25 Strangers, One Bar, and a Big Experiment in Bucharest

The Bucharest Lawyer Who Opened a Bar and Stopped Chasing Perfection

Lawyer. Bar owner. Student. New parent. Adriana Spataru [https://www.instagram.com/adriana_spataruuu/] somehow manages to be all four at the same time. In this short conversation, we talk about: 🍸 Why she left the legal world to help build a bar (@cameralirica) [https://www.instagram.com/cameralirica/] 🇸🇪 The recycling habit she brought home from living in Stockholm 👶 How becoming a parent changed her definition of success 💭 Why she's stopped chasing perfection and started focusing on doing her best in the moment 💃 And why her advice for almost everyone is surprisingly simple: dance more and spend more time with people you love It's a quick conversation about reinvention, authenticity, and figuring out what actually matters as life gets busier. Connect with Eric * 3rd Space Bucharest newsletter [https://3rdspacebucharest.substack.com/] * 3rdSpaceBucharest [https://3rdspacebucharest.com/] * 3rd Space Bucharest on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/3rdspacebucharest/]

The Romanian Founder Who Ran Through Dubai Airport 🇷🇴🏃

This episode starts with honey extraction technology for beekeepers… and somehow ends with running laps inside Dubai airport to avoid breaking a 1,000-day running streak 😄 My guest is Daniel Deaconu [https://www.linkedin.com/in/danieldeaconu/] — founder of The Simplifier and one of the smartest B2B LinkedIn strategists I know in Romania. We talk about: 🍯 helping launch a Kickstarter campaign that generated $48K in 2 days 🏃 why he ran inside an airport while security watched suspiciously 📈 the biggest mistake founders make on LinkedIn 💰 why neither of us buys useless stuff 👨‍👩‍👧 why success matters less than people think 🏖️ and why Daniel’s partner compares professional achievements to sandcastles Connect with Eric * 3rd Space Bucharest newsletter [https://3rdspacebucharest.substack.com/] * 3rdSpaceBucharest [https://3rdspacebucharest.com/] * 3rd Space Bucharest on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/3rdspacebucharest/]

She Left Amazon to Build a Padel Community in Bucharest

After 14 years in the corporate world at Amazon and Honeywell, Roxana Jianu [https://www.linkedin.com/in/roxana-jianu/] traded meetings and spreadsheets for padel courts and community building. In this episode, we talk about what happens when your career no longer energizes you — and how one sport unexpectedly changed the direction of her life. Roxana shares the story behind building Padelmania, why people may show up for padel but stay for the friendships, and why she believes offline activities and community are becoming essential for happiness and longevity. We also get into the important topics: her teenage crush on Nick Carter from the Backstreet Boys, packaging toys at age 16, emotionally attached teddy bears, and why introverts at parties are usually the most interesting people in the room. This is a conversation about reinvention, connection, and why sometimes the best things in life start with simply showing up. Connect with Roxana on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/rox.padelista/] Connect with Eric - 3rd Space Bucharest newsletter [https://3rdspacebucharest.substack.com/] - 3rdSpaceBucharest [https://3rdspacebucharest.com/] - 3rd Space Bucharest on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/3rdspacebucharest/]

25 Strangers, One Bar, and a Big Experiment in Bucharest

What happens when 25 people in Bucharest buy tickets to something that isn’t networking… isn’t dating… and isn’t dinner? In this episode, I break down the very first paid 3rd Space Bucharest event — what worked, what surprised me, what flopped (yes, the QR code), and why shared learning and small group conversations changed the energy of the room. From breakfast icebreakers to mini TED-style talks about Cuba, Mexico, and entrepreneurship… to an unexpected karaoke finale — this is the behind-the-scenes story of building intentional connection in a city that doesn’t always make it easy. If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to create real connection among strangers in Bucharest, this one’s for you. Interested in joining a 3rd Space Bucharest event? Get on our waitlist at https://forms.gle/HQApbV4cHzAKDXUB7 [https://forms.gle/HQApbV4cHzAKDXUB7]