Blog on Adrián Moreno Peña | VP of Technology @ Worksome ⸱ Product & Engineering Leader (Copenhagen)

Nobody Can Fix What Nobody Told Them

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0200

“It’s probably just my opinion, what do I know.”

“I don’t want to sound like I’m attacking them.”

“They probably already know.”

I hear these most from first-time managers, and sometimes from experienced ones. The words change, but the feeling underneath doesn’t: I’ve seen something, I have something to say about it, and I’m afraid saying it will make things worse.

The fear is human. But if you act on it, you leave someone alone with a problem only you can see. Your observation is a gift they can’t open without you.

The SaaSpocalypse That Never Came: A Build vs Buy Test in Disguise

Sat, 22 Aug 2026 10:00:00 +0200

Remember the SaaSpocalypse?

The one where AI was going to make Salesforce irrelevant, kill every subscription, and turn the software industry into a ghost town because every company would be running custom software alone. We were promised the software equivalent of Y2K. Planes falling out of the sky. Banks imploding. Vendors disappearing.

Yet, the lights stayed on.

What actually happened wasn’t an apocalypse. It was something quieter, and honestly, more interesting: “build vs buy” for software products stopped being an engineering conversation.

Project vs Product Work: when is your work done

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 08:00:00 +0100

This is one of the pet peeves that some people working with me might have noticed: when engineers can only think of “PM” meaning “Project Manager”. There’s a role called “Product Manager” for a reason - you’re building a digital product that involves endless projects.

The reason why it triggers me is because there’s a fundamental gap between finishing a task and owning an outcome. One is project thinking, the other is product thinking. As a hiring manager representing in-house teams (like I do at Worksome or did at SumUp before), this is one of the main things I look for.

Stop Architecting, Start Gardening

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0200

🪏 A garden doesn’t launch — it produces continuously.

You don’t plant the tomatoes, the lavender, and the hedgerow all at once because the dependency graph says they’re connected. You put a few things in the ground. Some thrive. Some get eaten by slugs. A wet July rots the roots of what you were sure would make it. You adjust. Next season you plant differently — not because the plan was bad, but because the weather didn’t read your plan, and the bugs didn’t care.

Be a Shepherd, Not a Fence: Why We Need to Stop Gatekeeping "Vibe Coders"

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 21:00:00 +0100

We’ve seen this movie before.

If there’s something I genuinely dislike in our industry, it’s gatekeeping. And the current patronization and disdain towards “vibe coders”—domain experts leveraging AI to build software—is exactly that.

Every time we unlock a new layer of abstraction, the reaction is the same. Think back to C vs. JavaScript: “They’re not real programmers, they don’t even manage memory.” Or the backlash against low-code, or the dismissal of bootcamp graduates.

The Other Debt: When "Good Engineering" Ignores Economic Sustainability

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 22:00:00 +0000

We engineers love talking about technical debt. It’s our go-to metaphor, and it works - people understand debt. But we’ve been looking at sustainability through only one lens. We obsess over code quality, architecture, test coverage - and we call the absence of these things “technical debt”.

What we rarely talk about is the literal debt. Code that is technically good but the business can’t afford to maintain is not good code.

🧱🏡🧱 LinkedIn is becoming more and more of a wal...

Fri, 26 Dec 2025 16:39:03 +0000

🧱🏡🧱 LinkedIn is becoming more and more of a walled garden.

While you own the data you post here, LinkedIn makes it quite hard to access it in any way other than browsing their site. That doesn’t really scale for automated usage.

On the other hand, they are also known for their fight against scrapers and applications that try to access data from the network in an automated manner… and their APIs are quite lacking (purposefully, as the goal is to keep all data within).

📥 Importing my LinkedIn archive into Hugo

Thu, 25 Dec 2025 12:00:00 +0000

For years I’ve been publishing on LinkedIn. And for years I’ve had the same discomfort: it’s my content, but it lives in someone else’s garden. That’s why initially I liked “blogging”… but that’s mainly fun if you have an audience (which LinkedIn gives you access to).

LinkedIn is increasingly a walled garden (and getting more aggressive about external links), so I wanted a way to keep my own words on my own website, without paying yet another platform subscription for the privilege.

I can't really understand the obsession with "p...

Wed, 24 Dec 2025 13:01:44 +0000

I can’t really understand the obsession with “protecting developers” and preventing them from speaking with clients. It’s a mix of infantilising and applying a “manufacturing chain” mindset to a work that is far from being “industrializable”.

Talking to your users - therefore to your clients - is when you learn 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭.

Every client call I join at Worksome is a chance for accelerated learning 🤓.

To “sell” the product and explain how it addresses potential clients’ needs, I first need to understand how they do business. And staffing is not “the business” by itself in many cases. The business our clients operate in might be the creative world, regulated industries, or consumer products, and they might need to hire and manage freelancers, on top of many other responsibilities they need to manage.

Since joining Worksome, I have been engaged in ...

Tue, 23 Dec 2025 10:47:51 +0000

Since joining Worksome, I have been engaged in intense experimentation with (agentic) AI. My usage pattern of models in Cursor shows it: from early curiosity to “all-in” when the models have delivered consistently (hello Anthropic’s Claude 4.5 Opus ❤️‍🔥).

This era of software engineering is the perfect moment to reconnect with our skills. The human connections become more important than ever (“s̶o̶f̶t̶ ̶s̶k̶i̶l̶l̶s̶ ➝ 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬), because work can be more “outsourced” to agentic colleagues.

Excellent tips for tech job seekers from Will.

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 16:16:52 +0000

Excellent tips for tech job seekers from Will.

This is the way I’d recommend approaching both looking for a job and keeping an eye on the market.

I’d add a few more tips:

Keep an eye on local-specific sites or portals - such as The Hub for the Nordics.
Leverage the local meetups as well (many of the companies sponsoring them are usually hiring, as it’s part of the employer branding).

🪄AI isn’t replacing people, it’s freeing them t...

Tue, 04 Nov 2025 21:21:55 +0000

🪄AI isn’t replacing people, it’s freeing them to do more meaningful work.

At Worksome’s Product Innovation Webinar on November 13, I’ll be talking about “The Art of Possibility”, exploring how AI and human collaboration are shaping the next phase of workforce management.

We’ll look at what’s coming next, from intelligent systems that predict workforce needs to tools that make collaboration between humans and technology more seamless.

Save your spot or get the recording sent straight to your inbox: https://lnkd.in/dCrtkrAu

🤬You might be outraged at the wrong thing about AI

Sat, 18 Oct 2025 17:17:11 +0000

🤬You might be outraged at the wrong thing about AI

The problem isn’t “AI”, in general. The problem, as with most tools, is how we use it.

Too many people treat AI as a peer—an equal collaborator they can blindly trust. This is a catastrophic mistake, and quite quickly leads to losing credibility.

🤔 What have I found that works best for me? Act as a Supervisor.

Treat your AI like a brilliant, hyper-enthusiastic junior intern. It will tirelessly draft, ideate, and execute exactly what it thinks you asked for. But a good supervisor doesn’t just delegate and disappear.

Frustrated your team won't change? The solution...

Sun, 28 Sep 2025 18:17:46 +0000

Frustrated your team won’t change?

The solution starts in the mirror 🪞We’ve all been there: you want either to change or start a new behaviour.

Maybe to be more proactive, more collaborative, more curious - you name it.

But the change just doesn’t stick.

It’s tried once, and abandoned.Before you get frustrated, think of this: Are you modelling the behavior you’re asking for?

Behaviors stick through repetition and are adopted by mimicry, not by command.Do as I say, not as I do" won’t cut it when people look up to you.

The most overlooked professional skill that you...

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 18:22:54 +0000

The most overlooked professional skill that you can start practicing today: curiosity 🧐In a world that rewards quick answers and surface-level knowledge, deep curiosity is a superpower.

It’s what gives you an edge that lasts.

Why?

Because anyone can learn what to do, and (especially in the vibe coding genAI era), how to do it.Those who succeed understand why it works, how it connects to the broader picture, and what happens next.“They connect the dots between business, technology, and human behavior.

These thoughts from Sam have resonated with me ...

Thu, 28 Aug 2025 11:27:16 +0000

These thoughts from Sam have resonated with me - especially the bit about the uncertain world.

That’s a problem I’m loving to learn more about with Worksome (and hopefully contribute to a solution and new ways of working).We completely divide the workforce in “temporary” (contingent, freelancer, etc) workers and “permanent”.

And there’s nothing permanent!

The current global landscape is fully “VUCA” (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) - there’s no certainty - so nothing “permanent”.When the hiring process is only catered for the “perm positions”, with all the due diligence in place, and a broken hiring marketplace (companies want to hire and don’t find talent, talent can’t find the opportunities), you just end slowing down your business, and the hires will join you systematically delayed (when the opportunity might have died already).Having the power of hiring on demand, when it’s needed and for what people are best for is a superpower to adapt to the current landscape and take advantage of opportunity as it comes - instead of delaying it until the budget allows for a FTE to join, there’s a candidate pool built, hiring process has gone through end to end… A constantly changing world requires an adaptable and flexible way of working.

🚨 Two months in at Worksome, first job alert 🎉

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 14:44:20 +0000

🚨 Two months in at Worksome, first job alert 🎉" " “Time flies (when you’re having fun), and it’s about to be two months here. I’m (especially) excited as we have the first job opening in my team, working directly with the great Lucas & his team, to work from the (greatly located office) in Copenhagen.” " “We have a strong focus on the Laravel ecosystem (and Vue in the frontend), but the most important aspect is that we are a truly flat team, where engineering has a significant say in how we build our product. That makes the job ideal for someone who wants to develop a digital product and solve customer problems (using technology, of course). " " " “If you have someone in mind, feel free to put us in contact! " “https://lnkd.in/dty7UQtU

I bring a new book recommendation, especially f...

Wed, 30 Jul 2025 20:43:40 +0000

I bring a new book recommendation, especially for technologists - or anyone who has found themselves not “winning” a conversation where they thought they had all the facts right and aligned.Rory Sutherland’s “Alchemy: The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don’t Make Sense” book is an excellent reminder that originality and the unexpected have a lot of value, because that’s how we think and make decisions.With the surge of AI and how easy it makes it to regurgitate (or invent) data, this will even be more important #bookrecommendation #alchemy #decision

🦄 Why Engineers Need "Alchemy": Beyond Factual Correctness to Human Magic

Wed, 30 Jul 2025 20:08:00 +0000

🦄 Why Engineers Need “Alchemy”: Beyond Factual Correctness to Human Magic

After recommending “Thinking, Fast and Slow”, I bring today another book recommendation that should be on the list for all technologists: Rory Sutherland’s “Alchemy”. I especially enjoyed reading it after Kahneman’s book, to add a bit of color to the “cognitive biases” more as to what they are: how we think and make decisions. "

Here’s why these two books are secret weapons for technologists who want to spark passion, and not only “convince with data”:

The update you were expecting: what comes next?

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 19:03:12 +0000

The update you were expecting: what comes next?

Worksome it is 🎉🚀From the moment I spoke with the team, I felt this was special.

That rare blend of trust, transparency, and infectious energy — where every conversation radiates purpose and values are aligned, with no effort.The funniest thing?

We had spoken years ago - and while the timing wasn’t quite right and stayed at SumUp for a bit longer (learning and growing a lot!), I kept an eye on the company trajectory 👀Worksome isn’t just transforming how businesses access global talent; they’re redefining work culture itself.

🥲 Today is a weird day for me, as it is my last...

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 13:36:23 +0000

🥲 Today is a weird day for me, as it is my last day at SumUp.

This has been my longest ride ever - 4+ years.

That says it all. I joined thinking, “Could I enjoy a larger company…?

