Pioneering spirit at its best -
From greengrocer to digital visionary
Entrepreneur, adventurer, pioneer: the journey of Rafael Bettio
Born in 1979 in a picturesque suburb of Zurich, I stumbled through life as the third generation descendant of an Italian-born family of greengrocers and restaurateurs.
Having grown up monolingual, I now juggle six languages, some of which urgently need to be oiled.
My professional odyssey began in the austere halls of Zürcher Kantonalbank. A solid education? Certainly. Mine? Hardly! After a tough banking apprenticeship and military service as a tank driver (yes, really, a tank driver!), I fled to Greenwich to polish up my school English. That was the beginning of my lifelong passion for languages, travel, people and cultures.
My professional odyssey began in the austere halls of Zürcher Kantonalbank. A solid education? Certainly. Mine? Hardly! After a tough banking apprenticeship and military service as a tank driver (yes, really, a tank driver!), I fled to Greenwich to polish up my school English. That was the beginning of my lifelong passion for languages, travel, people and cultures.
Back home, I swapped the steel of the tankers for fruit and vegetables and spent formative moments picking strawberries in Italy-so much bending that I could barely stand upright.
After this agricultural bootcamp, I moved to Valencia, where I not only improved my Spanish, but also deepened my knowledge of the fresh fruit wholesale business.
When Zurich called me again, I swapped fruit for cell phones and became a marketing consultant at Nokia-a real giant at the time (over 80% market share, where have they all gone?). After this technological detour and successful escape from the monotony of bits and bytes, I returned to the world of wine. But not to drink it; rather to reinvent an old wine import business. I also completed my training as a wine specialist there.
Then came 2008 and with the banking crisis, I involuntarily became the king of poker. I secured the first federal license for private poker tournaments outside of casinos (much to the annoyance of the casinos). Everything went smoothly until I was dragged into court as a test case by the Swiss Casino Association. I won the first round, lost the second spectacularly, and the final showdown in federal court was a knockout. Result: everything lost, debts over my head and only skin and bones left (58 kg at 180 cm).
After several months on friends’ sofas, I found myself – like a prodigal son – in the kitchen near my old vocational school, where I made a bar out of necessity and later took over the adjoining restaurant and inn. With no formal culinary training, I was head chef and manager from day one. It cost me blood, tears, burns and sweat, but also countless laughs and memories shaped those seven years (7 years of successful cooking). Wow, when I look back, I always ask myself, how did I do it?
When the gastronomic chapter came to an end, I found myself back in the fruit and vegetable business, this time as COO of a retail group. This was soon followed by the leap into self-employment, and after the digitalization of these companies and the introduction of an ordering app, I delved deeper and more intensively into the world of artificial intelligence and social media.
About three months ago, I had the brilliant idea: after a meal at Bimi (my favorite Japanese restaurant in Switzerland), I decided to risk everything and founded OpinStar. My goal? To create a win-win-win situation: more customers and sales for SMEs, a voice for (hopefully) satisfied customers. Because if everyone wins, I win too. The triple-win world has been created-and I’m pursuing my dream of living and working by the sea for a few months every year (does it have internet? Otherwise, unfortunately not).
My life? A wild mix of highs and lows, learning and laughter. Proof that you can reach your goal by taking detours and that it’s never too late to seize an opportunity. As long as it helps others and myself, I’m always there! Let’s rock OpinStar – Triple Win!
Thank you for your attention.
Rafael Bettio
When Zurich called me again, I swapped fruit for cell phones and became a marketing consultant at Nokia-a real giant at the time (over 80% market share, where have they all gone?). After this technological detour and successful escape from the monotony of bits and bytes, I returned to the world of wine. But not to drink it; rather to reinvent an old wine import business. I also completed my training as a wine specialist there.
Then came 2008 and with the banking crisis, I involuntarily became the king of poker. I secured the first federal license for private poker tournaments outside of casinos (much to the annoyance of the casinos). Everything went smoothly until I was dragged into court as a test case by the Swiss Casino Association. I won the first round, lost the second spectacularly, and the final showdown in federal court was a knockout. Result: everything lost, debts over my head and only skin and bones left (58 kg at 180 cm).
After several months on friends’ sofas, I found myself – like a prodigal son – in the kitchen near my old vocational school, where I made a bar out of necessity and later took over the adjoining restaurant and inn. With no formal culinary training, I was head chef and manager from day one. It cost me blood, tears, burns and sweat, but also countless laughs and memories shaped those seven years (7 years of successful cooking). Wow, when I look back, I always ask myself, how did I do it?
When the gastronomic chapter came to an end, I found myself back in the fruit and vegetable business, this time as COO of a retail group. This was soon followed by the leap into self-employment, and after the digitalization of these companies and the introduction of an ordering app, I delved deeper and more intensively into the world of artificial intelligence and social media.
About three months ago, I had the brilliant idea: after a meal at Bimi (my favorite Japanese restaurant in Switzerland), I decided to risk everything and founded OpinStar. My goal? To create a win-win-win situation: more customers and sales for SMEs, a voice for (hopefully) satisfied customers. Because if everyone wins, I win too. The triple-win world has been created-and I’m pursuing my dream of living and working by the sea for a few months every year (does it have internet? Otherwise, unfortunately not).
My life? A wild mix of highs and lows, learning and laughter. Proof that you can reach your goal by taking detours and that it’s never too late to seize an opportunity. As long as it helps others and myself, I’m always there! Let’s rock OpinStar – Triple Win!
Thank you for your attention.
Rafael Bettio
