Pack in the SAATKORN HR startup series
Pack in the SAATKORN HR startup series
In the SAATKORN HR Startup Series, I regularly present exciting young companies that are bringing a breath of fresh air to the HR world. Today, the focus is no longer just on Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, but also on HR startups from France, the UK, the US and today: Italy. Today’s featured company is Pack!
I had the opportunity to speak to Pietro Maria Picogna, Founder and CEO (Cultural Empowerment Officer) at Pack – a HR tech startup that helps organisations develop their people and strengthen their culture through digital mentoring and coaching. – Let’s get started:
SAATKORN: Pietro, please introduce yourself to the SAATKORN readers!
I’m 26 years old, with experience living across four continents and a background that blends three Business degrees and six languages. My interest in people started early: as a teenager, I was fascinated by how relationships form, which led me to build online communities and explore what brings people together.
Over time, this curiosity expanded into the world of volunteering and nonprofits, where I learned how groups organise, collaborate, and grow. I even launched my first venture while still at university.
Today, I’m working on Pack, where we help organisations develop their people and strengthen their culture through digital mentoring and coaching. I also enjoy speaking with students about community-building and innovation, themes that have shaped much of my journey. At the heart of everything I do, there’s still the same question that started it all: what truly connects people?
SAATKORN: What’s the founding story behind Pack?
The idea for our platform was born in March 2021, during the second wave of the pandemic, a moment when workplaces were undergoing massive change. Companies were facing the Great Resignation, the rise of remote work, and widespread communication challenges. In the middle of this turbulence, I started my internship in a large multinational, hopeful but quickly overwhelmed. With colleagues resigning, managers rotating roles, and no real guide inside the organization, I began to feel lost and disconnected from the company’s culture. I even considered quitting what I had always viewed as my dream job.
Everything shifted when I met Andrea, an experienced professional with more than a decade in top-tier companies. He chose to support me, becoming my mentor and helping me navigate both my role and the organization. Over the following months, everything changed: I felt valued, I understood the real impact of my work, and I grew into a key contributor with international responsibilities.
And that transformation, enabled by the right support at the right moment, is exactly why I built a platform dedicated to empowering people’s growth. I wanted to ensure that no one would feel alone in their professional journey the way I once did.
SAATKORN: What’s your mission – which problem are you aiming to solve?
Our mission is to create a global impact through people development. We’re an international team of young professionals driven by the desire to build a better future and help large organisations truly empower their people.
With Pack, we’re addressing a fundamental problem: companies often don’t have clarity on the skills their people have today, the skills they’re missing, and the capabilities they need to reach their strategic goals. This gap leads to inefficient hiring, high training costs, and roles that aren’t fully aligned with business priorities.
SAATKORN: What is your Pack’s business model?
Our business model is based on helping organisations develop the talent they already have, using an AI-native platform that manages the entire people-development lifecycle, from identifying strategic skills to building them at scale.
We work with companies with this methodology:
- Skill mapping: we translate the company’s strategy into a clear and actionable skill framework, defining the capabilities required for each role.
- Skill assessment: we measure each employee’s current skill level and potential, making strengths and gaps visible and directly linked to business objectives.
- Targeted development: based on these insights, we generate personalised, AI-powered learning paths that build the exact capabilities needed, with clear goals and progress tracking.
By providing this end-to-end system, we enable organisations to reduce hiring and training costs, ensure role-to-business alignment, and increase productivity and engagement.
SAATKORN: How would you describe your ideal customer profile?
We work mainly with large organisations, typically those with 500+ employees. Our reference point inside these companies is usually the managerial population, people who oversee teams, guide development conversations, and play a key role in shaping culture and performance. In particular, HR leaders responsible for cultural transformation, change management, and D&I.
SAATKORN: In which countries do you offer your products or services?
We started in Italy and now have active clients and projects in Italy, Spain, and France. Our goal is to continue expanding internationally, as the need for effective people development is growing across many markets.
SAATKORN: What is your vision – where do you want to be three years from now?
Three years from now, our vision is to become an European key reference point in people development. We aim to support over 10 million users, helping organisations across Europe build the skills and capabilities they need to thrive in a rapidly changing world.
SAATKORN: If you had three wishes, what would they be?
Creating better workplaces: places where people feel supported, developed, and valued throughout their professional journey.
Empowering millions of employees to build the skills they need to grow, making learning and development accessible to everyone, not just a few.
Continuing to grow with the right partners, expanding our reach in Europe while staying focused on delivering real value to organisations and their people.
SAATKORN: How and where can potential customers contact you?
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pietromariapicogna/
Email: pietro@thepack.tech
SAATKORN: Pietro, thank you very much for the interview – and all the best for the next steps with Pack!
FACTS & FIGURES
Founding year: 2022
Founder: Pietro Maria Picogna
Number of employees: 32
Headquarters located in: Barcelona
Funding round: 5,8 M
ICP description: We work mainly with large organisations, typically those with 500+ employees. Our reference point inside these companies is usually the managerial population, people who oversee teams, guide development conversations, and play a key role in shaping culture and performance. In particular, HR leaders responsible for cultural transformation, change management, and D&I.
More Links:
Here is Pack’s Website.
Are YOU also a startup FOUNDER?
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