This one looks like it could work…” and ended with my longest tenure. I came with curiosity about fintech and how a company could make money from card payments - leave wiser (also with more gray hair, one must confess) - things like card exchanges, regulated products, and international launches feel natural now 🌍Looking back, I am extremely grateful.⚡️ For every leader who saw sparks in me before I did and gave me a chance."🌱 For every sumupper who shared feedback with me or found my input useful for their personal growth."🚀 For every teammate who turned chaos into “holy shit, we shipped that.📣 For everyone who bore with my (endless) questions during incidents (“should we update the status page?!”)"🕴 For every merchant I’ve ambushed with “Psst… what fees are you paying?” (#ICanOfferABetterCardReader forever ).SumUp has been a place where I truly felt I belonged and has exceeded my expectations of what I could achieve, thanks to the enabling culture embedded in our values. I have grown a lot here!The exciting part is that a new chapter is about to start.

I don't know who needs to hear this - but I wou...

Thu, 19 Jun 2025 17:01:54 +0000

I don’t know who needs to hear this - but I would, many times in my career: Stop Trying to “Fit In” at work.

And anywhere else.Your Weirdness is your trait.They’ll hand you scripts, in the form of feedback or advice:"- “Say this.”"- “Present like that.”"- “Copy their tone.”"🔥Burn the manual.🪨 Feedback isn’t gospel—it’s raw material that you should process.Appreciate every feedback, but filter it smartly.

Nobody knows you better than yourself: “🤺Take what sharpens your edge."🙉 Ignore what dulls your fire.Never let someone else’s “should” overwrite your can.Your quirks?“That chaotic laugh.

I bet that this will paint a familiar picture. ...

Mon, 16 Jun 2025 19:20:04 +0000

I bet that this will paint a familiar picture. A new joiner who thinks everything is wrong but happens to know the perfect tool to solve it. A team that needs to make its mark in a “brownfield” area.

In short: thinking that you can solve system problems by swapping tools, and you end up with the same brokenness, but shinier ✨I am 100% sure that I have been the “new tool prophet” before - but as you get older, you get wiser, I guess.

🔧 Swapping Tools to Fix Systemic Issues?

Mon, 16 Jun 2025 18:29:00 +0000

🔧 Swapping Tools to Fix Systemic Issues?

Nice Band-Aid. Too Bad the Patient’s Bleeding Internally.

If you’re been in business enough, you have seen it before. Especially by new teams or colleagues, that need to prove themselves quick and make a mark: “Our processes are broken! Quick—switch project management tool!” “Collaboration sucks? Swap the documentation platform!” “Quality’s down? NEW DEPLOYMENT TOOL. NOW.”

Spoiler: You’ve treated a sneeze while the virus eats the host.

🪄Latest vibe coding fun: https://lnkd.in/dYrcdK...

Mon, 26 May 2025 19:06:14 +0000

🪄Latest vibe coding fun: https://lnkd.in/dYrcdK5Q.

Made with Lovable in some minutes. ⌚️ Inspired by the (also vibe coded) app to display QR/barcodes in your Garmin watch (https://lnkd.in/dwv4bKrp), I thought of the possibilities of QR codes that are usually not utilized.📇 For example, the option to link to a vCard with contact details.

It could be a useful way to network at events, which won’t include LinkedIn (they use the QR code to link to your profile).

Great day of AI talks organized by IDA, in thei...

Wed, 21 May 2025 05:08:44 +0000

Great day of AI talks organized by IDA, in their yearly “Driving AI” event.“It was really inspiring to see real-world usage of (gen)AI in different environments such as energy trading (Casper Kaae Sønderby from twig.energy), e-commerce recommendations (Mathias Grønne from Roccai), with the combination of more “philosophical” topics like what are agents, or how to orchestrate agents in a multi-agent environment.The closing speech from Jacob Sherson resonated strongly with me.

Today, in "vibe coding adventures": I've direct...

Mon, 19 May 2025 19:45:29 +0000

Today, in “vibe coding adventures”: I’ve directed Manus AI to:1. propose improvements to my website (adrianmoreno.info), without more instruction - to see where it would focus"2. understand that the code of my website is open source - but split in two repositories (theme and content)“3. implement the theme fixes in a way that are usable for anyone using the themeThe challenges faced were quite interesting.“Manus could do a lot of the operations with github via API, but initially it refused and wanted me to copy/paste the code changes.“Same with the improvements: initially it would propose changes that broke the theme.

Vibe coding has made programming fun for me aga...

Wed, 07 May 2025 19:25:38 +0000

Vibe coding has made programming fun for me again 🔮, and reconnected me with the eagerness to create.My sabbatical at SumUp started on January this year, which means that around Christmas time, I got myself an “assignment” to play with some of the coding assistants (Copilot and Cursor mainly).I took the chance to make some improvements on my website template (https://lnkd.in/dPz6DUS6), which is the open-source theme behind my own site (https://lnkd.in/dTv6XuT).

We've all been there: you want to communicate e...

Tue, 01 Apr 2025 07:54:20 +0000

We’ve all been there: you want to communicate effectively and use some obvious and harmless acronyms.

Or that’s what you thought…The bad news?

It’s not only not effective but it might hurt communication.When someone doesn’t inmediately get your acronym, any keystrokes you saved are instantly outweighed by:"• Explanation time"• Potential misunderstandings"• Execution errorsAnd the wider the audience and scope of your communication, the more likely this is to happen.

Acronyms that are obvious for one team get lost in translation as the range of collaboration expands.The real hack?

I have a (very dense) book recommendation for y...

Fri, 21 Mar 2025 18:35:10 +0000

I have a (very dense) book recommendation for you today: Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman.Most business books could be condensed into a simpler blog post, but “Thinking, Fast and Slow” stands apart for me.

Each chapter explores cognitive biases that are so fascinating and applicable to business and daily life that Kahneman could have expanded any single one into the book.

It’s not just a book you read—it’s one you revisit, each time discovering insights you somehow missed before.Daniel Kahneman’s masterpiece fundamentally changed how I understand decision-making—both my own and within the teams I work with.

People, your "engagement AI automations" are ge...

Mon, 10 Mar 2025 15:43:17 +0000

People, your “engagement AI automations” are getting out of hand.

It’s not “increasing engagement and visibility” of your brand, but giving a shit first impression.As with anything computer-generated, you need to supervise what these random tools do in your behalf, such as:🤦‍♂️ useless comments: “What a great summary of news, thanks for sharing”.

Cool AI - that’s what reactions are for"😵‍💫 completely out of context comments: (in a piece of news) “Please connect with me and we can discuss the background of the position”. WHAT POSITION!?"🙉 repetitive content: it seems that your AI has “read” the post, but not the other 50 useless comments (see point one), and yours has become a REPETITIVE PIECE OF CRAP.I still believe that AI can generate much value, automating repetitive tasks and augmenting human cognition.

Leadership isn’t a job title. Management is. 🧭

Thu, 27 Feb 2025 09:01:30 +0000

Leadership isn’t a job title. Management is. 🧭" " “Let’s clear something up: Leadership and management get mixed around like synonyms, but they’re different concepts. Sometimes they overlap, but they’re not the same.” " “Here’s the thing:” “✅ Anyone can lead – Influence, inspire, take ownership. That’s leadership.” “✅ Managers manage – Hire, budget, execute. That’s a specific job.” " “But here’s the trap: When we act like “leadership” is code for “managers only,” we tell the rest of the team: “Your voice doesn’t matter; leave this to us.”” “Worse? We end up with managers who manage processes but don’t lead people. And teams waiting for permission instead of stepping up.” " “📚 A book that puts this greatly is “Turn the ship around!”, by L. David Marquet. A submarine captain flipped the script on the traditional “leader-follower” model—where only the person at the top “leads”—and instead built a “leader-leader” culture. His secret? Leadership wasn’t about authority. It was about empowering everyone to make decisions, regardless of rank. The result? A crew that didn’t just follow orders… they owned outcomes.” " “Next time you hear, “I would like a leadership position, but I have no team to manage 🙁” remember this vital difference and encourage anyone to lead from wherever they are. " " “Leadership isn’t reserved or limited. It should be spread and encouraged to grow anywhere in your teams 💪. As leaders, we must make sure that everyone at the “edges of the organization” has the right context to keep alignment with the shared goals and mission, and information to decide by themselves.” " “#Leadership #Management #Empowerment #TurnTheShipAround

Leadership isn't about staying in the spotlight...

Tue, 04 Feb 2025 21:41:33 +0000

Leadership isn’t about staying in the spotlight—it’s about knowing when to step aside so others can step up." 🌟Being away of work and its packed schedules is giving me some quality time to experiment with AI tooling, but also to reflect.

Something I’ve given some thought is precisely on being away.

When I first became a leader, I thought my job was to have all the answers.

But over time, I realized that my greatest impact often came from creating opportunities for others to lead.

Do you know the creepy feeling of entering a ca...

Wed, 29 Jan 2025 16:15:49 +0000

Do you know the creepy feeling of entering a calm shop to look around and feeling stalked by the shop “assistants”?

It ends up making you leave the shop uncomfortable instead of checking the goods.That’s what cold (tactless) “outreach” in Linkedin feels like.

Not even a “hi”, let’s just make a connection so you can slide into my DMs without spending an InMail credit 🙈I hope Linkedin would allow us to get a captcha to send a connection from ${vendor.first_name}

Would you like to elevate the quality of your w...

Tue, 28 Jan 2025 18:30:49 +0000

Would you like to elevate the quality of your work? ✨“Try one “trick”: act as if the work that you are doing could become public at any given time in the future.Your mails or slack messages get published, your code made open source, or a colleague writes a book about how you’re involved in a project you work together.

How would you feel about it?

If the answer is not “proud” - think about what you can do better, because clearly you already know you can do better.

Sunsetting 2024 with some relax… and thankfulness!

Thu, 02 Jan 2025 07:54:58 +0000

Sunsetting 2024 with some relax… and thankfulness!

🏖️The end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025 are being quite unique for me - as I’m writing from the beach at 30 degrees, far from the near-freezing temperatures at home.

I am starting 2025 with my parental leave - which is quite unique on its own already, but to add an extra touch, I’m taking my SumUp Sabbatical month (our great Break for me*), and enjoying a paid month off work while I’m traveling with my wife and 9-month old baby in Thailand 😱

Very excited to be invited to the panel to disc...

Sun, 10 Nov 2024 19:26:05 +0000

Very excited to be invited to the panel to discuss how to stay technical while leading teams 👨‍💻 in Ignite Odense next Tuesday 19th.I find that it’s very healthy to stay close to the craft - but with some catches.

Looking forward to the chat!

Reshared from: View original post on LinkedIn

Nice! And... did you tell them? 💭

Tue, 29 Oct 2024 20:14:22 +0000

Nice! And… did you tell them? 💭

That’s what you will hear me asking when I get “second-hand feedback” about someone else - both positive or negative. If you have worked with me it’s likely that you’ve heard this at some point :)

We tend to assume that “they probably know”. But think about how many times you have been in doubt about the impact that you have on others, if you make a difference on their days; and especially: what exactly brought them joy, or frustrated who you interacted with.

Or how, as an industry, we have perverted "agil...

Mon, 28 Oct 2024 21:08:28 +0000

Or how, as an industry, we have perverted “agile” so much that it means “I use Jira and put tickets in sprints”, forgetting about the most barebones basics:Individuals and interactions over processes and tools"Working software over comprehensive documentation"Customer collaboration over contract negotiation"Responding to change over following a plan(and the correct Jira template!)

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The "Facebookization" of LinkedIn continues - a...

Fri, 18 Oct 2024 06:10:30 +0000

The “Facebookization” of LinkedIn continues - after “stories” (reels), now we have the games. I wonder how long until there’s a “new LinkedIn” focused on being the “professional community, this time for real”.

