My story: from graduating design school in Paris to joining the global start-up ecosystem
My story: from graduating design school in Paris to joining the global start-up ecosystem
My story: from graduating design school in Paris to joining the global start-up ecosystem
A citizen of the world, Born in the exotic culture of latin america
It all started in Medellin as a son from a textile engineer and self taught designer.
Fascinated by foreign languages, I learnt to speak english on my personal time at the age of 6, by the time I was 8 I asked my parents to enroll me in an international english speaking school.
My family moved cities several times and I did all my school studies between Medellin and Bogota in two international schools to finally obtain an international baccalaureate.
Determined to explore the world and learn a third language I moved to Paris, France, where I did all of my higher education.
At the age of 19, the desire to discover Europe inspired me to travel. I left Colombia one year to learn French in Paris and I soon developed such an intense bond with France that I set myself the misssion to pursue my higher education in the city of lights.
Higher education abroad
Having to learn the french language in order to attain my higher education at the same time I worked every weekend and every vacations as a tour guide during 5 years to pay for my expenses was quite the fun challenge.
Determined , I got the approval to acces the higher education system of France.
My journey started at the University of Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint Denis, where I studied the field of Information and Communication with a specialization in multimedia & internet to later switch Universities and earn my bachelors from Les Gobelins Paris.
From graduating from the most prestigious digital design school in Paris (Les Gobelins), to working in France's most important communications group (Publicis) to entering France's most prestigious tech start up incubator (Station F).
Living the Dream: working in Paris in front of the arc du triomphe
The creativity in the advertising field as well as large scale web projects had been a major interest for me since my days of highschool. I had always wanted work in projects which would have an impact on a national and/or global scale. With Publicis, I had the privilege to do just that ( in their world headquarters ) .
I integrated the newly created UX pole of Publicis Nurun where we created digital products and services where I learned the use of design thinking methodologies. My understanding of the digital field was significantly broadend and I was able to learn how to define and set the foundations of a succesful digital project.
Joining a product team of engineers
My journey into the world of digital innovation began with a role at a B2B development agency, specializing in serving corporate clients within the banking sector. Based at their headquarters in Paris, with a global footprint, I immersed myself in developer sprints, gaining invaluable insights into emerging technologies. It was here that I recognized an opportunity in speech-to-text technologies and embarked on creating what would later become Conversalis.
After successfully proving the concept, I encountered a pivotal moment when my employer opted not to pursue the idea further. Determined to see my vision realized, I made the decision to venture into entrepreneurship and establish my own startup.
Enter the startup world
I entered the startup world by raising some pre seed funds through the family friends of my co-founder (who is a childhood friend.) However, it was very hard for me to find a CTO to start the project due to several factors: I didnt have business experience and all the developers i met were wanting to develop their own ideas or getting massive salaries that were too good to give up to start a startup. Desperate for developers and the pressure from our investors to spend the funds quickly, we decided to hire a DevShop agency to build our minimum loveable product.
After realizing the limitations of this approach, I hired two in-house developers to salvage the project. we were heavily impacted by the onset of COVID-19 which halted an expected $100,000 investment.
I managed to raise the missing $100,000 but lost momentum. Despite bringing in seven different developers to address issues after we finished working with the devshop, we were not able to fix the critical bugs that made the project unsellable, after I finished the designs and all of the marketing elements I gave the role of CEO to my co-founder for him to sell the product and finish fixing the bugs we had.
work in progress..
leading me to halt the project despite completing the product to my satisfaction.
My quest for meaning
When faced with the reality of giants like Microsoft integrating OpenAI into their products, I reevaluated my path after four years of startup efforts. Seeking meaning, I decided to use my skills for positive societal impact. One night while I was working at WeWork, I met a Google engineer who had the desire to build a digital platform for impact. A good developer was the missing piece from my previous startup and him being from Google made it be the path I wanted to take — Partnering with him, we developed an MVP, processed $1,000 in donations, and saw potential. However, differences in our visions led us to part ways.
I continued the project on my own and met an Amazon engineer who was aligned with my vision and we decided to continue the project together: he is now my co-founder and CEO of the imapct venture named Hi-impact.
Embracing a new chapter
For a long time, I've had a passion for building products. Recently, I discovered no-code technologies, which have opened up incredible opportunities for me to create and innovate without needing extensive programming skills. Exploring these tools has become a hobby, yet my ambitions go far beyond just tinkering. I am on the lookout for an exciting new tech project where I can create a truly remarkable product and be part of a dynamic team.
In this new chapter of my life, I'm drawing on the invaluable experience I've gained from building two startups. These ventures have taught me a lot and equipped me with skills that I'm eager to apply in new projects. I am now open to new opportunities, regardless of location, with my preference being for remote roles. I'm specifically looking to join a team of people who excel in their field and inspire those around them.
