Interview Salvo Vaccarino
LA
ND
LUNAR CREATIVE/ TECHNOLOGY DIRECTOR SALVO VACCARINO EXPLAINS HOW SMALL FIRMS CAN TRANSFORM A NEW TECH CONCEPT FROM A WHITEBOARD SKETCH TO A TRADABLE PRODUCT.
PE
L
R
A N U
SCA
In
an age when ideation plays a critical role in the success of any business, devising original concepts is vital. Perhaps you’re confident that you’ve come up with a great idea, but you’ve no clue where to start. How to bridge this gap between technology and creativity is a common issue for many small firms. Implementing solutions to challenges that could be overcome with a bespoke offering is second nature to creative and technology studio Lunar’s Director Salvo Vaccarino. “No matter how big or small your idea is, we’ll turn it into a reality,” he says. “We’re techies with a creative knack with decades of advertising experience under our belts. We know just what clients need and exactly how to deliver it.” Guiding clients through unexplored tech territories and conceptualising and prototyping ideas into tangible products that are fit-for-purpose is Lunar’s speciality. Vaccarino highlights why he believes the company stands apart from its competitors. “The fact that we’re not purely a technical development agency is key,” he explains. “We focus on the creative aspect and, most importantly, we look at what results can be achieved. We offer both creative and technological solutions and our clients have been very responsive to this approach.” After cutting his technological teeth in Accenture Technology Solutions in Italy, Vaccarino made the move to Dublin in 2011 and soon took up a role with media agency Radical, becoming the firm’s Technical Director in early 2016. Vaccarino points to the experience gained during this period as being instrumental in the formation of Lunar in 2017. “As well as being excited about the creative capabilities I could assist clients with,” he states, “I’ve learned how to view the whole lifecycle of a project. During my time at Radical I also became more experimental, moving from traditional web development to complex creative technology. To this day, I still enjoy applying my technical know-how to the project build.” The challenges of living and working in Dublin have been well documented in recent times, with the affordability of housing and the cost of living being two common bugbears. While accepting the significant challenges of doing business here, Vaccarino’s experiences have been largely positive. “Dublin has been easy to operate from,” he says. “It took me maybe three days to register the company, a process that would take months in Italy. From a tax perspective, it’s very easy to operate here and, generally, costs have been reasonable too.”
20 SFA | BETTER BUSINESS
020_BB Spring 2020_Interview_V1_REV.indd 20
28/04/2020 17:17
