Where Sebastián and Jacopo went after an internship in Bangkok

Daniele: Hi everyone, I’m Daniele, CEO at AIP. Today I’m joined by two AIP alumni with incredible stories: Sebastián from Ecuador and Jacopo from Italy. Sebastián came to Thailand for a short family visit, but that turned into a nine-year journey. He is now leading sales and business development at a company working with global clients. Jacopo’s story starts with a gap year that led him to Bangkok through AIP, where he built connections and launched a career that has taken him to big international companies. We’ll dive into their internship experience, how those opportunities shaped their careers and what they’re up to today. Thank you guys for coming here today. So my first question is: how did you end up here in Thailand, doing an internship here almost 10 years ago?

Jacopo: Well, interesting story, because between my bachelor’s and master’s degree I decided to take a gap year, and I wanted to do it in the best way. I didn’t want to just waste time. I just came to Southeast Asia as a backpacker, you know, the classic backpacker. But then I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and I said, why not do an internship? An actual work experience. And why not do it in Southeast Asia? To be honest, I didn’t know where to go. So I went around Southeast Asia as a traveler, but then I found you guys from AIP, and I came to you just knowing that I wanted to do marketing. That’s it. And that’s how you helped me, first of all, to select Bangkok as a destination. Then in a short time we had a call together, you put me in contact with a company, and I decided to come to Bangkok for my internship, knowing that I was already enrolled in my master’s degree in the UK. So I knew it was time I had to take off, but I wanted a work experience, and that’s why I came here to Bangkok.

Daniele: That was great, because it was an experience between finishing your bachelor’s and your master’s. The perfect thing to kickstart and power up your master’s. And you, Sebastián?

Sebastián: Well, my case was a little bit different. My background was in finance. I was working a lot, and then I said, okay, I’m going to take a month off and go and visit my family. When I came here, it took just two weeks to fall in love with this city. I wanted a different experience, and I was like, how can I get in? I started contacting companies, but I had two more weeks to decide if I was staying or not, and I found AIP. In the end it was a seamless process, and I got interviews with a cryptocurrency company and a management consultancy company. Unlike Jacopo, I had already decided that I wanted Bangkok. But what I can say is that it was quick to get two interviews as soon as you got in contact with me. I stayed six more months, and then I’ve been here nine years.

Daniele: It’s funny, because it seems like none of us was expecting at all to end up in Thailand. Even for myself, I was in India and then I was like, okay, I want to stay in Asia, and I ended up in Thailand. So what was one of the standout moments you had during your internship here in Bangkok?

Sebastián: For me, one of the first things was that it’s such a multicultural city. It’s not just because it’s the first time a person from the West comes to the East. It’s people from every country in the world, and each one has a different culture. You can communicate in English, so that wasn’t a problem. Over time I started learning a little bit of Thai, but I liked the diversity that I experienced at the beginning, and that’s what hooked me.

Daniele: How’s your Thai right now?

Sebastián: Very basic. What they would call taxi Thai. I can get around, food basics. But my job is mainly in English.

Daniele: What about you, Jacopo?

Jacopo: I want to talk about Thai as a language, because I have a fun fact. I think it was my first night out in Bangkok. Of course I didn’t know a single word of Thai. I took a taxi and said “Soi 81”, but it was actually On Nut 81, because On Nut is the BTS station, the train station, and he was taking me outside Bangkok. That’s when I realized I had to learn at least a few basic words. It’s a very multicultural and English-speaking city, but at the same time it still preserves its uniqueness of being Bangkok, in Thailand. So it was funny, and now I do know how to count, and some basic Thai, which is very important to bargain too.

Daniele: Saying the numbers to get home is very important. I remember saying “jet sip jet” and people understanding a completely different number, and my Italian pronunciation being so frustrating. While you were doing your internship here, what were the biggest differences between working, or in general living, here versus back home?