My goal is to be part of a company that is working on something inspiring, where I can contribute my skills and continue to grow professionally. Whether it's joining an existing team or building exciting new projects from the ground up, I am ready and excited for what's next
A citizen of the world, Born in the exotic culture of latin america
It all started in Medellin as a son from a textile engineer and self taught designer.
Fascinated by foreign languages, I learnt to speak english on my personal time at the age of 6, by the time I was 8 I asked my parents to enroll me in an international english speaking school.
My family moved cities several times and I did all my school studies between Medellin and Bogota in two international schools to finally obtain an international baccalaureate.
Determined to explore the world and learn a third language I moved to Paris, France, where I did all of my higher education.
At the age of 19, the desire to discover Europe inspired me to travel. I left Colombia one year to learn French in Paris and I soon developed such an intense bond with France that I set myself the misssion to pursue my higher education in the city of lights.
Higher education abroad
Having to learn the french language in order to attain my higher education at the same time I worked every weekend and every vacations as a tour guide during 5 years to pay for my expenses was quite the fun challenge.
Determined , I got the approval to acces the higher education system of France.
My journey started at the University of Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint Denis, where I studied the field of Information and Communication with a specialization in multimedia & internet to later switch Universities and earn my bachelors from Les Gobelins Paris.
From graduating from the most prestigious digital design school in Paris (Les Gobelins), to working in France's most important communications group (Publicis) to entering France's most prestigious tech start up incubator (Station F).
Living the Dream: working in Paris in front of the arc du triomphe
The creativity in the advertising field as well as large scale web projects had been a major interest for me since my days of highschool. I had always wanted work in projects which would have an impact on a national and/or global scale. With Publicis, I had the privilege to do just that ( in their world headquarters ) .
I integrated the newly created UX pole of Publicis Nurun where we created digital products and services where I learned the use of design thinking methodologies. My understanding of the digital field was significantly broadend and I was able to learn how to define and set the foundations of a succesful digital project.
Joining a product team of engineers
My journey into the world of digital innovation began with a role at a B2B development agency, specializing in serving corporate clients within the banking sector. Based at their headquarters in Paris, with a global footprint, I immersed myself in developer sprints, gaining invaluable insights into emerging technologies. It was here that I recognized an opportunity in speech-to-text technologies and embarked on creating what would later become Conversalis.
After successfully proving the concept, I encountered a pivotal moment when my employer opted not to pursue the idea further. Determined to see my vision realized, I made the decision to venture into entrepreneurship and establish my own startup.
Enter the startup world
I entered the startup world by raising some pre seed funds through the family friends of my co-founder (who is a childhood friend.) However, it was very hard for me to find a CTO to start the project due to several factors: I didnt have business experience and all the developers i met were wanting to develop their own ideas or getting massive salaries that were too good to give up to start a startup. Desperate for developers and the pressure from our investors to spend the funds quickly, we decided to hire a DevShop agency to build our minimum loveable product.
After realizing the limitations of this approach, I hired two in-house developers to salvage the project. we were heavily impacted by the onset of COVID-19 which halted an expected $100,000 investment.
I managed to raise the missing $100,000 but lost momentum. Despite bringing in seven different developers to address issues after we finished working with the devshop, we were not able to fix the critical bugs that made the project unsellable, after I finished the designs and all of the marketing elements I gave the role of CEO to my co-founder for him to sell the product and finish fixing the bugs we had.
work in progress..
leading me to halt the project despite completing the product to my satisfaction.
My quest for meaning
When faced with the reality of giants like Microsoft integrating OpenAI into their products, I reevaluated my path after four years of startup efforts. Seeking meaning, I decided to use my skills for positive societal impact. One night while I was working at WeWork, I met a Google engineer who had the desire to build a digital platform for impact. A good developer was the missing piece from my previous startup and him being from Google made it be the path I wanted to take — Partnering with him, we developed an MVP, processed $1,000 in donations, and saw potential. However, differences in our visions led us to part ways.
I continued the project on my own and met an Amazon engineer who was aligned with my vision and we decided to continue the project together: he is now my co-founder and CEO of the imapct venture named Hi-impact.
Embracing a new chapter
For a long time, I've had a passion for building products. Recently, I discovered no-code technologies, which have opened up incredible opportunities for me to create and innovate without needing extensive programming skills. Exploring these tools has become a hobby, yet my ambitions go far beyond just tinkering. I am on the lookout for an exciting new tech project where I can create a truly remarkable product and be part of a dynamic team.
In this new chapter of my life, I'm drawing on the invaluable experience I've gained from building two startups. These ventures have taught me a lot and equipped me with skills that I'm eager to apply in new projects. I am now open to new opportunities, regardless of location, with my preference being for remote roles. I'm specifically looking to join a team of people who excel in their field and inspire those around them.
My goal is to be part of a company that is working on something inspiring, where I can contribute my skills and continue to grow professionally. Whether it's joining an existing team or building exciting new projects from the ground up, I am ready and excited for what's next