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An unexpected conversation with a guy who appreciates the luck he's had changing his career from civil engineer to Mr. WooCommerce.

Rodolfo Melogli joins the show with a story that feels like it was written for a movie. At 20 years old, while vacationing on the volcanic island of Lipari off the coast of Sicily, he met a young woman and - despite being shy - left her a handwritten note asking to meet on the beach the next day. She said yes. They spent a day together, shared a kiss, and then life pulled them in different directions. Eighteen years passed. Careers, relationships, countries. Then, through social media and a shared love of food, they reconnected. One visit to Sicily turned into a second beginning. Today they’re married, have a five-year-old son, and often joke that their two kisses - separated by nearly two decades—felt like no time had passed at all.

Professionally, Rodolfo’s path was anything but linear. Trained as a civil engineer in Rome, he moved to Ireland for work but was laid off around the 2011 recession. Instead of retreating, he pivoted. He began building websites, reasoning that constructing digital stores wasn’t so different from building roads - just more flexible. In 2016, as an early digital nomad, he traveled solo through South America for six months with nothing but a laptop and a local SIM card, serving clients remotely. What started as simple code snippets and fixes shared online gradually evolved into a steady stream of inbound leads.

That sharing ultimately made him widely known in the WordPress world for his expertise in WooCommerce. What began as a personal archive of solutions turned into a high-traffic educational platform. For more than a decade, he has consistently published tutorials, built courses, and recently transitioned to a membership community model. His philosophy is simple but powerful: give generously, build trust, and the business will follow. Even when his father questioned why he would “give away secrets for free,” Rodolfo understood the modern reality - free content builds credibility, and credibility builds opportunity.

Outside of work, Rodolfo is deeply passionate about sports - especially football (soccer), tennis, and basketball. He prefers playing over watching, though he still follows major tournaments when time allows. Life now revolves around family rhythms in Palermo, where late dinners with children at restaurants are perfectly normal. His wife, trained as a biologist, is exploring her next chapter while they balance parenting and professional life. Travel remains a shared love, though Rodolfo admits he often overlooks the tourist attractions in his own country - a classic case of locals ignoring what visitors travel across oceans to see.

The conversation closes with Rodolfo’s newest venture: “The Checkout Summit,” an independent WooCommerce-focused event in Sicily designed to bring online colleagues together in person. It reflects his larger belief in community, connection, and creating opportunities rather than waiting for them. He also shares the inspiring story of a Nigerian doctor-turned-developer who grew through Rodolfo’s community and is now launching his own agency. For Rodolfo, success isn’t just about code or commerce - it’s about recognizing opportunity when it appears, working consistently once luck strikes, and building something meaningful from it.

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An unexpected conversation with a guy who thinks analytically and acts independently.

In this episode of Seriously, BUD?, Ben Sibley shares the story of his recent cross-cultural marriage to Izzy, blending a traditional Ismaili Nika ceremony with an American-style celebration in Philadelphia. From choreographed wedding dances to an upcoming trip to Pakistan’s Hunza Valley, Ben reflects on love, family, and merging traditions. He also dives into his upbringing in Pennsylvania, his entrepreneurial path from building WordPress sites in college to founding Compete Themes and co-creating Independent Analytics, and his passion for privacy-first tools in the WordPress ecosystem. The conversation weaves together marriage, travel, business, and community, capturing both Ben’s personal warmth and his thoughtful approach to building products and relationships alike.

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An unexpected conversation with a guy who is not going to get married because it is too hard to get divorced.

Luca Rodino joins Seriously, BUD? to share the story of picking up a saxophone two years ago with no musical background, driven purely by his love of jazz and blues. From practicing in an industrial gym because the instrument is too loud for home, to growing SiteGround into a top hosting provider in Italy and now leading global partnerships, Luca reflects on risk, discipline, and long-term growth. He talks about life just outside Milan, language learning, priest college shaping his teenage years, WordCamp Europe leadership, travel, boxing, and building a life rooted in curiosity and steady progress.