Madrid update: Our first weeks as Founders

In April, 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. In order to build and support the new location, Julia Friedman and Will Farley were given the opportunity to be part of the Madrid Founders Program. Here’s an update on their individual experiences since the Madrid Tech Hub launch; these personal experiences offer a glimpse into the human side of business expansion.

What have been your first impressions of your first few months in Madrid?

Julia Friedman: The first few months in Madrid have been full of discovery and excitement. The city is beautiful and vibrant, the people are warm and welcoming, and there’s so much to see and do at all hours of the day and night. What’s been most enjoyable, though, has been the steady stream of new things to see, do and try. I take my dog for a long walk every morning and I always manage to find some new restaurant or coffee shop I’d like to try, or a new museum to visit, or a new park to stroll through. I’ve been keeping a running list of places and have been working them down as much as I can. Aside from the obvious excitement of being in a new place, and a world-class city at that, it’s been interesting reestablishing the normal rhythms of life in a new country. There’s seemingly always something new to figure out, even in seemingly-mundane tasks like “finding the best way to commute to the office” or “figuring out the right brand of dish soap.” It’s amusing that even in the most mundane situations, you still end up finding something new and novel to catch your attention.

Can you describe a typical day at the Madrid Tech Hub?

Will Farley: The early days of the hub have been focused mainly on enablement. Ensuring the team here has the right skills to be successful. It has been great to see everyone throwing themselves into the deep end with our tech and growing in confidence day by day.

What are some challenges and opportunities have you come across?

Will: As expected, the language. However, being in this environment is great in terms of being able to immerse myself in it.

What are some of your favorite places to visit in Madrid?

Will: Hands down Retiro Park - one of the most beautiful parks I have ever been to in my life!

Julia: I’d second Will’s pick of Retiro Park: it’s an amazingly beautiful park complete with walking trails and botanical gardens. We visited the Rose Garden in the peak of the rose bloom and it was a riot of color. Madrid is also a city of plazas, and I live near two that are amazing places to gather: the Plaza de Olavide in the Chamberí neighborhood and the Plaza Dos de Mayo in the Malasaña neighborhood. Both plazas are lined with restaurants, bars, and coffee shops and it’s wonderful to sit in the sun and enjoy a coffee or a Tinto de Verano.

How have you/your family adjusted to life in Madrid?

Will: First things first… straight to the shops to buy some sun cream.

Julia: It’s been a process for sure, but we’ve adjusted to life here quite well. One of the most interesting things has been shifting our schedules and lives to better fit the rhythms of the Spanish day. The sun rises and sets later in the day here, which partially explains why Spain has dinner at 10 p.m., or why I get to go watch a football match tonight at 9:30 p.m. after work. Seeing how Madrid comes alive in the evening has been one of the most fun parts of living here: the restaurants and plazas are full of people late into the night and it’s so fun being in a city that’s just getting started at 11 p.m. (unlike San Francisco, where we used to live). My wife and I are both settling in and making friends, though, and our dog has never been more popular than he’s been here: we usually have to add an extra 10-15 minutes to our walks because everyone on the street wants to pet him!

What local customs or traditions that you have particularly enjoyed or found interesting?

Will: Personally, being an avid sports player - I have recently embraced Padel. Which is not popular in the UK. With it being such a huge part of the sporting scene in Spain - it’s been brilliant to keep in shape but also meet people due to the social side of the game too.

Julia: I’d definitely second Padel, it’s such a fun sport and such a good way to meet new people. I’ve also really enjoyed participating in some of the local cultural observances and neighborhood festivals of Madrid: we held an office event earlier in the summer celebrating Día de San Isidro (the feast day of the patron saint of Madrid), in which we learned to dance some customary dances called chotis. In August, as the city heats up, many of the neighborhoods also hold parties called verbenas to celebrate their area, and getting to see some of these events has been so much fun. There’s food, drinks, music, dancing and so much more to see and do.

What is next for the Madrid tech Hub and what is next for you?

Will: Unleashing a pool of incredibly talented people to roll their sleeves up to support the field and wider technical community at HashiCorp. I’m looking forward to seeing the efficiencies we will drive and for the success stories to start rolling in.

Julia: I’m most excited to see how we’re able to drive innovation for our customers from Madrid, both in terms of new ways to use our products to solve new technical challenges for our customers, and in terms of creating the best ways to enable our customers to adopt the cloud at scale. Our Customer Lifecycle Management team is smart, driven, ambitious, and creative, and those are the right ingredients to help our customers thrive. As for me, I’m excited to see what’s next on my Spanish adventure. Who knows, this may just be my first chapter here…

Any final thoughts you'd like to share about your experience in Madrid so far?

Will: I have loved every second of this experience so far here in Madrid. Professionally it's been incredible to build something to what it is already today & personally to live in a different country. Looking forward to seeing the growth over the next couple of months for the team.

Julia: It’s been an incredible adventure so far, and I’m excited to see what the next few months have in store, both for me and for our amazing team here.