When I dropped out from studying physics to start up Translated, I was sad to abandon my passion for math, so I decided that I would one day pay tribute to math in return. The opportunity arrived 15 years later. Startups are made of a magic mix of creativity and rationality. There is no better number to describe this mix than Pi. Pi is a key number in math and physics, the most rational sciences, but Pi itself is an irrational and transcendental number. To me, these adjectives suggest creativity and inspiration. If startups are about creativity and rationality, Pi Campus was the perfect name for a venture fund with a beautiful campus to play host to them.
You will find Pi hidden everywhere in this collection of essays, by design and by chance.
Pi is ~3.14
3x1x4 = 12
12 is the number of essays in this collection
12 is the number of languages into which it has been translated
12 is the number of characters in “TheNewPrince”
12 is the number of months I spent writing it
12 + 12 + 12 + 12 = 48 is the number of pages in the collection.
Pi is ~3.1415
3 is the number of co-founders of Pi Campus
14 is the number of characters in “MarcoTrombetti” (me)
15 is the number of characters in “IsabelleAndrieu”, “GianlucaGranero” (the other 2 co-founders of Pi Campus) and “RobertoLombardi” (Pi Campus’ first investor).
Pi Day is observed on March 14th (3/14). Einstein was born on March 14th and Stephen Hawking died on March 14th. I was born on March 14th, too. I did not realize this coincidence until people started having Pi Day parties at the office on my birthday.
I don’t think we chose Pi; I think that Pi Pi-cked us :)