely had to develop it as a skill set. I think. The starting point has been always very easy. [00:23:00] I'm just a generally very curious person. So I'm always very curious to hear what different people are doing in different parts of the organization, but then bringing people together and actually having them move in the same direction is not that easy.
And this project that I mentioned you from 2021, I think I failed spectacularly on actually providing this compelling vision and having those
points. And yes, The overall message was yes, this is to improve, you know, overall location, data infrastructure and everything else. But it missed that really exciting piece. Right. I think I was able to like give praise to people, but I don't think I was able to really inspire them to go the extra mile. So there were a lot of like little points for me.
Where I had to do a lot of self reflection on on the storytelling piece, but I think the other part that I learned a lot was about [00:24:00] empathy And being able to work with different kinds of people different kinds of backgrounds needs and all these other things Fantastic And you you picked up a keyword for me, especially working In the people team working as a recruiter and, you know, part of our, our sourcing or talent and intelligence team.
Steve: Uh, and that is empathy.
Empathetic Leadership
Steve: And, um, I know through different conversations that we've had in the past, you, you've definitely mentioned empathetic leadership, um, as something that really interests you. What is it about that empathetic leadership style that you is great for for you or for the people that you work with.
And how how is that a little bit different? Maybe two other styles of leadership that you might have seen. Yeah, sure thing. Um, I mean, maybe to just clarify what empathetic leadership [00:25:00] is, it's essentially a way of leading that really focuses on others and identifying what are their needs, how do they work, what makes them tick.
Tina: It is really taking a genuine interest in the people around you. And as I said, making them understand what makes them tick, what inspires them, how they feel, you know, all these other things. And my learning has been that you can do good work in just about any environment, but to do truly innovative work, you need to have a creative And psychologically safe environment.
And you need to really foster the people you have and identify what are their strengths and basically how you can leverage that. Because I don't think there's necessarily like bad employees or things like that. I think we're just not always great at [00:26:00] creating the best environment for each particular use case.
What works great for an introvert will not work great for an extrovert. Or even like different cultural backgrounds It's like you cannot be mad at a fish that it's not flying And I think we need to really acknowledge these differences And my experience has been yeah, if you find the right environment people can truly shine and succeed And I think you need to approach people, you know differently based on who they are and Then just find work where they can truly shine and succeed Absolutely.
Steve: You're saying all the right things to me, Tina, psychological safety, empathy, finding people's strengths. I absolutely love that. Um, do you have any advice that you could share with other leaders wishing to be more empathetic or, or to embrace this style a little bit more? Like where would they start if, you know, this is a new concept to them?
Tips for Building Empathy
Tina: Yes, I have a few tips as I've [00:27:00] gone through this process myself. I think first of all, practice active listening. When someone is talking to you, really just be present with them. Reflect on what they've said and make sure that you've understood them.
I think that's already a first grade step of like, Truly understanding where this other person is coming from. And I think once you've kind of learned the art of active listening, I would really recommend focus on identifying your biases. This has been a long process for me, that I've worked with my own coach.
I had this idea that I'm this very inclusive leader, very empathetic, very kind, considering all these things, but through this process of coaching, actually identified that A lot of times I was prioritizing working with people who had similar communication styles as mine. I was actually overlooking certain people Just because of certain different ways how they think or really frame problems And that was like a [00:28:00] very rude awakening for me But I think that the hard process has made me a better leader It makes me more aware of my own biases and it makes me question Some of my choices and like when I you know set up a project or interact with people i'm like Is this the right way?
Is this because I am inclined towards it? And I think once you've done this work, it puts you in a better position to really empathize. But then I think there's a bunch of other things you can do. Be curious about people. Really try to understand why do they think the way they think? What is, what is that driving them?
The way we're curious about solving puzzles, let's be curious about the people around us. I think. It's also them talking about different people and backgrounds, hearing different stories. And there's multiple ways how you can hear these different stories. You can, you know, have an ad hoc impromptu lunch with someone.
But frankly, I found Incredible source of building empathy, right? Because you're in the space of just reading and [00:29:00] reflecting. Nothing like really influences you, but you can read these different perspectives and really step into the shoes of someone. And I find literature a beautiful way to build empathy.
I think also another thing you can do is put yourself in rooms with people you don't understand or disagree. And by doing all of these things, I think we can come to this sense of shared humanity. We might have different points of views, we might have different priorities, but at the end of the day, we're all human, and life is inherently hard.
