Building Connections, Seeing the Possibilities: Trevor Traina's Endless Appetite to Create

Most people would be happy to build and sell one successful technology company or represent their country on the international stage. For Trevor Traina, his drive to always look for new possibilities means his appetite for untapped opportunity hasn’t slowed.

Driven by curiosity and a deep appreciation for human connection, he believes some of life's greatest opportunities come from building relationships.

That instinct was nurtured early. Growing up surrounded by entrepreneurial relatives and family friends and learning about his long family line of successful relatives, Traina developed a fascination with the people who turned ideas into something extraordinary. 

“My parents knew a lot of very successful people," he told The Index. "As a boy, I craved talking to them, asking them questions about their success, what they did, and why. That was very formative. I love financial success, but it wasn't really what primarily motivated me; I wanted to have an impact, use my brain, make really cool things happen."

Potential Around Every Corner

Since his early days learning at the feet of his relatives and family friends, Traina has invested in companies, led them, and worked in the nonprofit sector.

However, his first foray into industry came while he was still a graduate student at UC Berkeley. He started his first company armed with “ambition and optimism,” and an idea to see what was possible.

Microsoft acquired his first startup, the comparison-shopping service CompareNet, in 1999, and his drive to “push the envelope” saw him launch five others, the latest being blockchain and financial technology company Kresus Labs in 2022.

“I think that's one area where I share the same set of impulses that motivate all entrepreneurs. You know, around every corner, I see potential. I see what's possible. What could happen? What could be? And that's what motivates me. Unless at some point I stop seeing potential, I will continue.”

At the same time, his desire to search for possibilities and create has led him to pursue a range of hobbies, including collecting cars, watches, and his latest obsession—18th-century European furniture.

Answering the US Ambassador Calling

Traina's zeal has also taken him well beyond the business world. He was given the chance to follow in his grandfather's footsteps, serving as US Ambassador to Austria from 2018 to 2021, which Traina said, to his knowledge, makes him the first American in history to take over a grandfather's diplomatic post.

His early years visiting his grandfather and listening to stories and advice around the dinner table left him uniquely suited to the role. Some last-minute advice from his grandmother before he left also didn’t hurt: “I remember her saying, ‘The Austrians don't understand hors d'oeuvres. They're going to give you a ham sandwich and think it's an hors d'oeuvre.’”

The role also gave him the chance to notch up one of his proudest achievements: bringing verbundenheit, or “new closeness,” between the US and Austria through a mix of honesty, good-natured discussions, and a healthy give-and-take.

“During my time, the embassy sponsored all kinds of programs. We brought Austrian entrepreneurs to the US to train them, and we brought American tech leaders to Austria to help guide other entrepreneurs and students,” he said.

His background as a tech leader and entrepreneur, along with his philosophy of prioritizing human interaction, also helped him break the ice when meeting people and proved invaluable.

“Talking about the American dream, Silicon Valley, and the American startup scene was always a popular way to introduce myself. I would say I'm from California, and I'm from Silicon Valley, and I represent the American Dream as someone who went out and was able to create companies, be successful; it's just amazing how even today people love that idea,” Traina said.

“Human interaction is the most powerful form of interaction, having a strong and committed representative in another country just really benefits the nation," he continued. "I saw, in ways large and small, how my being there, my being the face of America, my being friendly, my being honest, resonated with the citizens of Austria.”

'This Cake Is Barely Half Baked'

Despite building and selling successful technology companies, representing his country on the international stage, and immersing himself in art, culture and innovation, Traina's ambition remains undiminished. 

“There's a million things I still want to do. This cake is barely half baked. I have it in my mind about working to help save an endangered species, building a great building, [and] other government roles. I'm energetic in my desire to continue to push what I'm capable of,” he said.

“I'm also at a place in my life in my career where I do things both non-profit and for profit, across different types of institutions," he added. "I have to balance all of that, and also keep my energy going. It's a different skill set, but it's the same core motivation behind it all.”

One area where he sees untapped potential is blockchain. While Traina sees the invention of AI as a monumental achievement akin to the steam engine, he is focused on blockchain technology’s potential to change the world.

“I am passionate about the work that I do right now. I believe the blockchain is going to change everything and that providing these digital platforms and simple wallets [...] will bring the masses onchain, and they will all benefit from that. It’s a transformative technology that will apply everywhere,” he added.

Traina still has many ideas left to pursue and endless possibilities to discover, but ultimately he doesn’t necessarily hope his professional accomplishments will define his legacy.

Instead he wants to be remembered for other reasons. 

“I don't really want to be known for my career, I'd rather be known as a great husband or a good parent or someone who brought beauty to the world,” Traina said.

Because for Traina, it's never just about achievement—it's about people.

“When I go into a team meeting with younger members, sometimes they just want to get straight to business," he explained. "I always stop them and remind them to get to know the people first, who are they, where are they from, who is the person on the other end. Then we can talk about business."

Disclaimer: Trevor Traina, CEO of Kresus, is a client of Wall Collective.