Reshared from: View original post on LinkedIn

🎤 Simplest hack to improve your next online mee...

Sun, 22 Sep 2024 11:05:57 +0000

🎤 Simplest hack to improve your next online meeting: check (and fix) how you sound to others.“Yes, image is a big part of others’ perception of us.

But we have mirrors, can see our webcam while in the meeting and can adjust quickly.⏺️ Do yourself a favor: record yourself speaking for some seconds in a tool like https://lnkd.in/dxNfKFAv, check how you sound with different microphones,and choose accordingly.

Test different situations, such as noises in the background, walking around, or being on the go.Don’t assume that because you hear others well, the opposite will be true. I would bet that most that read this will have a headset or headphones that are way better at playing audio than recording it (I’m thinking of good consumer-grade headphones, that are not thought or designed for office or transmitting audio).Having others have to second guess what you said or being distracted by background sounds will definitely hurt how what you say is perceived.In the comments I leave some specific tips on hardware that will improve your online presence (spoiler: it doesn’t have to be expensive).

SumUp's Hackweek 2024 is a wrap - and what a bl...

Sun, 15 Sep 2024 14:06:48 +0000

SumUp’s Hackweek 2024 is a wrap - and what a blast it was! 🤩. I’m still absorbing how great this week has been.Do you know when, as a kid, you’re looking forward to the field trip with the class, or the finals with your sports team?

That’s what the Hackweek feels like at SumUp - both combined.In this yearly event, SumUp’s Engineering, Product, and Design teams (EP&D) get together in a shared location to CREATE as much as possible and collaborate with people you don’t usually have the chance with.In line with our Founder’s Mentality value, we self-organize in teams, set a goal (which should cover engineering, product, design, and business plans), and SHIP IT 🚢From the incredible Pyramid of Tirana, this year 200+ Sumuppers joined to unleash our creation process.

Some matches are just destined to work. When Li...

Tue, 03 Sep 2024 12:48:33 +0000

Some matches are just destined to work. When Liza and I came in contact from Mirela from Product People we KNEW we had to do something together 🙌

They have such a great network of speakers and product-minded professionals, and give so much to the community. From SumUp we want to “give back” and contribute with our learnings on building an international product from SumUp and our Tribe - Liza will share some of the insights of how we have turned our “pain points” into processes that “just work” and bring people together as collaboration.

- 💡A mind shift to start being part of the solu...

Fri, 23 Aug 2024 21:28:29 +0000

💡A mind shift to start being part of the solution, instead of tolerating broken things: replace “it’s not my job” with “let’s find out how to solve this”.

🪟The broken windows theory states that visible signs of crime or antisocial behavior encourage further crimes - leading to an escalation in violence. The same thing can happen in a workplace when small things are observed that do not work as they should, and no one does anything to fix or prevent them.

Never make fun of someone who mispronounces a w...

Fri, 26 Jul 2024 12:33:42 +0000

Never make fun of someone who mispronounces a word - it means they learned it by reading.I can’t find whom to attribute this quote to, but think of this when working with people with a different pronunciation than you.

When someone mispronounces something, it is likely not their native language, so they’re already on a mental stretch.Coming from Spain, if you try to speak English you likely get mocked by peers and target of jokes.

When you manage people you are "management" - a...

Sat, 13 Jul 2024 12:01:18 +0000

When you manage people you are “management” - and you now have a new team you’re part of (in addition to your own).I have seen how difficult this can be, especially for first-time managers.

Before, it could have been enough to point out situations that needed solutions.

Now, with the title comes the responsibility: whatever needs to be fixed is part of your job description now.One of the key responsibilities of a manager is to foster alignment across various areas, teams, and functions.

Seneca said, "While we teach, we learn".

Fri, 12 Jul 2024 18:59:39 +0000

Seneca said, “While we teach, we learn”.It was energising to share some of the learnings with my peers at SumUp, and participate in the impactful global leadership program as a facilitator.

Together, we make each other so much better.

Teaching something to an audience is such a humbling experience.

You discover your own knowledge and skills gaps, which forces you to digest the content at a much deeper level.

And the moment that the “students” share their insights or questions, you return to the learning seat.Thanks for organizing Débora, Gabriel, Chinyere, Natalie, Jennifer - and Joanna for sharing the stage - it was a blast!

- 💡 Sometimes, instead of reinventing the wheel...

Sat, 22 Jun 2024 13:51:46 +0000

💡 Sometimes, instead of reinventing the wheel - it’s best to find the wheel blueprint, use it, and work with it.

As professionals, we often grapple with transparency and accountability, realizing that simply providing access to data is not enough.

It may lack usability or clear guidance for interpretation, a challenge we’ve all likely encountered.🤔After a couple of paragraphs trying to elaborate on this, I felt that “someone smarter has to have written about this before better than me,” and I came to find the interesting paper “Managing Transparency Guided by a Maturity Model.It takes a more methodic approach to what I was trying to elaborate on, and it is also quite more descriptive and comprehensive than what I’d have achieved (with my thoughts only).

Didactic transparency

Sat, 22 Jun 2024 10:12:21 +0000

Didactic transparency

One of the recurring themes in discussions of psychological safety and leading teams through change is transparency. In the current digital age, data is ubiquitously generated and abundant.

This leads to an issue I have seen: giving access to the data is not enough to grant you transparency. Data can be interpreted in multiple ways, it can have very varying levels of trustworthiness and a

Massive news from SumUp: as massive as a stack ...

Thu, 02 May 2024 09:17:03 +0000

Massive news from SumUp: as massive as a stack of euro coins adding up to €1.5 billion in the private credit loan that we have secured 🪙🪙🪙.This milestone is not just about numbers; it’s about the result of incredible teamwork and dedication of everyone at SumUp. I’m so proud of being able to share this news, given the tight funding in fintech: the efforts we have made on a cohesive ecosystem of products and being very disciplined pays off.Securing such a significant investment reinforces the strength of our enduring mission—to empower merchants worldwide to thrive in their businesses.

Seizing the change: moments of change are perfe...

Thu, 28 Mar 2024 18:07:10 +0000

Seizing the change: moments of change are perfect for creating new habits (or reinforcing them) 💡We just moved our offices in Copenhagen at SumUp, which has created a perfect opportunity for me to try new habits.

One thing I have tried recently is changing my commute: instead of cycling straight to work, I take the race bike and add some extra kilometers, or I run to the office.The new office location next to Vesterport is very good for this… but so was the previous one too 😅.

This was a nice fun talk about Communication du...

Tue, 26 Mar 2024 18:43:54 +0000

This was a nice fun talk about Communication during incidents, with Luis from incident.io!Most of the tips or learnings I shared scale at any size, as it’s mainly a mindset and practices to make incident management an inclusive discipline.Something we’ve been applying at SumUp is breaking down the barriers of “incidents are an engineering topic”, using more inclusive processes and vocabulary, and putting customers at the center of our response.Is there anything I didn’t mention that you missed?

If there's a mantra that the teams I work with ...

Sun, 03 Mar 2024 18:33:05 +0000

If there’s a mantra that the teams I work with have heard me repeat endlessly is “making explicit the implicit”.I use it as a way to encourage to document assumptions, reflect on the facts that drive our intuition, or the ways in which we have been biased (and we are not fully aware of).I find that trying to have factual conversations and write down what makes us take a decision helps create a more inclusive decision-making process, encouraging anyone to look at the same facts, and participate on it.Is this something you have too come across as a way to shape the teams interactions?

Making explicit the implicit: Exploring parallel universes while creating alignment

Sun, 03 Mar 2024 18:08:00 +0000

Making explicit the implicit: Exploring parallel universes while creating alignment

Making explicit the implicit might be my most repeated mantra when working with software development teams - or product development by extension.

When working in a technological context, with interrelated products, you are constantly faced with complex and ambiguous problems that require creative and innovative solutions. You have to make decisions based on incomplete or conflicting information, and communicate them effectively to your team and stakeholders. You also have to deal with the human and emotional aspects of leading people, such as motivating, coaching, and resolving conflicts.

Engineering Managers in my network - the chance...

Thu, 29 Feb 2024 21:01:30 +0000

Engineering Managers in my network - the chance to work with Hannah is not one to let pass!I enjoyed so much working with her - and you can do that now in a really interesting product in one of the hottest tech areas: AI for translations 🔥Check the job our for Asterdam, Cologne, Berlin, London - or fully remote (for Germany, Poland or UK too)

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This.

Mon, 26 Feb 2024 21:56:32 +0000

This.

When a conversation reaches by DM, send it to a channel (either private or public depending on context).

And nudging team members to understand that posting in a public channel is not spamming, given the right etiquette (right tagging - so not @here to say good morning; right context setting, using threads for related follow ups)…

🇩🇰Maybe you have seen the SumUp logo and beauti...

Mon, 19 Feb 2024 15:28:11 +0000

🇩🇰Maybe you have seen the SumUp logo and beautiful readers in our Metro in Copenhagen lately? 👀🖤🤍After the first push (https://lnkd.in/d_Cjj4q8), we’re now offering 0.49% (ZERO FOURTY NINE PERCENT yes!!) fees in Copenhagen, for merchants that signup in http://sumup.com/da-dk before the end of april.As usual, this is a great effort from many - quite an outcome to be proud of.

Having Anders put us in our retail partners is invaluable - where our merchants are shopping already! 🛒

STOP THE PRESS 🛑

Wed, 17 Jan 2024 13:03:48 +0000

STOP THE PRESS 🛑

(ok, now that you have stopped: share with your network and get Karma points with me :-)

I share some cool jobs from SumUp here and there. Today, I bring you THE JOB. You can join not only SumUp (cool) but our team in Copenhagen (double cool) and the Invoices Tribe (triple cool) in Bruno’s team.

We are seeking a new colleague to join us as an Android developer for the Accounting squad. With a very well-located office in the center of Copenhagen, daily lunch together, and a chance to influence new product creation.

I've been thinking a bit lately about setting a...

Sun, 17 Dec 2023 22:19:32 +0000

I’ve been thinking a bit lately about setting and aligning incentives.

It’s quite a journey - and it can be both the path to success by aligning every gear around you, or the path to a very hard time.

As Ramez Naam put it:If your incentives are set up wrong - if for some reason you reward people for behavior that’s actually bad for your customers or your organization - then you’re going to encourage that behavior.What are your thoughts on the topic?

The Power of Purposeful Incentives: Shaping Behaviors for Long-Term Success

Sun, 17 Dec 2023 21:44:00 +0000

The Power of Purposeful Incentives: Shaping Behaviors for Long-Term Success

When people look up to you, you need to consider the incentives you set. Incentives are not just about giving rewards or punishments, but also about making sure your team members share the same goals, values and behaviors as your organization.

Incentives can make a big difference in how your organization works, and how people work together, talk to each other and come up with new ideas. Incentives can also help people do better, learn more and grow in their careers.

More fuel to deliver on our vision: to create a...

Mon, 11 Dec 2023 12:53:21 +0000

More fuel to deliver on our vision: to create a world where everyone can build a successful business.

When times have changed, we have changed with them too.

It has been inspiring to see how a large team like us has altered course and aimed (and delivered) both profitability and growth.More great things are coming from SumUp, you can be sure!

🚀#sumup #investment #founding

💳 In a time where payments get more expensive i...

Thu, 07 Dec 2023 12:45:53 +0000

💳 In a time where payments get more expensive in the Nordics - from SumUp we’ve gone the opposite direction, and lowered fees in Denmark to 0.89% (from 1.49%).If you know a small merchant in Denmark that could use lower fees on their payments - drop me a line! I’ll be happy to pass by in person in the Copenhagen area and help with the initial setup 🧑‍💻Also, our (affordable) card readers can be found very conveniently in retail channels like Bilka, Salling Group, Elgiganten A/S, Proshop a/s, Komplett Group, Brdr. A&O Johansen A/S or Dustin 🏪 - thanks for making us so available Anders Fagerlund Nielsen#payments #denmark #sumupdenmark

This.

