Federico shares his reflections on what Abstracta means to him and all of us

Today Abstracta celebrates 12 years, (a fitting topic to mark our 200th blog post)! That is, 12 years since the moment in which Matias Reina, Fabian Baptista and I took a chance and “jumped into the deep end.”

The moment when we stopped coding just on weekends or after hours and we began to accept that we could actually have a real shot at forming our own company. 

Above all, I think it has been 12 years of constant reinvention.

When we started, we had not even finished college. Each one of us worked and studied. We started by designing a product that we wanted to develop within the company where Matias and I were working at the time, but we soon learned it did not have much of a place there. Given that, we decided to start to see what this entrepreneurial undertaking would be like, because we were very convinced of the product we wanted to make (Here I’m talking about GXtest, which was what gave rise to Abstracta).

It makes my head explode when I think about how that idea of Abstracta evolved. I had never thought about the possibility of entrepreneurship, but it seemed cool to work with friends and from there I embarked with “el Melli” and “el Colo” on this. The goal was just that: to work with friends on a cool project. 

From there, the objective behind our company transformed, evolved and grew.

Today, our purpose is something that I am super happy to pursue: to generate quality job opportunities in Latin America and beyond. 

I feel very identified with this; seeking equal opportunities, as it has much to do with me coming from a humble upbringing.

On our path to realizing this purpose, we’ve had different ideas and we pursued different dreams (from “being the best testing company in the world” to reaching an IPO). It’s not that those are not valid objectives, but the objective and purpose that drives us today fulfills us more and helps to clarify and guide us on the impact we want to have.

Something that filled me with joy on this day of celebration was an activity we asked our team members to do: express in just a few words or phrases what Abstracta means to you.

I got really excited when I read the responses. Some of them:

• Growth, family, opportunities, collaboration, learning, friends, love, support, support, equality, development, respect, pride, will, solidarity, community, team.
• Passion for software quality, technology, professionalism.

Perhaps some of the responses that impacted me the most, because there are so many of them that very briefly expressed the same exact sentiment: 

To close, I wanted to share a reflection that I arrived at when looking back on a backpacking trip that I took recently with my wife. I want to quote a song by Uruguayan musician, Jorge Drexler. (Thanks Vera!) In English it is something like:

“Before me, you were not you,
Before you, I was not me.”

I am who I am today thanks to all that has happened, to what I’ve learned and experienced with Matias Reina, Fabian Baptista, Sofia Palamarhcuk and each of those who have collaborated in the co-construction of Abstracta. 

Before you, I was not me, as Drexler says. Abstracta is what it is today thanks to everything that has happened, good and bad. Today each one of us “Abstracteros” (and former team members) are who we are thanks to Abstracta as well. It blows my mind thinking about it.

Today more than ever, I’m happy with the journey. Happy Birthday, Abstracta!

The years may go by, but we are still as young as ever 😉

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