And I think there is a lot to be said about just being kinder to each other. So, those would be kind of my tips. I'm not saying it's an exhaustive list, but that's at least how I've approached it. You know, building empathy and being more empathetic myself. Fantastic. Thank you so much for, for sharing. Um, just to paraphrase, so you, you've got two of the options you, you described are almost at opposite extremes.
Steve: One is read a novel. [00:30:00] Um, I don't know if I can put you on the spot and ask if there's any one or two in particular you think are great. And the other one is to purposefully seek out people that you disagree To have that conversation. So you're really putting yourself in the fire. Um, both are very interesting and I'm sure we'll give you very different experiences, but what, which one or two novels would you recommend for you just as some personal insight?
Tina: This would be two classics. So one would be Anna Karenina, another one would be
I think what's wonderful about those two novels is that they're essentially about very, very flawed human beings. But the way the authors write about them is in a very human way. And I read this quote actually in a different book where it was about the empathy [00:31:00] around these characters and the author said that, that, You know, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, they essentially forgive these characters and if the author can forgive these characters, we can maybe also forgive ourselves our imperfections and those characters are very, very flawed, but they're written in a way where you truly feel for them and understand, you know, the state of imperfection that is human being.
Steve: No, I agree. I've, I've been on a, A recent binge to read all of these classics. I've I'm very happy to say I've read both of those and um I would also add The Idiot by Dostoevsky that he you know that that character as well similar to what you're describing but It's it's crazy how it was written so long ago, but it's still so relatable today because of behavior because of people being people so That's right.
Cool. Well, [00:32:00] thank you so much for your personal story and your personal insights. I know it's not your whole story, but it's an interesting chunk.
Our approach to collaboration
Steve: Um, but perhaps we could zoom out just a little bit, um, of maybe specifically the product organization, um, and as a whole at GetYourGuide, how would you describe our general approach to collaboration at GetYourGuide?
Tina: General approach to collaboration and get your guide is that it's very much incentivized. Also, in the most recent revamp on how we look at performance, evaluation and everything else, we actually over index on cooperation because at a leadership level we do recognize that true customer impact can only come from teams coming together.
Also, if we think about the fact that we're a marketplace that brings together this perspective of acquiring customers, having the supply and then having a brilliant product on top that meets these both customer groups, it's inherent collaboration. So I would say right now it's at the very [00:33:00] core of what we do and we just need to double down on it.
Steve: Nice. That's really cool. And Can you identify or do you think that there is a specific quality that helps people thrive in this kind of environment?
Tina: Yes, I would say the two things that really pop up into my mind when you ask me this question. One is open mindedness. I think you need to be open on receiving new inputs, but the other side of it is curiosity, right? Which needs. Do you need to be curious about what's happening around you and really kind of look what's under the hood and ask questions?
Because I think asking questions and coming down and sitting together is exactly what drives collaboration. It's basically being a receiver, but then also a driver.
Steve: Yeah, no, absolutely. And you, you've kind of answered this question already, but I'm going to ask it to you directly.
The future of GetYourGuide’s product
Steve: [00:34:00] Um, What excites you the most about the future of GetYourGuide's product?
Tina: The future of Get Your Guide's product is helping customers find truly unique experiences that will be life altering for them and really will cater to them instead of having, you know, a generic suggestion list that will find these.
hidden gems or experiences that will change how they think about their lives. And maybe kind of going to back to that point of empathy. I actually think travel is one of the most wonderful ways of building empathy because you are putting yourself in environments with people you haven't met before.
Steve: Yeah. Absolutely. I agree with you. And I think it's probably a common theme in our office that everyone loves travel, right? It's, it's definitely. So I remember interviewing, you know, you'd always say, you know, what interests you about GetYourGuide? And the number one response is I love to [00:35:00] travel. Um, but I think it's, There's so many reasons why travel is so incredible and, um, to have that opportunity.
Final thoughts
Steve: We're very, very lucky, but, um, Tina, thank you so much. Um, I really, really appreciate you taking your time out of your day. I know that you're exceptionally busy. There's so much going on, but it's been a real pleasure to speak to you and learn a little bit about you. And, uh, I hope we can do this again soon.
Tina: Thank you, Steve. I very much enjoyed our conversation and enjoy the rest of the sunny fingers crossed. Have a great day. Bye bye.