HashiCorp’s new Madrid Tech Hub: Meet the founders

Earlier this week, HashiCorp opened our new Madrid Tech Hub, marking a significant milestone in our commitment to grow our European presence and support companies with Infrastructure and Security Lifecycle Management and security lifecycle (SLM) management software that has become essential for enterprises around the world.

The new Tech Hub is located at Paseo de La Castellana in Nuevos Ministerios, Madrid. Its charter extends beyond business operations, aiming to also make a positive impact on the local economy and community. And it’s well positioned to support the thriving community of HashiCorp User Groups (HUGs), with hundreds of members in the Madrid group.

In order to build and support the new location, three HashiCorp employees were given the opportunity to be part of the Madrid Founders Program, a six-month assignment to support new employees and cultivate the HashiCorp community in Madrid. Here’s the inside story of the Madrid Tech Hub launch, from the people who know it best.

»Will Farley, Senior Manager, Solutions Engineering, EMEA

Why did you apply to become a founding member of the Madrid Tech Hub?

I love building things and developing talent. So the opportunity to get involved with this game-changing new initiative at HashiCorp was something I felt I needed to be a part of. The potential for the Tech Hub in the future really excites me.

What are you most looking forward to?

I have the opportunity to really make a difference and shape the success of the company's future. Moreover, I’m excited about the experience of working in a different country, embracing new cultures; and growing as an individual.

What do you hope to take away from this experience?

A deep understanding of the beginning-to-end setup of a global, multi-function hub. This will allow me to think more widely in the future when managing my teams. A bonus would be to come away with a bit more Spanish than just ‘Hola’!

»Joe Colandro, Senior Manager, Solutions Engineering, US

Why did you apply to become a founding member of the Madrid Tech Hub?

I was excited by the opportunity to be a part of something strategic that will have a massive impact on our entire organization. I love helping people get better and achieve their goals, and the Madrid founder role is an opportunity to do this for more people. What we are doing in Madrid hasn't been done at HashiCorp before and I am excited to enter uncharted waters. Lastly, it’s a chance to have some unique and extraordinary life experiences for myself and my family.

How are you preparing for your Madrid stay?

I will be moving to Madrid with my wife and our two young boys, aged 7 and 9. We’ve spent most of our time building a list of all of the soccer (football, fùtbol) we are going to see in Spain and around Europe.

What does your role as a founding member of the Madrid Tech Hub include?

Our role as founders is to ensure the smooth onboarding of the new employees joining HashiCorp at the Tech Hub. We have been meticulously crafting a shared onboarding experience for all of the roles in the Tech Hub over the last several months. We, the founders, will deliver some of that, but we’ll also facilitate subject matter experts from around the company to deliver the best experience possible. Having been at HashiCorp for a while now, it is our responsibility to enshrine the company principles, Tao, and team culture from the beginning.

»Julia Friedman, Senior Manager, Solutions Architecture Maturity

Why did you apply to become a founding member of the Madrid Tech Hub?

I love building new things, especially here at HashiCorp. I originally joined the company to help establish a new team, and some of my most enjoyable experiences here have been helping to launch new processes, functions, and teams. I really enjoy getting to examine all sides of a problem and getting to understand it, and building new orgs is a particularly enjoyable way for me to do that. I also enjoy working cross-functionally: it’s part of what my team does best, so getting to work alongside Solution Engineering, Customer Services, Value Engineering, and Services is particularly appealing to me. Finally, my wife and I always hoped to have the chance to live in Europe, so this is an incredible opportunity for us.

Why is HashiCorp opening a Tech Hub in Madrid?

The Tech Hub concept is a new one for HashiCorp, but it’s critical to our ability to scale while still being present with our customers. Having a group of experts who are able to manage our critical customer interactions at scale allows us to be as effective as possible in the key parts of our customers’ lifecycles.

But why pick Madrid? We looked for a balance of a number of key factors: Madrid is the second largest city in the EU and has had a huge influx of talent from around the world (more than 20% of Madrid’s residents weren’t born in Spain). The Madrid region also has 19 universities and more than 325,000 university students. Weighing the data, we saw that Madrid was a fantastic option for our first Tech Hub.

How are you preparing for your Madrid stay?

It’s been exciting for my wife and I to discuss where we want to live and how we want to spend our time in Spain. We both love to travel, so we’re already planning a long list of weekend outings. We’re also making plans to host friends and family who want to visit us while we’re in Spain. One of our biggest tasks has been preparing paperwork for Kona, our dog, so that he can accompany us on this adventure.

At work, I’ve been busy preparing to launch my new team and transitioning my old team to my successor. But I’ve also been spending time and energy building out content for onboarding our new hires and establishing new supporting processes for their function. It’s been a lot of shuffling and early morning meetings (I’m coming from US Pacific Time), but I’m excited about the launch.

»Want to be part of the HashiCorp Madrid Tech Hub?

We're looking for passionate individuals to join the team at our new Madrid Tech Hub location as we expand our presence in this thriving city. Come be a part of our adventure as we build the future together. Join us, and let's grow with HashiCorp.

See our available roles in Madrid at HashiCorp.com/careers.