Jacopo: Well, having had different experiences back home in Italy, you do have a very Italian work environment. Whereas here, from day one, I was in a small company, but it was already a very multicultural company. This really surprised me, because I didn’t expect to be working with so many people with different backgrounds, different environments, speaking different languages. And that actually helped me throughout my career as well, to understand how to adapt to different cultures and environments. Working back home, you kind of work in your comfort zone. For me, even when I worked for big, gigantic companies, 80% of the time I was still working in an Italian environment, speaking Italian, feeling at home. Here, you need to adapt fast, because people have different backgrounds and speak different languages.

Daniele: That’s a very good point. Many of our students, when they come here, expect to work only with Thais, or if they go to Korea, only with Koreans. But you realize when you come that they are usually very international companies. You work with people from a multitude of backgrounds, and that’s also very good for your soft skills. And for you, Sebastián, what was the biggest difference?

Sebastián: For me it’s a little bit different, because when I came to Thailand I had some working experience, but it wasn’t massive. I graduated about a year and a half before. I had experienced the work environment in the US a little bit, and that one is very different from Europe, and even more different from Thailand. I like it because it’s very hands-on. I would agree with Jacopo: Spain is a very Spanish environment, even though I was working in a company that was international, with multiple offices. Thailand is a little bit more, let’s say, you can find absolutely everything, in a more laid-back environment. I think that is because of the weather. It makes it feel a little bit more chilled, or “sabai sabai”, like they say here in Thailand. Those were the main differences. And in many companies you see people from different parts of the world, and you have to get used to different cultures or accents. It’s a constant learning of different people. That’s what I like.

Daniele: During your internship, and in general working abroad, how do you think it impacted your skills and your mindset?

Sebastián: While I was doing my internship, I started in management consultancy. We did management and financial consultancy, which meant we had to visit different types of businesses and try to understand how they work, so we could make them work in Thailand. I would say that’s one of the biggest highlights, and I can tell you a fun fact from one of those companies. This company reached out to us and said, “Hey, we have this device. It’s a harness that, in case of emergency, you hook on your wall.”

Daniele: Like a parachute. I think that is very popular in Korea right now.

Sebastián: Yeah. Basically, if there’s a fire, you break the window, you hook it, and then you go down. And as you see here in Bangkok, there are so many condos that you need safety measures like that, the same as in Seoul. So that was a fun thing. To wrap up how my internship impacted me: I learned how to talk about various topics with people from different parts of the world, and I learned how to be more open. I think I’ve carried that “expect the unexpected” kind of thing, because every person and every business is different.

Daniele: When you’re in consulting, after you’re making parachutes to escape fires. In Italy we probably have four floors, you just jump. Anyway, for you, Jacopo, how did it impact your mindset?

Jacopo: It was my first job experience. You jump into your first real job, you don’t have experience and you are in a new country, so you need to adapt fast. Coming from an Italian university, going to Thailand to work for a digital marketing company with different people, in a multicultural environment, it really helped me from day one to understand how important it is to be flexible and to adapt. It’s something I kept in mind in all my other experiences, because it sounds easy, but it’s not, especially for a young person who finishes their bachelor’s degree and has to actually start working. You need to adapt, and that’s something you have to do in every job. It’s a skill that you don’t acquire by studying. As an intern, I think the first thing you have to do is learn how to adapt. That’s something you don’t have at university.

Daniele: Sorry to cut you off, but on adapting: we all come from Europe or South America, from completely different cultures, and we were adapting to Thai culture, which is very “sabai sabai”.

Jacopo: Which I think is very similar to the Italian one. So it’s actually not that different.

Sebastián: For me, I would say that when you’re here, and you’ve already put yourself in this sort of uncomfortable situation, going to another country where you need to adapt to many things, ask a lot of questions. The good thing is that people here are super hospitable. They really want you to learn about their culture. I’ve worked for nine years in Thailand, but they still keep bringing me snacks: “Hey, Seb, try this one. Try that one. This one comes from the north. This one comes from the south. This is a new dessert. Oh, you traveled there? Did you try this?” So in the end, as long as you talk to people and show interest in their culture, they will be super happy to be open with you. That’s also why a lot of foreigners get fat when they come to Thailand. I have to control myself.

Daniele: I feel you, with the boba tea and things. But the welcoming feeling you have here is very important. The fact that you’ve been here for nine years and they still make you try new snacks is because they want you to feel good, they want to involve you in their culture. It’s a nice feeling as an expat.

