Tech Scenes Unplugged with Michele Sancricca CEO and founder of Secro

Tech Scenes Unplugged with Michele Sancricca, CEO and Founder of Secro

Why Trust, Speed, and Decision-Making Matter in a $30 Trillion Industry

In this episode of Tech Scenes Unplugged, Collective Genius Founder Jeff Martin sits down with Michele Sancricca, CEO and Founder of Secro, to explore one of the world's largest yet least digitized industries: global trade.

From combating piracy in the Italian Navy to leading digital transformation initiatives at major shipping organizations and Amazon, Michele has spent his career solving complex operational problems across global systems.

Today, through Secro, he is helping modernize international trade by bringing security, trust, automation, and digital workflows to an industry that still relies heavily on paper documents, manual processes, and fragmented communication.

The conversation explores leadership, scaling teams, organizational systems, founder growth, decision-making, AI, customer feedback loops, and why trust remains one of the most valuable assets in business.

Watch and Listen

Watch the Full Episode on YouTube

https://youtu.be/NF832cumgoo

Listen on Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4zzlM6GscjLwFcs7mtVgjg?si=zW1S31veR2CWUZrEvgXRGA

Meet Secro

Secro is a workflow automation and security platform designed for global trade.

The company helps banks, insurance providers, logistics companies, and commodity traders digitize some of the most critical and complex documentation workflows in international commerce.

Many people assume global trade has already been digitized.

The reality is quite different.

According to Michele, many critical trade processes still depend on:

Paper documentation
Email-based workflows
Excel spreadsheets
Manual approvals
Fragmented systems

This creates inefficiencies, delays, security risks, fraud exposure, and operational complexity.

Secro's mission is to create a trusted digital infrastructure that reduces transaction risk while improving transparency and efficiency across global trade ecosystems.

Fighting Modern-Day Pirates

One of the most fascinating parts of Michele's story is his background in the Italian Navy.

During his military career, he participated in anti-piracy operations and helped protect commercial shipping routes.

Today, he jokes that he is still fighting pirates.

The difference is that modern pirates often operate through fraud, cybercrime, document manipulation, and financial deception rather than armed attacks at sea.

This perspective gives Michele a unique understanding of trust, security, and risk management.

The challenges may look different today, but the underlying problem remains the same:

How do you protect valuable assets moving through complex global systems?

Why Trust Is the Foundation of Global Trade

One of the strongest themes throughout the conversation is trust.

International trade depends on trust between multiple parties:

Buyers
Sellers
Banks
Insurance providers
Logistics companies
Freight operators
Regulators

When information is inaccurate, delayed, duplicated, or manipulated, risk increases dramatically.

Fraud becomes easier.

Insurance becomes more expensive.

Transactions become slower.

Relationships deteriorate.

Secro's approach focuses on strengthening the chain of trust through secure digital workflows and verified documentation.

The Hidden Cost of Paper-Based Systems

Many business leaders assume paper processes are simply inefficient.

The reality is much more significant.

Paper-based systems create:

Operational delays
Duplicate work
Compliance challenges
Security vulnerabilities
Increased fraud exposure
Limited visibility

In industries moving billions and trillions of dollars in transactions, even small inefficiencies become massive economic costs.

Digitization is not simply about convenience.

It becomes a strategic advantage.

What Michele Learned from Amazon

After his military career and work in global shipping, Michele joined Amazon and later AWS.

There he gained firsthand experience building systems at massive scale.

One of the key lessons he shares is the importance of documentation.

Amazon's culture emphasizes writing.

Ideas are documented.

Strategies are documented.

Product launches are documented.

Decision-making becomes clearer when thinking is written down.

This lesson continues to influence how Michele builds Secro today.

Why Writing Creates Alignment

One of the most practical discussions in the episode centers around documentation.

Many organizations talk about vision.

Few write it clearly.

Fewer revisit it consistently.

Michele explains how some of the early strategic documents created years ago at Secro continue to guide decisions today.

Writing creates clarity.

Clarity creates alignment.

Alignment creates execution.

For growth-stage companies, documenting vision, priorities, assumptions, and decisions often becomes a critical scaling mechanism.

The Founder Evolution Challenge

As companies grow, founders face a difficult transition.

In the beginning, founders are involved in everything.

Every customer conversation.

Every product decision.

Every hiring discussion.

Every operational challenge.

At a certain point, that model breaks.

The company becomes too large to fit inside one person's head.

Michele describes this realization as a defining moment in leadership development.

The founder can no longer be the system.

The organization needs systems.

It needs leaders.

It needs delegation.

It needs trust.

This transition is one of the hardest challenges growth-stage founders face.