Sun, 19 Nov 2023 21:28:41 +0000

This.

There shouldn’t be a separate “engineering roadmap” to start with. Same as “product roadmap”, “marketing roadmap”, or “design roadmap”.

(get your Freddy Mercury karaoke vibe and mentally repeat) One team, one vision - one roadmap, no division 🎸

The capacity of the team should be looked at as a holistic system, and the leaders should align on how to use the capacity across all teams best. What’s the point of having a “product roadmap” that leads to invisible technical debt being introduced, that will slow down your team as tangled ropes on your team wheels?

🛫 "Remember, put your mask on first before help...

Tue, 07 Nov 2023 21:43:29 +0000

🛫 “Remember, put your mask on first before helping othersYou might know these words during the safety briefing before taking off on a plane. I had always thought that they were strange - why would you let a kid suffocate, while you get the oxygen mask on yourself first?

It seems selfish, at least.

Funny enough, this is now probably my most repeated piece of advice to new managers.I have seen this pattern often: you are new to the job.

One (humbling) learning for me working in Finte...

Fri, 22 Sep 2023 11:22:13 +0000

One (humbling) learning for me working in Fintech is that many innovations are fueled as much by technology as by our finance, legal, and “supporting” functions.Innovating and being able to iterate on products on an area where it’s so important to have all the details covered is challenging - but so rewarding, because of the positive impact it has for our merchants and their network! 💪

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Our #hackweek2023 was great to bond, and networ...

Mon, 18 Sep 2023 19:42:43 +0000

Our #hackweek2023 was great to bond, and network (https://lnkd.in/g86X7DFW) - and another side effect for me was to reconnect with my craft (as a software engineer).In the world of continuous improvement, there’s a powerful principle called “Genchi Genbutsu,” which translates to “Go and See.” It’s not just a concept; it’s a mindset that can transform how we approach our work and spot opportunities for improvement.“In our fast-paced professional lives, getting caught up in the whirlwind of emails, meetings, and deadlines is easy.

#hackweek2023 - that's a wrap!

Sat, 16 Sep 2023 06:43:40 +0000

#hackweek2023 - that’s a wrap!

For one full week, the members of the Engineering, Product and Design teams of SumUp gathered together again, in person, to experiment and create together.

🇧🇬 This year we met in Bulgaria (where we have a great office in Sofia), next to the Black Sea. For five full days, the sole goal of the week is to self-organize in problems we want to solve, iterate - and even ship it to production! 🚀

Really looking forward to this! 🥳

Sat, 09 Sep 2023 11:16:41 +0000

Really looking forward to this! 🥳

In a world of working through online tools - I especially enjoy the moment of complicity of working on something together sharing a desk.

Organic conversations without having to raise a hand or check who was next at the queue - only to get a drink with a colleague after a good day of hacking together! 🍻

Can’t wait to meet so many people i mostly speak with through slack in person - and see what we create together! 🦾

Here we go, to a new country 🇦🇺🦘!

Wed, 16 Aug 2023 08:13:31 +0000

Here we go, to a new country 🇦🇺🦘!

Now we’re present in 36 countries globally, with multiple products targeted at small businesses.

Looking forward to bringing invoicing to the antipodes!

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If you're looking for your next summer read - m...

Sun, 06 Aug 2023 19:51:36 +0000

If you’re looking for your next summer read - maybe this one catches your eye 👀 (if it goes as it went with me).Scaling People: Tactics for Management and Company Building, by Claire Hughes Johnson is a fantastic book. I enjoyed reading if from the beginning to the end - and in opposition to many business or strategy books, I found it very insightful.When I read some of the reference books on how to treat people I feel that I have read a “glorified blogpost”, that comes to be “be kind to people”.

New podcast announcement 🎙️: This was a quite n...

Wed, 26 Jul 2023 20:15:39 +0000

New podcast announcement 🎙️: This was a quite nice chat with Majbritt an Benjamin about workplace and team culture in distributed teams.I like to think of teams a “distributed” because this applies also when the teams are in offices, but collaborating with people in other locations.We got some conversation about challenges for these setups, learnings and ideas. I hope you enjoy the podcast!Thanks also to Sam for hosting the talk - it was a pleasure!#podcast #workplaceculture #officeculture

This is a sad outcome - although not surprising...

Tue, 18 Jul 2023 09:27:31 +0000

This is a sad outcome - although not surprising given the last developments around the economical viability of VanMoof, and the attempts to gather investment.🚲 I’m proud to have been part of the ride of the company, and I still think they’re the most beautiful e-bikes out there - and will continue to ride by S3 (until I can’t).

Sadly, the economics of building a smart consumer product (with in-house hardware and software) are quite tough - and proves the difficultly of consumer hardware.Also - one word of support for everyone that has worked on building the company, the brand and the products - the fact that the economics didn’t work out doesn’t say anything about the outstanding work that you have done.

Great recap by our David of the results of the ...

Sat, 15 Jul 2023 21:04:32 +0000

Great recap by our David of the results of the work we’ve been putting in the Invoices team.

With a multi-disciplinary angle - not only in the functions involved (design/product/engineering/marketing), but also the smooth collaboration across teams and products.More great things to come, the show is only getting started in sumup invoices !

🛫

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When someone has gone from zero to hero in cont...

Thu, 22 Jun 2023 14:55:14 +0000

When someone has gone from zero to hero in content creation in the post-chatGPT era, I don’t need zeroGPT to check if it’s AI-generated or not 🙈💡 Remember that whenever you’re publishing something online you’re attaching your personal brand to it.

Fine if you use AI as a tool, but don’t let yourself become just another bot-looking profile that spits fine, soulless paragraphs full of facts.

Give it your touch, and bring some personality to what you publish!

It was a delight to talk with Elliot from Engin...

Wed, 07 Jun 2023 19:32:53 +0000

It was a delight to talk with Elliot from Enginears a bit about how we organize ourselves at SumUp - and even more doing it side by side with Jan!As we mention in the podcast, cross-tribal collaboration is a big topic - minding the big picture, and how our teams fit into it.

What best to preach by example, in a tandem podcast where we share our outlook from two different angles 🔭I hope you enjoy this episode!

I've written a small article on a topic I usual...

Sun, 28 May 2023 14:12:17 +0000

I’ve written a small article on a topic I usually recommend getting deeper into to improve professionally - with the nice side effect of being usable in our daily life too.Funnily enough, it’s not something that in an engineering formation is especially emphasized - but it’s too powerful of a tool to ignore, or discard because it might make you “weak”.

On the other side, it will help you achieve more, in a more effective manner, with happier colleagues, partners and customers.

Developing our empathy to be better colleagues and leaders

Sun, 28 May 2023 12:47:00 +0000

Developing our empathy to be better colleagues and leaders

I often get asked what skills are most useful to develop to be a successful leader. I want to make a case for making empathy a top tool in our skillset.

Empathy is the ability to detect and understand other people’s feelings. It’s a skill that we can all improve through training and practice. Empathy is not only good for our personal relationships but also for our professional ones. It can help us reduce stress, build more positive relationships, and even boost revenues.

I met Zahra during the React meetup we hosted i...

Thu, 04 May 2023 12:48:42 +0000

I met Zahra during the React meetup we hosted in SumUp Copenhagen. I really enjoyed the chat with her, and her background - and I’m sure that she can be a great teammate for a danish tech team looking for a frontend developer.If you’re looking for frontenders in your team - have a chat with her!#frontenddeveloper #copenhagen #denmark #denmarkjobs

I'm a big fan of Ted Lasso. Not only the Apple ...

Sat, 29 Apr 2023 19:14:45 +0000

I’m a big fan of Ted Lasso.

Not only the Apple TV+ comedy series about an American football coach who becomes the manager of a struggling English soccer team - but also Ted Lasso as a fictional leader.If you haven’t watched it yet, I highly recommend it.

Not only because it’s hilarious and heartwarming, but also because it offers some valuable leadership lessons that can be applied to any team or organization.Here are some of the things I learned from Ted Lasso and we can all try to apply in our teams:- Be optimistic and positive.

It was really nice to host the meetup in our of...

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 18:09:47 +0000

It was really nice to host the meetup in our office in Copenhagen 🇩🇰.

Great talks, both the organized ones and the informal.Meetups are great for networking, learning how others are tackling similar challenges, and why not - also share back learnings!As our colleague Jonathan M.

Hethey did, sharing some good learnings after working with our open source design system (https://lnkd.in/eEMNXyEF).Thanks to everyone that came - looking forward to hosting more sessions and share some of our experiences!

Interactions like this really make my day to da...

Mon, 27 Mar 2023 13:46:43 +0000

Interactions like this really make my day to day meaningful :-)Having the chance to work in a product that helps people run their business (or their good cause initiatives as this case) it’s a great feeling.

And having Natasza giving me the chance to spread the word on how we do it was an honor! (link the podcast episode in the comments)

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Or if you were luckier... be the leader that yo...

Fri, 24 Mar 2023 22:34:31 +0000

Or if you were luckier… be the leader that you had - and would like others to have too :-)1.

Reflect on your experience"2.

Keep the good parts"3.

Ditch the bad ones"4.

Make the best version of yourself for the restAnd repeat! 🔄

While one could think "why celebrate if we're e...

Wed, 22 Mar 2023 16:57:09 +0000

While one could think “why celebrate if we’re equal”… that’s not fully true.

Glass ceilings, lack of diversity, career truncation after maternity…

Personally, I’m grateful for all the great female colleagues I’ve worked with and inspired me to keep on learning and trying to make tech more diverse - thank you!

#embraceequity

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What a journey: rebuilding a technology product...

Tue, 21 Mar 2023 21:29:47 +0000

What a journey: rebuilding a technology product while delivering incremental business value is an amazing feeling.Instead of doing “the same thing” (but better, don’t we always think we’ll do better than last time?) - we’re paying technical debt, while chasing improvement opportunities along, in multiple areas like systems infrastructure, security, UX/UI or Developer Experience.A real cross-functional collaboration across all areas - to find the best possible iteration to chase next 🕵️‍♂️"This is being a blast, I hope that you like our product as much as we’re liking building it!

Reading Primal Leadership there has been a "yes...

Sat, 11 Mar 2023 17:56:12 +0000

Reading Primal Leadership there has been a “yes that’s it!!” moment - something that resonated strongly with my experience:Research on humor at work reveals that a well-timed joke or playful laugher can stimulate creativity, open lines of communication, enhance a sense of connection and trust, and, of course, make work more fun.

Playful joking increases the likelihood of financial concessions during a negotiation.

Small wonder that playfulness holds a prominent place in the tool kit of emotionally intelligent leaders.I love to love what I do, and part of it is having fun (poor Anna had to witness it https://lnkd.in/gNjfYWJW 😆).

With the surge of Search Engines we had the ris...

Thu, 23 Feb 2023 16:00:05 +0000

With the surge of Search Engines we had the rise of SEO-oriented websites, that tried to “trick” the engines and lead users.Will we end creating content and applications to attract AI’s, optimizing for machines (again) instead of humans?

🤔At least for now in our team we can proudly say that ChatGPT is aware of us, after the chat that Gabriel had with it - and it got our gist quite well!Does ChatGPT know about your service?

Genchi Genbutsu: "go and see".

Sun, 19 Feb 2023 15:14:06 +0000

Genchi Genbutsu: “go and see”.

As a manager, it’s easy to rely on your team to tell how things are working, and gradually lose contact with the process on itself. The problems they face, the challenges they solve, the issues they experience in their day to day - will flow through your interactions with them.