Sebastián: It goes beyond the snacks. It’s like, “Oh, next Wednesday we have a holiday.” And you’re like, “What is that holiday?” “It’s a Buddhist holiday, and it represents this and that.” Then you’re like, “What is Loy Krathong?” And they’re like, “That’s the lantern festival, let’s say the Valentine’s of Thailand.” And you’re like, oh, that’s in September, and Valentine’s for us is the 14th of February. Constantly, there’s something happening: Chinese New Year, Thai New Year, Buddhist holidays, different traditions.

Daniele: And by the way, how many public holidays are there here? Do you know?

Jacopo: I think it’s around 24 to 27, something like that.

Sebastián: I think the number is like 21, but at least we get 17. It’s still much more than many other countries, so it’s good.

Daniele: Especially April, with Songkran and everything. Can you name all of them?

Jacopo: No, zero. I’m still trying to remember the various Buddhist holidays. Every time it’s like, “Let’s hang out tomorrow.” “No, today they don’t serve.” That’s usually how I discover there’s a holiday.

Daniele: That’s true. A lot of unexpected things happen when you’re here. So what is something unexpected you learned during your internship, or living here, that you wouldn’t have expected when you first came?

Sebastián: As I said before, it opened my mind to talk to many people. But another thing, and one of my colleagues happened to be very close to the group of friends I made later, is that since there are foreigners and communities of foreigners here, you can make connections. It’s very important to do networking. In the end, many of the people you meet can help you with work, can find you someone who might be looking for a job, a friend that you know. You guys are very good friends, and I would say that when you’re alone in a foreign country, your friends become your family. I never thought it was going to be like that.

Daniele: That’s absolutely true. With our students, one of the first things we try to do is help them build their own network, because when you go abroad, your family is 9,000 kilometers away and your friends are in a different time zone. Building some form of network helps you a lot, whether you stay abroad or just for the time you spend here. And for you, Jacopo, what was something unexpected?

Jacopo: To be fair, we’re still friends because of this. We met nine years ago at networking events you were inviting us to, and Sebastián randomly in a beer garden. But coming back to your question, I want to talk about something that happened during my internship which is quite funny, and unexpected for sure. A Thai colleague, an account manager, and I were going to a meeting with a potential client. I was just supporting him, because I was an intern and I had to learn how to do more customer-facing roles. And it happened that the meeting was all in Thai, so of course I didn’t understand anything. That was unexpected, but it also taught me to always understand what to expect. Ask questions, understand what the meeting is going to be about, and make sure, in this case, that the meeting is going to be in English. Whether you’re working in Thailand or wherever, in a different country, maybe the meeting is not in your language or in English.

Sebastián: I would add on that topic: I know what you mean. I don’t speak fluent Thai, and I still have to be in meetings that are held in Thai, which is normal, we’re in Thailand. Later on your team will brief you. One of the first things I learned when I was coming to meetings where I thought I wasn’t adding much value is the different protocols. In every country there are different protocols: when you meet someone, how you take the cards, how other people act, the ways they start a meeting. Sometimes in the West we go straight to business. Here it’s a little bit of small talk, and even more small talk if you’re a foreigner and the other person is a foreigner: how long have you been here, where do you live, neighborhoods and stuff like that. So I would say that even if you are in a meeting where you don’t understand the language, you can learn so much of what’s happening. Don’t worry, you finish the meeting, your colleagues will brief you, and then you will for sure add to that project. It’s logical that people want to talk in their language so they don’t miss details.

Daniele: Plus, if you stay here long enough, your proficiency in the local language improves. I’m very far from being fluent, but over the years of attending meetings and networking events in Thai, little by little I started to pick it up. At least you understand the context, what they’re talking about. Now I wanted to put the spotlight on you guys and your experience now, because we all started with an internship and then had different careers. Starting with you, Sebastián: you started with an internship with AIP, and from there you remained here in Thailand until now. What happened, and where are you now?

