Santiago Schinner

Why this persona fits the audience

Co-founds a 4-person SaaS in London serving EU business customers; he and one engineer deploy a client portal to a Frankfurt region, keep release notes in Notion, and track environment changes in a shared spreadsheet while using GitHub Actions and Terraform snippets for the actual releases.

• Age: 34
• Location: London, UK
• Occupation: Co-founder and CTO
• Income: £110k salary plus founder equity
• Education: BSc Computer Science
• Company size: 4
• Years in role: 3

“The devil's in the details, especially when your product handles other people's data across borders.”

Santiago Schinner, 34, is the co-founder and CTO of a four-person B2B SaaS startup based in London. With a BSc in Computer Science, he gravitated towards the challenges of building and scaling technical products from the ground up. His career path has been marked by a desire to create reliable systems, a value deeply ingrained from his early days working on complex projects where downtime was costly. He co-founded his current venture three years ago, driven by the opportunity to build a client portal specifically designed for European businesses, with a strong emphasis on GDPR compliance and data sovereignty. This focus dictates much of his technical strategy, leading them to deploy their primary infrastructure in a Frankfurt region to ensure data stays within the EU. His technical toolkit is pragmatic and lean: Notion for release notes, a shared spreadsheet for tracking environment changes, and a combination of GitHub Actions and Terraform snippets for automated deployments. His income is a blend of a £110k salary and founder equity, reflecting the high-stakes, high-reward nature of startup life. He's conscious of financial planning, prioritising long-term growth over immediate gratification, a mindset honed by the inherent risks of early-stage ventures. Santiago's approach to work is characterized by meticulous planning and a deep commitment to shipping reliably, a trait that extends to his personal life where he applies similar discipline to his climbing training. He's a firm believer in 'privacy by default' and small-team efficiency, constantly seeking ways to optimize their processes without compromising quality or security. This deliberate, methodical approach is his response to the constant pressure to innovate and deliver in a competitive market, ensuring their technology is both robust and compliant.

Background & daily life

A day in their life

Santiago's typical weekday starts around 7:30 AM. After a quick scan of Hacker News and a cup of strong coffee, he's at his home office by 8:00 AM. The first hour is usually spent reviewing overnight alerts and checking the status of recent deployments. He then syncs with his co-founder and the other engineer to align on priorities. The bulk of his morning is dedicated to coding, infrastructure tasks (likely tweaking Terraform or reviewing GitHub Actions workflows), and code reviews. Lunch is a quick, often solitary affair at his desk. The afternoon might involve a client call, more development, or researching new tooling. He tries to wrap up by 6:30 PM, but late-night deployments or critical issues can extend his day. Evenings are for dinner with his partner and decompressing, perhaps with a quick bouldering session if time allows.

Lifestyle

Santiago shares a flat in Clapham with his partner, who works in marketing. Their weekends often involve a mix of socialising with friends over craft beers or a pub quiz, and 'adulting' tasks like grocery shopping and meal prepping. He’s a keen boulderer, trying to hit the climbing gym twice a week, which serves as his primary stress relief. Money is consciously managed; salary is good, but founder equity means the long-term payoff is the priority. He's not extravagant, favouring functional tech and comfortable, durable clothing over flashy brands. Socially, he's content with a close-knit group of friends rather than a large circle.

Work life

As CTO of a nascent B2B SaaS, Santiago’s work is a constant balancing act. His days are a blend of deep technical problem-solving, code reviews, and strategic infrastructure planning. He shares the engineering load with one other developer, meaning hands-on implementation is a daily reality. The pressure is immense: shipping features reliably to their EU clients while maintaining strict data privacy standards. He feels the weight of responsibility for the company's technical foundation and is acutely aware of the need for small-team efficiency, constantly seeking ways to automate and streamline their release process. Coworkers are few but trusted, fostering a collaborative but intense environment.

Relationships

Santiago's primary professional relationships are with his co-founder, who handles the business side, and the other engineer on his team. He maintains a cordial but professional relationship with their handful of early-stage clients. Personally, his partner is his main confidante and sounding board. His parents, who live in the Midlands, are supportive but don't fully grasp the technical nuances of his work.

How they decide

Santiago is a research-heavy, pragmatic decision-maker. He thoroughly investigates options, weighing technical merits, long-term implications, and team efficiency. He values evidence and often consults documentation or benchmarks before committing. While he respects peer opinions, especially from other technical leaders, he ultimately relies on his own analysis and conviction, especially concerning infrastructure and engineering choices.

How they sound

Speaks with a measured, clear cadence, often pausing to formulate his thoughts precisely. His vocabulary is technical but not overly jargon-filled when speaking to a mixed audience. Avoids hyperbole and overly casual slang. Tends to be direct and factual, with a subtle hint of British understatement. His tone is generally calm and professional, even when discussing stressful technical challenges.