But there’s no replacement for seeing it with your own eyes, and understanding it by yourself, from first-party data. The practice of “Genchi Genbutsu” comes from the Toyota Production System, and it’s not meant to “physically observe everything”, but more as gathering data by yourself, and “cutting the middleman” when doing observations about how things are running.

Don’t partner with cynics and pessimists. Their...

Sun, 12 Feb 2023 16:26:40 +0000

Don’t partner with cynics and pessimists.

Their beliefs are self-fulfilling" - Naval Ravikant (https://lnkd.in/eMeEx8iD).The Navalmanack (https://lnkd.in/eUznewHR) by Eric Jorgenson is a very interesting read that summarizes and puts together some of the disjoint thoughts that N.

Ravikant had been sharing on twitter.It gave a good ratio of “aha moments” and “YES! THAT’S IT!”, and some ideas have stuck with me weeks after finishing the book.

This one is about the kind of people you surround yourself with, and why it’s best to avoid permanently pessimist or cynical people.

The first follower is an underestimated form of...

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 20:50:18 +0000

The first follower is an underestimated form of leadershipDon’t get the wrong idea that to lead others you need to be the one that has to always make the first move.

Support others.

Join an early good idea that needs some nurturing.

Be the first one getting excited and evangelize about it.And if you’re trying to get something moving - go get that first follower, and get your movement started!#leadership

Edited✍️ - as this is not "coming soon", but yo...

Mon, 23 Jan 2023 17:27:26 +0000

Edited✍️ - as this is not “coming soon”, but you can get the full podcast below :-)https://lnkd.in/e9zG8g6yI hope that I brought some interesting insights on the leadership principles we apply at SumUp, very rooted in discipline - and how we balance autonomy and self-drive with this.As mentioned during the podcast, the SumUp Wildly Transformational Fundamentals (WTF) Handbook is quite a gold nugget: https://lnkd.in/e-8etRrKIf there’s anything that you’d like me to explain in more detail - I’ll be happy to to do so!

One of the "chores" I did this holiday break wa...

Wed, 18 Jan 2023 21:12:29 +0000

One of the “chores” I did this holiday break was to give some love to my Linkedin inbox.

It was a bit of a jungle - and despite the shame of reacting with months of delay 🙈, it has brought some great follow ups.One was to catch up with Jakub’s proposal to participate in STX Next podcast, Tech Leaders Hub.

After listening to some of the episodes and seeing the roster of guests, I was so honored to be considered to participate! I will discuss about something that I have been reflecting on quite a bit at SumUp, especially due to our scale and bottom-up culture: “How to balance independence and control within your organization”.

Taking some time off and resting until you almo...

Sun, 08 Jan 2023 21:56:16 +0000

Taking some time off and resting until you almost get bored is powerful to reconnect with yourself 🥱Last December I enjoyed quite some days off, and made an explicit effort on not hovering around the team work.

First reason, to not turn myself into a “do as I say, not as I do”, and show my teams that it’s very much fine and expected to be disconnected from work to fully recharge.And second - to see where my “inner itch” would take me.

One reflection to start the year: instead of se...

Mon, 02 Jan 2023 20:19:10 +0000

One reflection to start the year: instead of setting big goals and objectives, focus on something that you can control, and the change you will commit to.

That habit will lead you (or not) to the goal, but will definitely make you happier, while you make it stick.As Marcus Aurelius put it: “You have power over your mind — not outside events.

Realize this, and you will find strength.#stoicism #newyearresolutions

Interesting to see how a piece of software engi...

Mon, 02 Jan 2023 20:13:12 +0000

Interesting to see how a piece of software engineering jargon like “technical debt” makes it to the mainstream media - and quite a cautionary tale in favour of taking good care of it.Can’t argue with the conclusion (ok, a bit of a spoiler on the article, but no surprise if you had read the news): “Technical debt is real debt.

It will eventually be paid by someone”.A good way to get the feeling of how tech debt disrupts everyday’s business is taking a “gemba walk” and getting close to where the action happens.

With Copenhagen fully covered in snow and ice l...

Sat, 17 Dec 2022 12:59:04 +0000

With Copenhagen fully covered in snow and ice like a Christmas Wonderland - it made me reflect on how lucky we are to be able to see the whole 4 seasons changing from the office at SumUp in Copenhagen ☃️🍂🌞🌱I really appreciate having a place to go to work that is inspiring, and encourages you to take walking meetings around the lakes, or just enjoy the views together during lunch in the warm days.

One of the best things to work at SumUp is to s...

Sat, 10 Dec 2022 17:17:00 +0000

One of the best things to work at SumUp is to see how our work directly helps small merchants run their businesses.

It is great to be in contact with our merchants, understanding them and learning from their entrepreneurial stories.We do that in multiple ways: by talking to merchants on their businesses, feedback that is provided to us to improve our products - or interviews where we can dive deeper into how they use our technology, what they like about it and what we can do better.In the photo you can see the team in our Invoices tribe paying lots of attention to one of our merchant interview sessions, greatly lead by Neža being “our voice” with the merchant.

This weekend I've got to play with Midjourney's...

Sun, 27 Nov 2022 17:33:57 +0000

This weekend I’ve got to play with Midjourney’s last version, v4.

The improvements are amazing 🤯, generating images on the text inputs (or “prompts”) provided to the system.What fascinates me the most is the usability of the system itself.

Talking about using a bleeding edge AI/ML system would usually require some deep technical expertise, dedicated last-generation hardware… but that’s not the case with Midjourney v4.Using it is as simple as interacting with the typical customer-support chatbot that helps you find a missing e-commerce order: you install Discord, join the beta (https://lnkd.in/ezMdB9Gw), send your prompt with a command ("/imagine …"), and you’re in.The bot will use the servers to generate 4 images, that once received can be upscaled, remixed to iterate on some of them - and that’s it!

Being able to define something makes conversati...

Sun, 20 Nov 2022 17:43:14 +0000

Being able to define something makes conversations way more engaging and deep than when you’re trying to figure out how to call things… 🙊 Let me elaborate on the idea💡 and bring a practical example + a book recommendation (combo!).This lies behind the linguistic relativity hypothesis – that explores if language influences the way that we think.

The idea is that having specific words for something makes us faster at processing it.I find that this comes to practice when working on teams quite often.

You will start seeing these beauties soon at th...

Thu, 17 Nov 2022 07:05:31 +0000

You will start seeing these beauties soon at the desk our your favourite local merchants 🤩A beautiful piece of hardware with no strings attached (aka no monthly fees), competitive payment fees, and powerful software running it.

Great things to come!

After playing with internal versions with it for a bit I can say that it is exciting to get this into the merchant’s hands, can’t wait to see how it improves their daily operations!!

I love working in multi cultural environments, ...

Thu, 03 Nov 2022 21:35:59 +0000

I love working in multi cultural environments, across countries, and doing business with all kind of nationalities and backgrounds. I really appreciate the different ways of approaching a situation, let it be solving a problem, sharing a responsibility, or celebrating success.But it was not always like that!

When I first moved from Galicia (Spain) to Amsterdam, I had not worked in a multi cultural environment - having worked in a quite homogenous setup.

This was quite a blast. Getting so many colleag...

Fri, 22 Jul 2022 22:18:11 +0000

This was quite a blast. Getting so many colleagues from all SumUp for a week, from every discipline of Engineering, Product & Design, together in the same location - and having full freedom to create something together.

It was really fun to be part of a team and work hands on in a new problem to solve - but it was as interesting to walk around and ask other teams what they were working. It was really energizing to see the customer centricity, and how so many of those ideas could make a real difference for our merchants!

Investment round announcement ➝ so many new fri...

Wed, 29 Jun 2022 13:41:00 +0000

Investment round announcement ➝ so many new friends! 🎉This is my most seen button lately 😅.

Not that I’m not against discovering new services, tools, platforms, outsourcing agencies - but time is probably my most limited asset. “I wish I had time to chat with everyone…

Head down and focus on delivering!

Really exciting to get this validation of the e...

Thu, 23 Jun 2022 19:10:19 +0000

Really exciting to get this validation of the ecosystem that we’re creating for the merchants of all over the world - great team effort to keep focused and deliver real value.And we would be worth nothing without the merchants using us - that’s the most exciting part: continuing to create great products for them to delight their customers.

For more big things to come! 🎉

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We're hiring for a super interesting position, ...

Mon, 23 May 2022 16:04:49 +0000

We’re hiring for a super interesting position, in multiple locations (Copenhagen, Berlin, Varsaw, and also Remote in EU timezone!)We’re looking for a software engineer to work in a greenfield project at SumUp, with a very high impact, and a great chance to modernise core systems that will be used by almost everyone of our merchants 🚀We’ll be using Kotlin as the platform of choice - but we’re happy if you have experience with other JVM languages, and curiosity for it.

What a blast this event is!

Thu, 12 May 2022 15:06:06 +0000

What a blast this event is!

I’m having such a great time joining others’ ideas and following David and Sandy Phi direction – and being back to contributing as an engineer!

Pairing up with other engineers while unrusting my DevOps skills (from idea to deployment in one day!), reviewing ideas together, and thinking how the creative ideas we’re coming with can help our merchants be more successful ⚡️

And especially - meeting colleagues that I interact on a daily basis in person!

Do you know that kind of online profile that on...

Fri, 29 Apr 2022 05:10:51 +0000

Do you know that kind of online profile that only gives bad reviews, and complains about everything?

Bad service, bad food, bad stay, bad experiences everywhere.

It’s not me, it’s the world".I find that to be credible and trustworthy when giving feedback, you need to “see everything”, the good and the bad parts.

You need to build that trust by showing that you care for the person, and genuinely want to help them by providing it.When the only feedback that you give is “corrective” (aka negative), you’re giving a similar vibe to the person.

I'd rather interact with more "current-X" peopl...

Sun, 10 Apr 2022 16:45:50 +0000

I’d rather interact with more “current-X” people than “ex-Y” 🧐Let me extend on this thought.

The space that we have for bios, for introductions and to cause first impressions is limited. I assume that by editing the default “Role at Company” headline that LinkedIn generates, you have put some thought on it.If the best way that you have to show who you are is to highlight that you worked at a specific company - the first impression that I get is a shallow, with a touch of elitism. “I find an implicit message of “I worked at companyX, so I was good”, but the way it comes across to me is as a way to try to impress others based on association, instead on qualities or credentials. I care more of who you are, what you learned and how you treat others than were you studied or worked before. I hope that there’s something else that can define you than were you worked before.And past successes don’t grant future ones, so you better be adaptable and not be defined by the past!Signed:“Adrián Moreno Peña, ex-traordinary dad joke maker, ex-cellent colleague and sometimes ex-aggerating writer, for the purpose of making my rants more enterntaining

At the edge of a large humanitarian crisis that...

Tue, 08 Mar 2022 15:49:53 +0000

At the edge of a large humanitarian crisis that will demand the best of each one of us, I’m proud that at SumUp we’re trying to channel the great wave of goodwill and solidarity of all our network.

In such difficult situation - helping the ones doing work on the ground is so important.

Donate, and SumUp will match your amount towards the Red Cross! 💙💛🇺🇦

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The unfairness, the lies, the false pretences.

Sat, 26 Feb 2022 19:05:33 +0000

The unfairness, the lies, the false pretences.

How can the whole world just look while we let Putin play with Ukraine, a country with more than 44 million of people.And some of them are my dear colleagues.

That I build software with, that I laugh, and share ideas about their dreams, their families.

That are impressing me with their grit - but they should never have to go through this.I can’t be proud of the “free world” if we can’t even agree on responding in the strongest possible way to such an illegal, lying, and unjust aggression.

Nice to have Mickael representing our Engineeri...

