It takes a lot of determination

One of the best skills that I learned from my parents and that I’ll forever be grateful for is determination. My family worked and works at a cafe selling “churros”, a common breakfast in Spain. Fun fact, I used to work there on the weekends when I was a teenager. I used the money that I earned to buy technology. My parents had no financial, or entrepreneurship education, yet they threw their little savings into paying for higher education and trusted me to go on my own. At some point, I crossed their limits of what they could comprehend and support, but they never stopped me from pursuing my dreams. They never stopped me from being determined.

I was on my own. Often with no idea of what I was doing. But filled with curiosity and determination. I remember every single moment of my life when I learned what other people have the privilege to learn earlier, due to the education system in their countries or the higher education of their parents. For example, it took me more than a year working at Shopify to understand that what I was given as part of my compensation alongside my salary were real shares of the company, and they had value. To put things in context, my parents have always been firm believers in not putting the money in the bank but under the mattress. Every one of those moments brings me a feeling of unfairness, but also a bit of: I’ll throw myself into it and figure it out.

Being determined has been key to many of the successes and also happiness that I’ve had in my life. It’s what has allowed me to push through the challenges of building something new, like Tuist, and to keep going when things get tough. It’s what has allowed me to keep pushing for new ideas, like the idea of a web compiler, even when people tell me that it’s not possible or that it’s not worth it. If you listen to the naysayers, you’ll never get anywhere. You have to be determined to keep going, even when things get tough (I just learned about the concept of naysayers thanks to the wonderful Copilot helping structure my thoughts).

I feel so lucky to have learned this, that I feel extremely entitled to empower others to go through the same, regardless of their starting point. And that’s why I like open source so much. OSS connects me with people who have the potential to create a lasting impact in the world, but they might not feel the confidence to do so. They instead remain quiet and don’t share their thoughts, ideas, and code with the world. Because the world is noisy with people who have the privilege to be loud.

Having gone through the Tuist journey and up the corporate ladder at Shopify, gave me a window into a world of privileges where it’s about oneself and not about the collective– about not valuing you because of your background while we throw resources around to train people on unconscious bias. A world of I’m more than you. A world purely looked through the lenses of numbers and financial productivity. That world is not for me. It makes me extremely uncomfortable. I don’t enjoy it.

And it’s tremendously unfair because the best leaders who might be able to stop the most pressing problems the world will be presented with are quietly waiting for someone to empower them. I enjoy working on Tuist because I see others being empowered to build things that they wouldn’t have been able to build otherwise. I’m pouring some of my spare time into Glossia, because María José is one of those people with huge potential that could have a long-lasting impact in the world, but she’s faced with one rejection and question after another. I like to tinker with ideas in the open because they can be a foundation for other ideas to emerge and empower others to build things that they wouldn’t have been able to build otherwise. And that’s why the layoff at Shopify, although feeling like a punch in the stomach, was one of the most liberating things that could have happened to me.