Sebastián: It’s been quite a ride. At the beginning, the first thing was finding the internship, a lot of pressure. I took an internship of six months, and that was more than enough to decide that I wanted to stay in Thailand. My first job was in a management consultancy firm, where I started learning about different clients, one of which I mentioned earlier. I stayed there for a little bit, until, in small talk and chats with your friends, you start saying that you would like to stay in Thailand: “How can I stay longer? Because then it’s a work permit. Which company can hire you?” And one of the people I was working with said, “Why don’t we do something together?” We had the knowledge, and the will to do something of our own, so we formed a little management consultancy firm. A little bit later I realized that I wanted a different type of job. I didn’t necessarily want to stay too long in the same place; let’s say I could have gotten a little bit bored. I had almost decided to go back to Spain, and suddenly, again through networking, someone said, “Hey, there’s this company looking for someone. Are you interested?” And I was like, “Yeah, of course.” I sent my CV. At the beginning I didn’t really nail what the company was doing. I did all the research, but I didn’t know that translation was called localization. I was, I don’t know, 24 years old. I didn’t know some of the terminology. I didn’t have a bad interview, I got the job, and suddenly I found myself in a world I completely didn’t know. Going from checks and balances to trying to understand how the translation world works, a world that very few people understand. People play a movie on a streaming service and think the subtitles or the dub just happen by a miracle, or they’re playing their favorite video game and suddenly it’s in Spanish. It’s because there’s a lot of work and a lot of processes behind it.

Sebastián: I started as a business analyst, checking how different parts of the company worked. You could see there was interest in me, and little by little I started gaining more responsibility. First I became an account manager, putting my feet firmly on the ground to be able to talk to clients and manage accounts, and that’s something I started enjoying. At the beginning I had to go to India a lot to visit e-learning clients, which made me even more interested in the job, because I had never been to India.

Daniele: So there was a travel component too.

Sebastián: Yeah, and later on even more, because once I had some knowledge of e-learning, I wanted to do something with multimedia. So suddenly you are at exhibitions where players from around the world bring their movies and content, and what we wanted was to do the dubbing and the subtitle translation. By then I was already a unit manager, managing certain units, and with time, ups and downs. Now I manage all the sales of the company. I have the title of VP of business development. There’s no moment I’ve gotten bored, because one day we’re doing a dub for a video game, another day we’re doing subtitles for a TV show that will be on TV tomorrow, or e-learning courses for people in Mexico, and you’re like, how come you’re doing them in Thailand? In all this time, another fun fact is that I learned how to do dubbing and voice-over. In the office, I have the Latin American accent, and I’ve recorded a couple of things. So that’s a little bit of my journey. I learned not to be afraid of being in front of a microphone, because at the beginning, I guess it has happened to many of you, when you hear yourself you say, I don’t want to be here, mute it. But later on you realize, that’s how you sound, so you need to like it. That’s how your friends hear you, and they haven’t complained.

Daniele: From intern to VP of business development. And Jacopo, yours is different, because Sebastián and I remained here the whole time. You did your internship and then you went back, because you had your master’s in the UK, right? What happened after?

Jacopo: Mine has been a journey to enlightenment. No, in the sense that I’ve never really understood what I wanted to be and what I wanted to do. So I’ve jumped into, not different careers, but different positions in different companies. Instead of growing in the same company like Sebastián, finding the right path for me has meant jumping around different companies, mostly multinationals. After my first job experience here, an internship in digital marketing, I went to the UK to study my master’s in marketing, and I started my career in marketing at a big multinational company in the chemical industry. Very interesting, but after a couple of years I realized that maybe the chemical industry was not meant for me, and maybe marketing was not actually what I wanted to do. I really enjoyed the client-facing part. That’s why I moved to a startup unicorn in Italy in the fintech industry. Very different from the chemical industry. Slightly more dynamic, I would say. And I started doing business development, a set of skills that I wanted to develop. You know how difficult business development is, because again, it’s something you don’t learn at school, you learn on the ground, practicing. After that I stayed in the tech industry, but I got the call from one of the biggest tech companies in the world. It meant jumping from a proper business development and sales role to a key account manager role, which is what I wanted for my path. I joined as a key account manager, learned a new set of skills that I wanted to acquire, and it was a good experience. But then again, why am I here? In the back of my head I always had the need to come back at some point. Having been in Italy for all those years, at some point I had to decide what to do: continue there, or change and go back to Asia. It was not an easy decision, because of course you’re leaving your family, you’re leaving your friends, your career there, and you have to completely remake yourself far from home. But I stayed in the tech industry and joined a travel tech company as a manager of strategic partnerships. I’m happy, because I could continue my path, which sounds a bit jumpy, but now, after all these years, it kind of makes sense.