Wed, 23 Feb 2022 14:27:35 +0000

Nice to have Mickael representing our Engineering team in the podcast about leading tech teams with other leaders from Copenhagen 🇩🇰Also so happy to see that Mickael really impersonated some of the value that are expected from the leaders at SumUp (https://lnkd.in/gsxt7Byx).

At the heart of the company are our teams, and they need to be lead with humility and really putting ourselves at the service of our colleagues to help them.

Interested in high traffic node.js projects, an...

Fri, 18 Feb 2022 23:17:16 +0000

Interested in high traffic node.js projects, and a chance to drive a super impactful initiative that powers the ecosystem that allows millions of small merchants to do business?

No wonder, it’s a great opportunity!At SumUp there’s space for entrepeurship and have a say on product or tech improvements, in a very collaborative way.If this tickles some interest, drop me a message and I can tell you more! 👀

If there's something that I HATE (with the capi...

Sat, 29 Jan 2022 20:51:37 +0000

If there’s something that I HATE (with the capital letters) of “business talk” is referring to people as “resources”.Already from the time of studying Engineering and Project Management I despised it, because of how lying, misleading and de-humanizing it is: you can exchange resources (bricks, metal, wood, money…) because you know how they compare, interact with each other, etc.

But you can’t do that with people!When exchanging an engineer by another you can’t expect the same output.

2021 has been... quite a year 🤪

Thu, 23 Dec 2021 08:42:05 +0000

2021 has been… quite a year 🤪

Neck down in the not-so-ending pandemic, surfing through covid variants, country lockdowns and all the uncertainties that this brings (will I be able to travel? To take holidays? To go to a concert?), and all the doubts of being in a situation that we had not been before.

Luckily in tech we’ve been able to adapt quite quickly and efficiently to this new “work from home” as default - but that has come with quite a toll on how we interact with each other, the boundaries between work and time off, and the possibility of disconnecting from work.

This year I culminated a process in which I hav...

Tue, 21 Dec 2021 20:46:08 +0000

This year I culminated a process in which I have invested more than at many of the jobs or education I’ve had. A journey of stubbornness and self-believe that has led me to complete my first Ironman triathlon, enduring with training during the weird pandemic months - just because I really wanted to finish the process I started.Why?

Maybe just to prove that I’m capable of it to myself, who knows 🤷‍♂️ “But I’ve definitely taken many learnings that I carry with me for any ambit of my life, including the professional one (that is the one that matters for Linkedin, right? 😅) #ironman #triathlon #endurancetraining #perseverance

The power of habit: from "I hate running" to "You are an Ironman"

Tue, 21 Dec 2021 19:49:00 +0000

The power of habit: from “I hate running" to “You are an Ironman"

The year is 2015. I see myself on a pic in the company slack and think “how unflattering it is”. I had moved to Amsterdam and lost my exercise routine, consisting in playing football with my friends at the local league.

But I had to accept it: the pic was not unflattering - I came to terms with it and started running, because it was very convenient: no gym subscription, no schedules, and could go out any time. Only one downside: I hated it. It was the part I disliked the most of football training - but somehow I convinced myself “endure, focus on smaller objectives and just do it”. So I’d focus on getting to the next street light, to the next crossing - and celebrate small achievements: “today I ran 1km without stopping”, “my longest run of 5km!”, and so on.

Remember to tell your colleagues that you appre...

Thu, 02 Dec 2021 19:03:27 +0000

Remember to tell your colleagues that you appreciate them.

Don’t take it for granted, don’t take those things you like of them as “normal”.You might make somebody blush for a moment, but there’s nothing like knowing that your colleagues appreciate those small things you do, and others would take for granted!#appreciation #positiveworkenvironment

It's nice when you still feel proud about your ...

Fri, 19 Nov 2021 08:22:53 +0000

It’s nice when you still feel proud about your contribution in the previous job, and happy for the great colleagues you left behind.What a launch that was in the tech side also.

The months of migrating infrastructure, updating software, load testing, collaboration with Resn in the design and experience… all for that smooth launch event where all came together 🚀Go VanMoof!

Get the next billion bums on bikes! 🚲🚲🚲🚲🚲 (with a lovely website and customer experience, as good as the experience or riding the bikes is 💕)

Proud to contribute to this cause and for the o...

Thu, 18 Nov 2021 22:13:47 +0000

Proud to contribute to this cause and for the ones that have driven the initiative at SumUp and how it represents us 👏🏼From outside you would think “at a company of this scale, it must be so difficult to get green light for something like this” - but all it takes is a “stubborn” group of individuals that believe in the cause, apply the “founder’s mentality” value that drives the company… and gets it done!Trying to do the right thing at such a scale is something worth fighting for! 🌏 #sustainability #givingback

I've liked this talk from Randy Shoup about how...

Mon, 11 Oct 2021 07:51:02 +0000

I’ve liked this talk from Randy Shoup about how to trust among your peers, because it can work in any environment:https://lnkd.in/eUvqGW8mAs tech “allies” we need to understand what value we deliver as a business and find our common goals, then build a plan and transparently and consistently deliver on it - and build a culture of accountability by transparency and keeping the promises.I like that there’s no magic “hack” on it, but mainly to build a track record of keeping up the promises and iterate on it.

Do you know that feeling that you get sometimes...

Wed, 06 Oct 2021 08:18:56 +0000

Do you know that feeling that you get sometimes when you start chatting with a group and you instantly click with them? ✨What a delight of a chat I had with Olga, Juan and Harri.

Thanks Christopher for “selecting” us and getting us to talk about something that we all so deeply care about: how to best serve our teams, so we can be more productive and efficient in the organization.I think we touched some good points about how we can better help our teams on this mission - I hope it’s as nice to listen as it was to participate 🎤PS: if you’re not familiar with Christopher’s podcast - get on it.

How much do you like these kind of posts that p...

Thu, 30 Sep 2021 20:54:09 +0000

How much do you like these kind of posts that pretend to be surveys and appear every once in a while in your feed?💡 they’re great"👏🏼 please more"👍 not much but they’re fishing for likes"🤔 do you mean that there’s a better way to run surveys?

A reflection on one of the changes that you exp...

Tue, 28 Sep 2021 08:31:25 +0000

A reflection on one of the changes that you experience as you become a manager or a leader…I can’t just be more humbled and driven by pursuing a career in technology leadership than when I read the comments and feedback that my colleagues and people that I managed give me - and they explain how I had a positive impact in their jobs and careers.

The transition from Individual Contributor to a “leader” forces you to look at your impact from a “multiplier” point of view, as your success is reflected on your peers’ successes.The feedback loop is longer - as your actions take longer to reflect on others - but you know that you can enjoy leading others when you get as happy (or happier!) when the ones around you are successful too.

I love the ad that our colleagues in Chile have...

Thu, 12 Aug 2021 08:21:16 +0000

I love the ad that our colleagues in Chile have made for the card reader - I get a smile on my face every time that I hear the song “la maquinita SumUp, la maquinita SumUp” (SumUp’s little machine, SumUp’s little machine) 🎶🎵, and cannot get Sensual Spiderman (https://lnkd.in/d4MsX2KN) out my head 😂Thanks Adrián (my colleague, I’m not self-thanking me) for discovering me this great Chilean character! 🇨🇱

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A very interesting article by Segment about dua...

Mon, 14 Jun 2021 13:05:08 +0000

A very interesting article by Segment about dual leadership that an Engineering Manager and a Product Manager have in a product teamSince my first day - my biggest ally and “sparring partner” has been Hannah.

From her I get the “Why” of what we are building, so I can work with the development team on “how” and “what” we are going to build.I know I can trust Hannah on the roadmap and supporting me when we need to make difficult decisions (what to prioritize, delay features in favour of tackling technical debt…), if we’re on the same page.

Fun fact about Denmark: birthdays are celebrate...

Fri, 04 Jun 2021 13:05:49 +0000

Fun fact about Denmark: birthdays are celebrated with (lots of) flags.

The danish flag (Dannebrog) has a double function as “birthday flag” to celebrate any big ocassion (like my first birthday in the country 🥳🇩🇰)2nd fun fact (yeah, I’m generous as it’s my birthday): it’s the flag with the world record of being the oldest continuously used national flag.This is how my desk looked when I left it unattended for a bit at SumUp today 🇩🇰🇩🇰🇩🇰🎊🎊🍾 (in the Copenhagen office of course :-D)Tak, mine kolleger!

For short journeys #bikeisbest :-)

Tue, 01 Jun 2021 10:00:01 +0000

For short journeys #bikeisbest :-)And how many of our trips around the city are short?

Most of them!

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Hey Amsterdam network ❌❌❌

Mon, 17 May 2021 15:31:40 +0000

Hey Amsterdam network ❌❌❌

I think this is a super cool position! (OK I’m biased because I was doing the job until some weeks ago, when I became evangelizer 🚲 🤣)

But VanMoof is in a super interesting moment + great team (OK biased here too, they were my lovely team) + super interesting ecosystem around a great product (what’s not to love about these ebikes?).

It’s a great position for person with a mix of hands-on and managerial experience, to focus more on the team management (while staying close to tech).

After 1 year and a half my relationship with Va...

Wed, 28 Apr 2021 12:08:22 +0000

After 1 year and a half my relationship with VanMoof changes: from Tech Lead to Brand Ambassador 🚲 (in other words, I’m leaving the company ;-)It has been intense, with funding rounds, new product launches (S3/X3, powerbank), trail-blazing features (Find My network support 🍏)… and a lot of fun on the go.

And all this during a worldwide pandemic and an explosion on bike demand 🤯I started with a focus on the digital ecosystem, improving the tech foundation (monitoring, infrastructure, SLAs, providers, etc) and boy, we’ve come a long way.

This is why you cannot have a team of only supe...

Mon, 19 Apr 2021 09:09:51 +0000

This is why you cannot have a team of only super stars - you end in an ego-fight, a self-driven escalation where the team and personal objectives drift apart.Somebody needs to be willing to do the dirty work and “take one for the team”!As a manager it’s important to acknowledge and recognise the performers that keep a team together.

They might not have the brightest stats, the greatest achievements and stories to tell - but they’re the concrete that holds the house together.

Probably the most undervalued skills of a devel...

Wed, 14 Apr 2021 13:45:04 +0000

Probably the most undervalued skills of a developer are communication and empathy.When you’re not capable of understanding who’s your audience, there’s no way to communicate efficiently (empathy).And when you cannot communicate - you work alone in silos and need “interpreters”.As an industry, during the interviews, we focus so much on the situation that rarely happens: whiteboard programming, diagraming a new greenfield system, extreme race conditions and weird questions.I’m sure that something we encounter much more often is: “- collaborating efficiently with other workers (across the whole company, so also non-technical - and with providers, contractors, other companies, etc)”- understanding a legacy project and documentation we got, and extract valuable insights from the stakeholders (again, technical and non-technical), to be able to make relevant changes and improvements to itI’m sure that a person with good empathy and communication skills can create the right relationships in the workplace to acquire the knowledge that is needed - without having to be a genius at algorithms, operative systems, or data structures.Of course, it does help to have the technical foundation - but how about we stop considering these skills “soft” and we rank them as high as the rest?

Nice to chat about ☁️ and everything around!

Fri, 09 Apr 2021 08:57:38 +0000

Nice to chat about ☁️ and everything around!

Inclusion, trade wars and how they trickle down to the tech world, API copyrighting - I have opinions for everything 😂

Thanks, HeleCloud for inviting me 🎤

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We're on the hunt again for some good developers!

Tue, 16 Feb 2021 16:29:57 +0000

We’re on the hunt again for some good developers!

Ambitious plans need bold people - and this is a great chance to join VanMoof and help us shape a delightful experience for our customers.

