Marco Ilardi is a multifaceted professional, excelling in digital entrepreneurship, mobile app development, marketing, and brand SERPs and knowledge panels. In addition to his tech-related pursuits, he is also an accomplished food blogger and serves as the director of Cinque Gusti, a renowned food magazine.
Born in Naples, Italy, Marco started his career as a researcher at the University of Naples. Then he moved to IBM for a few years before establishing his own company Micropedia, which deals with web and mobile application development, SEO, and communication.
Marco holds a degree in geology and has authored several scientific publications on topics related to geomorphology.
Recently we had the opportunity to sit down with Marco Ilardi to gain insights into how he is helping businesses with his innovative services and solutions.
Below are the highlights of the interview:
Q) We would love to hear more about your professional journey! Could you briefly overview your career and how you got to where you are today?
Marco) I started as a university researcher at Federico II University but soon switched to computer science, my lifelong passion. After a few years at IBM, I moved to small companies, first as a programmer and then as a technical director. Later in 2015, I founded my company Micropedia which deals with developing customized mobile applications, particularly for the food sector. Today I am a digital entrepreneur, and I deal not only with web development but also with SEO consultancy, and brand reputation. I am also a food blogger. In fact, I have a blog called five tastes, which talks about Italian food and wine excellence. I was also a judge at the last Italian pizza championships, and this year I won the five-star gold award for Italian cuisine from the Italian cooks’ association for my dissemination of the Italian culinary tradition.
Q) What are the five words that describe you the best?
Marco) The five words that best describe me are honesty, professionalism, tenacity, seriousness, and ambition.
Q) What inspired you to write Digital Food? Please shine some light on the book.
Marco) Digital food was born during the pandemic when with my restaurateur clients, in particular starred chefs such as Don Alfonso 1890, the best Italian restaurant in the world, and Matteo Cutolo, pastry world champion, I had to invent new technological solutions. I took the opportunity to write a book that would open the minds of restaurateurs, pizza chefs, and pastry chefs to make them understand that with technology, they can improve the quality of their employees’ work and their own performance.
Q) What key highlights would you like to share that fostered your growth as a leading digital creator?
Marco) My journey as a digital creator has been favored not only by the studies I have done by reading books and following courses by Italian and foreign communication gurus. For example, I am speaking of characters such as Giorgio Taverniti in Italy or Jason Barnard in the United States, but also of the customers I have captured over the years. Working with starred chefs and leading personalities in the world of Italian cuisine inevitably leads you to open your mind and give your best to provide your customers with an edge in their activities.
Q) Please give us some insight about your next book and when we might be able to get our hands on it.
Marco) I’m now writing my second book, which will come out in late spring and early summer. It will be called the blue check, and it talks about how to build your digital identity in the right way, the strategy to follow, and some technical aspects and mistakes not to be made, explained from my point of view. Someone who has personally experienced things, who, for example, has a knowledge panel even without having Wikipedia, which is completely useless, the important things are quite different.
Q) What are you looking to accomplish in the next five years from a personal as well as professional point of view?
Marco) In recent years I have become passionate about writing which was initially a hobby but is slowly becoming a new job. I think the next steps will be those that will lead me to become a freelance journalist and find my own editorial masthead.
From a personal point of view, I hope to stay in good health, which is the most important thing. Although I am an ambitious person, I am not a money person. Personal satisfaction is worth much more than money to me. So if I’m going to be rich and famous, I don’t know, but it’s not my priority.
Q) What would you like to be remembered for by your peers?
Marco) Above all, I would like to be remembered for my honesty and help. I try to give to those in need on a daily basis without getting too much publicity for it. Many of the activities, especially those of bloggers, I do not for profit. For example, I’m talking about portals like Pozzuolimania, which is a tourist portal in the city of Pozzuoli, where I live and where I talk about culture, history, and current events. Same thing I do on mysterious Naples, where I talk about the legends and stories of my city Naples promoting its history and culture. To finish then with the food magazine Five tastes, with which I go around Italy to tell the stories of the best pizza restaurants and typical products.
Q) What would be your advice for entrepreneurs planning to start their businesses?
Marco) Above all, I suggest remaining humble, working hard, and always remaining consistent and loyal to everyone. The path will be longer but will bring excellent results.