Daniele: So your journey to enlightenment has come. It’s funny, because we all started with an internship: I did one in India in IT, you did yours in consulting, you in marketing, which was what we studied. And then we all ended up doing something completely different.

Sebastián: It’s a very nice journey to enlightenment, as Jacopo would put it. I thought I was going to end up in finance, a bank, or just management consultancy, because of the stereotypes: you should go to a bank or a management consultancy. But coming here, adapting, and everything we’ve discussed made me realize that maybe the areas you think are not for you are actually where you can find something.

Daniele: That’s also the point of the internship, right? It’s not necessarily just to refine the skills you got from university, but sometimes to see if you actually like something before committing two or three years of your career to a full-time job that you would then throw out of the window if you discover you wanted to do something else. That’s what we often say to our students: an internship is for sure to refine the skills you picked up at university, but it’s also a kind of alpha or beta of your future career, to see if you really want to jump into that, or, like we all did, do something completely different or parallel.

Jacopo: I think you always learn from it. For example, I did my internship here in digital marketing, which is something I enjoyed, but then I understood that it was not my path. You’re doing it for a purpose. Maybe it’s your path, maybe it’s not, but you still learn from it. It’s an experience.

Daniele: And as we said in another video, even a bad experience is a good experience.

Sebastián: No one has a perfect day every day. In all these nine years it’s been a roller coaster of emotions, literally. Some days you want to be with your family or your friends, you want to be celebrating your brother’s birthday, or you would like to see your family more often. But constantly putting yourself in positions that make you a little bit uncomfortable makes you learn. I wouldn’t consider that specific experience bad. You won’t make that mistake next time. You will do something different, or you will already know what to expect.

Daniele: Jacopo, would you like to add anything on the uncomfortable or bad experiences?

Jacopo: Based on my experience, and it’s a suggestion I give to young students who want to do an internship, but not just them, to people who are afraid to take a decision: don’t be afraid, because in the end you are going to learn from it, even if it’s a bad experience. If you take a path, go for it, don’t look back. It can be positive or negative, you don’t know, but you’re going to gain something from it for sure, and that’s why I’m here. I took a decision to leave everything, as Sebastián did and you did as well, and we’re happy with our lives. It was not an easy decision, but we were not afraid to take it, and I think that’s what I learned.

Sebastián: I have the feeling that some of the friends I really love from high school or university are a little bit stagnant. They haven’t moved so much. Coming back to the differences between being here and being there: just being a foreigner here doesn’t let you stay in the same place all the time. You’re constantly changing a little bit. And at Christmas, when I go back to Europe, I value visiting my family and my friends 100 times more. When you live there, your mom or your dad is a mile away, and people don’t even go and see their parents or cousins or friends. Here I’ve managed to create a way to go and see my family and friends. There’s more excitement. You plan things, you try to do different and new things. When I was living in Madrid, eventually I wasn’t finding new things that I wanted to do, because I was already comfortable. Everything was already a little bit settled.

Daniele: Would you say that this experience, other than for your career, really changed you as a person?

Sebastián: Definitely. I’ve become much more open in general. Before, I was more of an introvert. Now I’m more talkative, a little bit more of an extrovert. And it changed how I deal with people, specifically here in Thailand or in Asia. There are ways you need to deal with people, work-wise, at restaurants, with family or friends. In Europe you already know the difference between Italy and Spain, which side you start the kisses on, not much more. But here it’s like: what’s the protocol for meeting your friend’s parents? What’s the protocol when you’re dating someone in Asia for the first time? Or work-wise, the different protocols, as I said before.

Daniele: Jacopo, did you want to add anything?