Our bikes are smart, have a clean iconic design - and that’s how our website should be in the frontend and the backend!

Stack-wise we have mostly PHP and Javascript, deployed on the cloud. And you will have the chance to have an impact on every stage of the system and the process.

For me the key is this point: "Remaining techni...

Mon, 11 Jan 2021 15:46:16 +0000

For me the key is this point: “Remaining technical away from the critical pathI could contribute on many of the parallel lines of development we have at the same time active in VanMoof - and I could easily and quickly become the bottleneck of delivery.So I prefer to take a “back seat” approach, let my developers do the “heavy lifting” that requires hours of deep focus, and work with them on facilitating, removing impediments, and contributing here and there in non-expected, non-critical bugs.That way I keep the feeling of the development experience that I aim to constantly improve (tooling, automations, etc), and I don’t become blocking in any team effort.

Uncertain times ahead, covid19 changing everyth...

Fri, 29 May 2020 08:27:56 +0000

Uncertain times ahead, covid19 changing everything we took for granted - but one thing seems to be be proven: bikes are the future.And that’s what you can help us create at VanMoof “as a fullstack developer.

We love open source, we are customer-driven and obsessed with a smooth user experience, and this starts by the smoothest ecommerce experience we can offer to our rides-to-be.If you like defining and using APIs, have a knack for clean code, and are in your element when integrating different data sources and you love web applications - and more importantly - BIKES, this is the place to be!

It felt that participating in the launch of the...

Wed, 06 May 2020 21:49:37 +0000

It felt that participating in the launch of the S3 and X3 bikes with VanMoof has been a beautiful step and milestone in my career.

The launch was smooth, we did it under exceptional conditions, and (as much masochistic as it sounds) all the effort and work put the weeks before was worth it!And I wanted to have a memory of this moment - so I’ve renewed by personal/professional site https://lnkd.in/dTv6XuT. I know the site facelifts tend to last some time, so this image/style will remind me of the new bike launch for a while.During these intense weeks it was also a nice distraction: I it also to get comfortable with some of the technologies we have used in the website launch, around the AWS stack (Cloudfront, S3, some automations here and there… - although the site is so much simpler and has like 10000 times less traffic :-D)

Who's up to the challenge of helping people get...

Thu, 30 Jan 2020 23:18:23 +0000

Who’s up to the challenge of helping people get on our VanMoof bikes, starting with the best possible shopping experience we can deliver?It’s really exciting to work at VanMoof - every day something new pops up, we embrace being agile and adapting (always with our customers in mind), and you get as much freedom as responsibility you’re willing to take.Join my team!

Based on the % of people that I know that work ...

Mon, 25 Nov 2019 10:02:05 +0000

Based on the % of people that I know that work at Nodes Amsterdam and how interesting the talks we’ve had are (about technology but also about anything else), this is a place you should consider if you’re looking for a job at an agency, and want to get some meaningful work done :-)"

First month at VanMoof, first bike recovered fr...

Thu, 07 Nov 2019 12:20:07 +0000

First month at VanMoof, first bike recovered from the thieves! 🕵️‍♂️ (I star at 4:32, supervising 😂)Some context: VanMoof’s bikes are tracked via GPS when stolen, and with the Peace of Mind service, we will get them wherever they are.

Sometimes in Amsterdam, sometimes a but more far away, sometimes in the other corner of the world - but the customer gets their bike back!

And as part of the onboarding process at VanMoof, you go on a bikehunt to recover some of the stolen ones

When working in a remote environment it's so ea...

Sun, 28 Apr 2019 20:28:26 +0000

When working in a remote environment it’s so easy to fall into the trap of monotony and sticking to remote presence only for the minimal interaction required to get the work done.But appreciating your colleagues, having fun and trying to elevate the remote meetings from what they tend to be (the lowest common denominator that just lets things get done) should be normal, to be able to collaborate remotely as satisfying as doing it in person.

As in many other cities, housing in Amsterdam i...

Sat, 16 Mar 2019 19:33:26 +0000

As in many other cities, housing in Amsterdam is in a complicated situation - with a city that is very interesting to live in and people moving, it puts pressure on the housing market.

As internationals, we’re attracted to work and live here - and yet we’re blamed because of the rise in prices and scarcity.

As I find that unfair, because it overlooks how much we deliver to the society with our knowledge and work, enabling so many local companies to go global business, I spoke with the local tv AT5 to give my vision on the topic.And if you want to join follow the steps of “Expat Adrián”, at Emakina.NL we’re hiring in many positions!

Together with my colleagues at Emakina.NL we're...

Wed, 07 Nov 2018 15:52:12 +0000

Together with my colleagues at Emakina.NL we’re collaborating with Movember this year - by raising money and participating in the MoRun Charity run (https://lnkd.in/exFCmzc)Join us in the run, the fundraiser, or donate a bit for the (good) cause! https://lnkd.in/ez-cBjd"#fundraising #running #donations

Shared link: https://movember.com/team/2326602

Very interesting panel discussion yesterday at ...

Wed, 10 Oct 2018 07:16:44 +0000

Very interesting panel discussion yesterday at WeWork, organized by Codemotion, with the tech leaders at Adyen, Schuberg Philis and Relay42.

The title was “How to Become a Good Tech Lead” and it was lead with the questions of the attendants, covering common doubts such as how to organize the teams at the company, how to align a non-tech company towards an agile approach, how they deal with bad colleagues or toxic employees and how to reward the good ones, or what technical leadership means to them.Something that I didn’t find so mature is that the reaction we (as tech-involved audience and panellists) have to a question about how to manage stress and burnouts: we laugh. I think that’s not taken too seriously, and it’s easy to fall into the trap of idealizing long hours, just because we like what we do.The way I see it, work and life need to be balanced to be a successful person that is able to work and for that, the company needs to give you support to achieve it, but it also starts by taking one’s mental health seriously.

Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)

Sat, 16 Jun 2018 13:04:00 +0000

Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)

So, how are Fridays at your company? I believe that at Emakina.NL we know how to make the best of them! #onedayatwork #lastfriday #fridayatemakina. I’ve written this article on the Saturday morning, because it seemed unreal how much fun I had at the office - not only with my workmates, but with clients, friends and visitors. I want to capture that day to revisit it any moment :-)

Talent is overrated. Attitude before aptitude!

Fri, 02 Mar 2018 09:47:34 +0000

Talent is overrated. Attitude before aptitude!

What can you do in small ways everyday that would make it easy to take the necessary steps to pursue your life-long goals?

Perseverance and resilience have a lot to do with success than you think.

Another meetup organized at Emakina.NL!

Mon, 29 Jan 2018 08:14:45 +0000

Another meetup organized at Emakina.NL!

This one more technical, about @Kentico Software - an with a colleague as a speaker, @David te Kloese :-)

Thursday Feb 22nd, at 18h.

https://lnkd.in/gNCGNpD

Next February 8th, Emakina.NL will host a meetu...

Thu, 25 Jan 2018 14:53:04 +0000

Next February 8th, Emakina.NL will host a meetup with the topic “A.I. for commerce”. A good chance to hear from some trends in artificial intelligence that can help commerce generate more conversions and business.Fixed link: https://lnkd.in/e6CuAZa

But culture change can’t be achieved through to...

Mon, 11 Dec 2017 12:41:45 +0000

But culture change can’t be achieved through top-down mandate.

It lives in the collective hearts and habits of people and their shared perception of “how things are done around here.” Someone with authority can demand compliance, but they can’t dictate optimism, trust, conviction, or creativity.

Shared link: https://hbr.org/2017/06/changing-company-culture-requires-a-movement-not-a-mandate

How a cc in an email says so much. Letting your...

Wed, 08 Nov 2017 00:11:37 +0000

How a cc in an email says so much.

Letting your people take batter decisions starts by empowering them - even on emails :-)

Shared link: https://www.inc.com/video/simon-sinek/want-to-see-if-someone-is-a-good-leader-send-them-an-email.html?cid=readmorevideoimage

What's up now with those made up "inspirational...

Sun, 05 Nov 2017 21:13:24 +0000

What’s up now with those made up “inspirational” stories?There was this good guy that was mismanaged and had an asshole as boss.

He talked to me. I told him things would get better.

Now he’s a CEO and founder and he’s rich.Great story bro!

#cheapinspirationalstories

Yes, you're an imposter. So am I and so is ever...

Sun, 29 Oct 2017 22:32:11 +0000

Yes, you’re an imposter.

So am I and so is everyone else.

Superman still lives on Krypton and the rest of us are just doing our best.

Shared link: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2017/10/imposter-syndrome.html

A super interesting product looking for a super...

Wed, 18 Oct 2017 09:08:29 +0000

A super interesting product looking for a super interesting dev!

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Very interesting read about how Logitech went f...

Thu, 21 Sep 2017 09:11:13 +0000

Very interesting read about how Logitech went from dull, disposable peripherals to meaningful devices - by focusing on design, by the hand of Alastair CurtisA sense of purpose doesn’t just give a product a problem to solve, it gives a product a market to sell to.

It ensures that Logitech isn’t just designing for a use case but an audience.

Shared link: https://www.fastcodesign.com/90143222/logitech-quadrupled-its-profits-with-one-big-design-idea

Liked "Building a Big Data Pipeline" on SlideShare

Thu, 24 Aug 2017 12:54:14 +0000

Liked “Building a Big Data Pipeline” on SlideShare

Liked "Real-time analytics with Druid at Appsfl...

Thu, 17 Aug 2017 16:50:51 +0000

Liked “Real-time analytics with Druid at Appsflyer” on SlideShare

Liked "Scalable Real-time analytics using Druid...

Thu, 17 Aug 2017 15:03:25 +0000

Liked “Scalable Real-time analytics using Druid” on SlideShare

In order to surmount the diversity of problems ...

Tue, 15 Aug 2017 09:51:46 +0000

In order to surmount the diversity of problems presented to us, we must have a repertoire of responses which can only come from adopting an open mindset (incorporating external partnerships/ informal relationships) and/or by empowering multidisciplinary teams.

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Liked "Deep Dive Redshift, with a focus on perf...

Mon, 07 Aug 2017 16:04:59 +0000

Liked “Deep Dive Redshift, with a focus on performance” on SlideShare

Loved this quote: "Most of the successful proje...

Mon, 26 Jun 2017 23:18:17 +0000

Loved this quote: “Most of the successful projects is like chasing a 3-year old down a slope.

They’re a little out of control, but not horrible.

They’re moving faster than you’re comfortable, with but still in reach.” :-)Via Hung Lee’s great shared links

Shared link: http://firstround.com/review/the-best-advice-we-overheard-at-first-rounds-cto-unconference

One of the biggest efforts we make at Pocket Me...

Fri, 16 Jun 2017 10:57:23 +0000

One of the biggest efforts we make at Pocket Media is to detect and prevent fraud.

Mobile advertising is very dynamic and changes fast - but we’ve tried to shared some of the techniques we used to combat it in this article by my workmate Ignas van den Eindehttps://lnkd.in/gpQu-tVAnd btw, does all this sea of data-driven decisions and big-data sound interesting to you?

We’re hiring in many departments! ;-)https://lnkd.in/gY73K42

At Pocket we're redefining out technology stack...

Wed, 31 May 2017 21:30:39 +0000

At Pocket we’re redefining out technology stack and preparing a future-proof platform.

We come from a LAMP background and we’re redoing everything to be more agile, faster, and reliable.Things we are looking into: golang, kubernetes with docker, distributed databases, sysdig, lambda functions, terraform… and whatever we see that can be a good addition to the stack.

We want learners, not know-it-alls, and to have a really flat hierarchy where anyone can participate and grow together with the team.

Liked "Streaming Data Analytics with Amazon Kin...