Why Feedback Loops Matter

One of Michele's strongest beliefs is the importance of maintaining short feedback loops.

Markets change rapidly.

Customers change rapidly.

Technology changes rapidly.

AI is accelerating this even further.

The companies that learn fastest gain an advantage.

The companies that wait too long to adapt often struggle.

Michele emphasizes that startups can no longer rely on quarterly feedback cycles.

In many cases, learning needs to happen weekly or even daily.

The speed of learning increasingly determines the speed of growth.

The Challenge of Scaling Teams

Secro operates across multiple countries and time zones.

This creates unique leadership challenges.

As organizations grow internationally, alignment becomes more difficult.

Communication becomes more complex.

Decision-making becomes more distributed.

Michele explains that success requires building local ownership while maintaining global alignment.

The goal is not central control.

The goal is distributed accountability connected by a shared vision.

Why Diversity Strengthens Teams

One of the most insightful sections of the conversation focuses on diversity.

Secro's team includes people from numerous countries and backgrounds.

Different cultures bring different perspectives.

Different experiences create different solutions.

Different viewpoints challenge assumptions.

Michele believes this diversity strengthens decision-making and helps organizations solve more complex problems.

Innovation often emerges from the collision of different perspectives.

Leadership Means Letting Go

Several times during the conversation Michele returns to a lesson learned both in the military and as a founder:

Leaders eventually have to let go.

Micromanagement may work in the beginning.

It does not scale.

At some point leaders must trust their teams.

They must empower others to make decisions.

They must create clarity and accountability without controlling every outcome.

This transition is uncomfortable.

But it is necessary for growth.

Why AI Changes the Speed of Business

The discussion also explores AI's impact on startups.

Michele believes AI is dramatically compressing timelines.

Features can be built faster.

Competitors can emerge faster.

Markets can shift faster.

As a result, founders must become more responsive.

Decision-making speed becomes increasingly important.

Learning speed becomes increasingly important.

Execution speed becomes increasingly important.

The organizations that adapt fastest often gain disproportionate advantages.

Innovation in Conservative Industries

One of the most interesting strategic discussions involves building innovative products in highly regulated industries.

Many founders pursue markets with rapid adoption.

Michele intentionally chose a different path.

Global trade is conservative.

Banks are conservative.

Insurance providers are conservative.

Adoption cycles are slower.

But successful companies become deeply embedded once trust is established.

This creates durable competitive advantages.

In Michele's view, building in difficult industries often creates stronger long-term businesses.

Key Quotes from the Episode

"The company becomes bigger than your brain."

"The key to startup success is the feedback loop."

"You need to learn how to let go."

"Planning is essential."

"Write it down."

"Trust is everything in global trade."

"The founder cannot remain the system forever."

"Speed of learning determines speed of growth."

Key Takeaways

Trust remains one of the most important assets in business.
Digitization creates strategic advantages beyond efficiency.
Founders must evolve as organizations grow.
Feedback loops are critical for decision-making.
Documentation creates organizational alignment.
Diverse teams often make better decisions.
AI is accelerating the pace of competition.
Leadership requires learning when to let go.
Conservative industries can create powerful opportunities.
Strong systems enable sustainable growth.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Secro?

Secro is a workflow automation and security platform focused on digitizing complex trade and financial documentation workflows.

What problem does Secro solve?

The company helps reduce fraud, improve trust, increase efficiency, and digitize paper-heavy workflows across global trade ecosystems.

Why is trust so important in global trade?

International transactions involve multiple parties, jurisdictions, financial institutions, and documentation requirements. Trust reduces risk and improves efficiency.

Why do founders struggle to scale?

As organizations grow, founders must transition from doing everything themselves to empowering leaders and building scalable systems.

Why are feedback loops important?

Short feedback loops help companies learn faster, adapt faster, and make better decisions.

How is AI changing business?

AI is increasing the speed of product development, competition, learning, and execution across nearly every industry.

Why is documentation important?

Documentation improves clarity, alignment, accountability, and organizational memory.

Related Insights

About Michele Sancricca

Michele Sancricca is the Founder and CEO of Secro, a workflow automation and security platform transforming global trade. Before founding Secro, Michele served in the Italian Navy, led digital transformation initiatives in global shipping, and held leadership roles at Amazon and AWS. His unique background gives him deep expertise in trust, risk management, logistics, technology, and organizational leadership.

About Collective Genius

Collective Genius helps founders, executives, investors, and leadership teams improve alignment, execution, leadership effectiveness, and organizational performance through coaching, advisory services, and business operating systems.

Learn more:

https://www.collective-genius.com

About Peak OS

Peak OS is the business operating system developed by Collective Genius to help organizations improve alignment, accountability, communication, and execution as they scale.