We are happy to introduce you to Pablo Clemente, CTO at Madrid based Wave!

Wave is the simplest way to share LIVE locations between friends – ONLY with the ones you choose!

1. What is the best part about being a CTO?  

The best part is knowing you are at the helm of building something. Using your every possible effort to help shape it, and taking important decisions to enable your project to nurture into “the next big thing”.

2. What brought you to this area, what’s your background?

I’m a Telecommunications Engineer with two master’s degrees and multiple expert courses in App development. I have always thought that being well prepared is the key to success and I invest heavily in education. Since very early days, I love programming and startups, but ever since Apple launched the App store, I felt that finally I could distribute software worldwide without any hassle and reach everyone’s pocket computer. Even many years later, the thrill never gets old.

3. What time does your day start, and what does your typical work day schedule look like?

The thing about running a startup is that your work never ends. I have had to work whole nights to solve critical bugs and whole days implementing new features. But like Confucius once said, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life”, and I really love this one. Nothing compares to being able to work on such an amazing project with an insanely talented team.

4. What kind of projects are you currently working on?

My main focus is on Wave. It is a private location App designed to easily help you locate your contacts in real time in an easy, private and fun way. We have an extreme focus on security, cool user experience, battery consumption and reliability. You can find out more about it here: https://waveapplication.com/

5. What do you consider the greatest achievement in your work to date?

I treasure every day I get to work at Wave. Feeling that software I have written is in the hands of millions of users, helping to make their life easier and more secure, is the reason why I wake up with a smile every day.

6. What is the one app you could not live without?

Wave, of course, once you try it there is no going back to the old-fashioned way of meeting friends. Although for work reasons, I also rely heavily on e-mail and slack.

7. What’s the best thing about working at your company?

I love how we behave like a family. We all know each other and have so much fun together. It is the honour of a lifetime to work with such talented people.

8. Where is the after work hangout?

We always make time to stay after work and go grab a bite/drink. We also love cool plans like attraction parks, sports and all kinds of activities. As I mentioned, we are one big family!

9. Who is your professional role model?

I have always admired Apple as a company. They have always set the gold standard for what technology used be and focus on empowering the end user with a combination of hardware and software that works flawlessly. They have set trends in the past and are always the go-to for comparisons. This ability to create technology and disrupt the market with it is the dream of any startup.

10. What makes Madrid a good city for technology, startups and diversity?

Madrid is a great city full of talented people. Engineering education in Madrid is known for how hard and challenging it can be to finish it, so whoever does finish it, has passed a massive challenge and demonstrated immense abilities. This means that we are more than ready to take on any technological project. In the last years, Madrid has seen a spike in startups and entrepreneurial attitudes, so who knows? Maybe one day we will be our own variation of Silicon Valley!

11. Which tech trends are you most excited about?

Right now, I am really excited about how IoT (Internet of Things) will change the way we interact and see technology. I can’t wait to see how little by little, everything in our day to day lives works towards a fascinating new connected future with immense possibilities. I am also extremely thrilled with the new features AR and VR will bring the table, and how it will empower us to deliver experiences never heard of before.

12. What are the top 3 qualities you look for in an employer?

My definitive three are:

1) A clear vision on what the company wants to achieve,

2) Never settling for anything less that sheer perfection, and

3) Being able to do the kind of work that you can feel proud of and has your fingerprints all over it.

13. And finally, what is the one piece of advice you would give to a tech professional starting out?

I think the key to success is to strive to be the person you personally would like to hire for what you do. To be the one who sets the gold standard of how your job has to be done. In order to do this, is it really important to stay up to date with the new trends and keep an always learning attitude. Everything in the tech world changes in months, and even weeks, so we have to constantly reinvent who we are and what we do.