Mon, 24 Apr 2017 22:20:32 +0000

Liked “Streaming Data Analytics with Amazon Kinesis Firehose and Redshift” on SlideShare

Liked "Netflix and Containers - Titus" on Slide...

Wed, 19 Apr 2017 22:53:52 +0000

Liked “Netflix and Containers - Titus” on SlideShare

Last week I had a talk (in Spanish) with Júlia ...

Sun, 19 Mar 2017 17:08:26 +0000

Last week I had a talk (in Spanish) with Júlia and Mario from Startup León about what I’m doing at Pocket Media, about (performance) marketing, and the differences I see between Spain and Netherlands related to the work culture.

It was a nice talk, thanks so much for inviting me guys!

> Above all, we'll all need greater literacy ab...

Thu, 23 Feb 2017 14:07:56 +0000

Above all, we’ll all need greater literacy about the place of algorithms in the modern world, and more ability to affect their ultimate outcomes.

The solution is design.

The process should not be a black box into which we feed data and out comes an answer, but a transparent process designed not just to produce a result, but to explain how it came up with that result,

Shared link: https://www.fastcoexist.com/3068167/algorithms-control-our-lives-are-they-benevolent-rulers-or-evil-dictators

Also in tech we're in the hunt for many positio...

Thu, 02 Feb 2017 14:49:16 +0000

Also in tech we’re in the hunt for many positions: backend developers, devops, and product owner/manager.

Talk to us!

Liked "The Mobile Native Advertising Landscape....

Wed, 01 Feb 2017 12:53:25 +0000

Liked “The Mobile Native Advertising Landscape. 2017 Edition” on SlideShare

By focusing on less, you give yourself the time...

Wed, 18 Jan 2017 14:16:59 +0000

By focusing on less, you give yourself the time to build a product that solves a problem in an incredible way.

When your company’s energy and resources are spread too thin, you can’t help but solve problems at a high level.

You don’t have the attention so you build something that’s good enough.

Shared link: https://qz.com/884489/steve-jobs-saved-apple-and-nike-with-the-same-piece-of-advice/

Liked "Deep Dive and Best Practices for Real-Ti...

Mon, 09 Jan 2017 11:11:48 +0000

Liked “Deep Dive and Best Practices for Real-Time Streaming Applications” on SlideShare

Liked "Real-time Data Processing Using AWS Lamb...

Fri, 06 Jan 2017 14:54:32 +0000

Liked “Real-time Data Processing Using AWS Lambda” on SlideShare

Better, more honest and useful ads will respond...

Wed, 04 Jan 2017 12:32:19 +0000

Better, more honest and useful ads will respond.

And this innovation didn’t come from Goog or FB - but from the competitors that need to challenge them…In five years, when the next cycle of ad tech is in blossom, we will look back at this moment and wonder what we were thinking.

Remember when 12% of all time spent on the internet was on Yahoo?

That was 2007, just ten years ago.

Liked "Day 4 - Big Data on AWS - RedShift, EMR ...

Tue, 03 Jan 2017 23:24:57 +0000

Liked “Day 4 - Big Data on AWS - RedShift, EMR & the Internet of Things” on SlideShare

So the next logical step for adtech is "Deep Le...

Tue, 03 Jan 2017 10:49:04 +0000

So the next logical step for adtech is “Deep Learning”, which goes beyond ML.

It defines the features to be analysed and offering an (intelligent) optimisation.

Forming a brain, going inside, a neural network, a human brain of learning.

The doing mindset: "What can I do right now to ...

Mon, 02 Jan 2017 13:43:35 +0000

The doing mindset: “What can I do right now to take even the smallest step towards achieving my most important goal on my to-do list?

Shared link: https://medium.com/the-mission/the-doing-mindset-the-thinking-mindset-ba0d66228cbd#.vs5g9o1gr

We have many job openings active at Pocket, in ...

Wed, 10 Aug 2016 15:59:50 +0000

We have many job openings active at Pocket, in many positions and roles: sales, business intelligence, office director, trading desk… (check them out at https://lnkd.in/eQUkSQp) and also in the Tech Team!

We’re looking for someone with experience in AdTech to be our next senior backend developer, anyone wants to join us and help us shape our platform?

Let’s talk!

Shared link: https://pocketmedia.has-jobs.com/senior-back-end-developer-team-lead-amsterdam/107273/0

Native Ads or another chance to make ads right for the users

Wed, 13 Apr 2016 10:26:00 +0000

Native Ads or another chance to make ads right for the users

A couple of weeks ago we organized the 1st Pocket Media’s Mobile Advertising Meetup of 2016.

The idea of the Meetup is sharing some of the knowledge we’ve been acquiring in these 4 years in the industry, while also involving the interesting voices that other marketers, advertisers and publishers have in The Netherlands.

So far the feedback is being really good, with very interesting insights shared by key people in the industry, and creating a really nice group of people interested in networking and exploring collaboration options.

Nice guys to work with (and even better if you ...

Mon, 11 Jan 2016 12:38:06 +0000

Nice guys to work with (and even better if you a looking for a Ruby on Rails job)!

It would be cool having real time updates for b...

Mon, 02 Nov 2015 10:49:36 +0000

It would be cool having real time updates for billboards or TV ads depending on the real-life conditions, like time of the day, weather, etc.

And all that powered by programmatic real-time bidding so advertisers can choose what to display at any moment!

In order to protect the team, you have to go ag...

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 12:38:09 +0000

In order to protect the team, you have to go against the real interests of your customers.

You simply can’t be in the same boat with them.I have seen this happening too many times.

In order to make a living in software consultancy services you don’t want to go for the most productive solution, but for the most billable one.

As I see it, if you are doing consultancy you need to charge based on the provided value, not the time spent on the project, and go for clients that will understand the value you will deliver.

Failure is the key to success; each mistake tea...

Tue, 20 Oct 2015 11:56:22 +0000

Failure is the key to success; each mistake teaches us something.by Morihei Ueshiba, martial artist and founder of aikido.

Innovation in an existing company is not just t...

Mon, 19 Oct 2015 12:16:20 +0000

Innovation in an existing company is not just the sum of great technology, key acquisitions, or smart people.

Corporate innovation needs a culture that matches and supports it.

Often this means a change to the existing company’s culture."…To create an innovation culture, a company needs heroes and stories about employees who created new business models, new products, and new customers.

“We’re looking at a shortage that’s projected i...

Thu, 15 Oct 2015 14:29:34 +0000

“We’re looking at a shortage that’s projected into the future as a growing, growing problem,”

The long-term value of a company is ultimately ...

Fri, 09 Oct 2015 09:56:21 +0000

The long-term value of a company is ultimately determined by the speed and quality of its decision makingOne of the managerial principles of Linkedin’s Jeff Weiner.

And I cannot do other thing that totally agree.

The lack of action cripples any organisation until it gets too slow to react.

Thoughts about financing options for someone th...

Wed, 26 Aug 2015 17:54:19 +0000

Thoughts about financing options for someone that has first person experience about both, with their pros and cons

I like the evolutive changes introduced by Appl...

Wed, 10 Jun 2015 20:58:34 +0000

I like the evolutive changes introduced by Apple in the latest WWDC, but the one I’m more excited about is open sourcing swift language. I’m sure very cool projects, frameworks and ports will come, using swift as a base and tuning it for several platforms.Maybe even Swift for Android, who knows!

Shared link: https://developer.apple.com/swift/blog/?id=29

Gran lugar, equipo y proyecto para trabajar en ...

Wed, 22 Apr 2015 20:56:39 +0000

Gran lugar, equipo y proyecto para trabajar en Galicia… gente buscando un reto, animaros!!

Knowing how to program for iOS makes programmin...

Mon, 06 Apr 2015 13:04:24 +0000

Knowing how to program for iOS makes programming for OS X (Cocoa) easier, but it’s not inmediate.

Many things you take for granted because they exist on the mobile platform don’t have a direct counterpart on iOS, or they are not as mature…But anyway, creating a very simple OS X app with Carolina Barreiro is being interesting to try new things.

The app is a simple Kodi/XBMC remote written in swift… and some improvements will come, specially in the design :-)

Trabajos varios en CartoDB!

Mon, 22 Dec 2014 13:19:56 +0000

Trabajos varios en CartoDB!

Ventas, gestión de cuentas, desarrollo, un poco de todo :-)

Shared link: http://cartodb.com/jobs

En Bahia Software están buscando varios perfile...

Mon, 15 Dec 2014 13:23:18 +0000

En Bahia Software están buscando varios perfiles Java y de coordinación de proyectos.Igual a alguno os interesa!

Experiencia con Java? En SetPay buscan un par d...

Fri, 17 Oct 2014 07:22:03 +0000

Experiencia con Java?

En SetPay buscan un par de desarrolladores para cambiar cómo se gestionan los pagos con innovación desde Galicia!

En Zadia Software buscamos gente para trabajar ...

Wed, 06 Aug 2014 12:10:32 +0000

En Zadia Software buscamos gente para trabajar a final del verano, como desarrolladores web/móvil y “lo que surja”.La idea es trabajar en los proyectos que tenemos, principalmente web y móvil, y no buscamos un perfil en concreto sino más bien alguien con interés, ganas de aprender, responsable y proactivo.Creo que puede interesar a quien esté acabando la carrera o ciclo de programación y le interese el tipo de cosas que hacemos.

Una respuesta rápida a cada vídeo de Matt Cutts...

Tue, 08 Apr 2014 17:21:21 +0000

Una respuesta rápida a cada vídeo de Matt Cutts sobre SEO, Google y demás temas que toca en sus vídeos

Shared link: http://www.theshortcutts.com/

Internet está controlado por 14 personas...

Sun, 02 Mar 2014 17:36:16 +0000

Internet está controlado por 14 personas…

http://lnkd.in/dUUxwSE

En Softwhisper buscan a un developers para trab...

Sat, 08 Feb 2014 15:22:25 +0000

En Softwhisper buscan a un developers para trabajar sobre todo con tecnologías web (frontent Javascript, backend en Ruby)…Buen sitio para trabajar!

Shared link: http://softwhisper.es/trabajar-en-softwhisper

Transparencia por defecto

Sat, 21 Dec 2013 02:31:16 +0000

Transparencia por defecto

http://lnkd.in/dEg9wHy

Sat, 21 Dec 2013 02:31:06 +0000

http://lnkd.in/dEg9wHy

I just uploaded "Catro dous adrianmoreno" on Sl...

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 09:32:02 +0000

I just uploaded “Catro dous adrianmoreno” on SlideShare

RT @vazqueznaya: Urge contratar Ingeniero Infor...

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 14:56:02 +0000

RT @vazqueznaya: Urge contratar Ingeniero Informático (imprescindible título).

Trabajo en Coruña.

Sal: 1400€ aprox.

Interesados contactarme #in

Lista de Google Groups

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 23:03:47 +0000

Lista de Google Groups

Hola! Para dotar de un poco más de dinamismo a las comunicaciones entre los miembros del grupo, Pablo ha creado un grupo de Google Groups: https://groups.google.com/group/galicia-mobile-developers

Si es una herramienta que conocéis, sabéis que es muy cómoda para seguir, iniciar y participar en discusiones, y sino la seguís… ahí os queda una mini introducción :-). Una ventaja que tiene es que se busca muy fácilmente en ellos.

RT @hectorsm: Desde ayer se están distribuyendo...

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 12:26:34 +0000

RT @hectorsm: Desde ayer se están distribuyendo por Windows Update los drivers del #DNIe Funciona de lujo y seguro que un punto de inflexión en su uso #in

RT @emilio_diez: Curioso cartel publicitario de...

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 20:04:27 +0000

RT @emilio_diez: Curioso cartel publicitario de la “Ilustrada Hermandad Diseñadores” de #Malaga: #in http://lockerz.com/s/124456179