Jacopo: Coming back to your question, having left my country when I was young really opened up my mind. I feel what Sebastián says, and not just about my friends: even myself, if I had stayed back home, maybe I wouldn’t be who I am now. I wouldn’t be this open-minded, I wouldn’t be this flexible, I wouldn’t have had so many experiences. So I’m grateful I took that decision, because it brought me here. Otherwise, you never know.

Daniele: It’s like a snowball effect. You even get kind of addicted to it: you have one new experience, you want another one, and another. At least for me, when I go back, I feel like time didn’t really pass there, and I’m on a different rhythm. I want to keep exploring and doing new things. I love going back and seeing my friends and family, I look forward to that time once or twice a year, but then I need to go out again to keep building my life. Anyway, I think we gave a lot of nice advice already. But I wanted to ask for specific advice for students looking to do an internship abroad for the first time, who maybe have never left home. What would you tell them?

Jacopo: I come back to the point I made earlier: you’re young, don’t be afraid. It’s never a one-sided decision. You can take this decision and enjoy it, or you can take the decision, not enjoy it, and go back. In any case, you learn from it. It’s temporary, and it brings you somewhere. It either makes you understand that you really like it, or it makes you understand what you don’t like. So you always gain from it. My advice is: don’t be afraid, just do it. You will learn from it for sure, and it will change you.

Sebastián: I would say the same as before: don’t be afraid of putting yourself in an uncomfortable position. By talking to people and being a little bit more open, you can make a good group of friends. Not just that: you go to the office of the company where you’re going to be, and the people are going to be very welcoming. You’re the new guy. They want you to have a great experience. Whenever you go to another country, it rarely happens that you don’t have a good experience. When I’ve been in other countries in Asia, there’s always a person who wants me to have a better experience in their country. And about putting yourself a little bit in an uncomfortable position: I remember a Spanish guy who worked with me. He was about ten years older than me, with ten years of experience, and he decided to do another internship because he wanted to learn something new. He decided this at 35, when you supposedly shouldn’t take too many risks. He took the risk and had a great experience. Now he has moved to Australia and is living happily there with his partner. I wouldn’t say that an internship has an age. He was in the oil industry before, but he wanted management consultancy. He did that, and now he’s working in something related to consultancy. He made the change at 35.

Daniele: For me, I would say get out of your comfort zone, take that step, and do it as soon as possible, because the earlier you do it, the sooner you discover if it’s for you. The benefits will almost always outweigh the negatives. If you open up to the world, it’s hardly going to punch you down. It’s more likely you’re going to grow with it, with a positive mindset. Go to another place and you’ll find there are people who will care about you. I have one last bonus question for you guys: is there anything you would have done differently?

Sebastián: That’s a difficult question, because at the beginning I was living my life very intensely. We were working, and then we were hanging out with friends. I would just maybe have extended it a little bit more, because, as you said, you come here for an internship, and people want you to see their culture, see everything. You’re an intern. You don’t have 100% of the responsibility. You’re there to learn. You’re there to be able to make mistakes. It’s a moment.

Jacopo: For me, I would probably have tried to come back here earlier. As I said, I had it in the back of my head, but then I started my career in different companies, you get busy, and it’s hard to move. You need to take a big decision and go for it. Maybe what I would do differently is do it earlier. But at the same time, I’m happy with the decision I took, because it brought me here at a different level. It’s never a one-sided decision. You can always adapt, like your friend who did an internship at 35. But if you ask me this question, that’s my answer.

Daniele: I was trying to convince him not to do the master’s, so he could stay! Maybe he would have stayed here nine years. But I think he might have done the right thing. For me, I’m very happy with where I am and what I’m doing, but if I could, I would have liked to do a couple more experiences before starting AIP. I had no experience building a business, and when you build one you do things a bit randomly. With a couple more experiences, I would have made fewer mistakes. In the end, trial and error, we got here. But maybe instead of taking nine years to get where I am now, I would have taken three. Anyway, thank you guys for coming today, and hope to see you again soon.

Sebastián: Thank you.

Transcript from YouTube’s automatic captions, lightly edited. Company names removed.