MarsBased podcast - Life on Mars
MarsBased podcast - Life on Mars is your go-to space for technology, entrepreneurship, and innovation.
Brought to you by MarsBased, a high-end development consultancy specializing in Ruby, JavaScript, and Python. If you are a software engineer, you can expect deep dives into tech, but we go far beyond the code. We share our first-hand expertise on remote work, company culture, management, and digital transformation based on our journey building a successful lifestyle business.
Every two weeks, we sit down with the best founders, investors, experts, and celebrities from across the galaxy to hear their stories.
After years of investing heavily in the startup and tech communities in Barcelona and worldwide, we are bringing that same value to you through this channel.
Follow us to join our journey! 🚀
Episodes
107 episodes
Silicon Valley’s longest-standing CEO: 37 Years leading Micrel
In the volatile world of Silicon Valley, where the average CEO tenure is often less than five years and startups burn out as quickly as they rise, Ray Zinn stands as a monumental exception. For 37 years, Zinn served as the CEO of Micrel, the se...
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Season 2
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Episode 108
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53:08
Working with friends? Building MarsBased #3
There is a recurring piece of advice in the startup world that says you should never mix friendship with business. However, after 12 years of profitability and organic growth at MarsBased, reality has taught us that working with friends is not ...
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Season 2
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Episode 107
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28:36
Road to CTO: From Mafia Wars to Amazon, 35 years of tech leadership wisdom
Welcome to another episode of Road to CTO, our series where we sit down with some of the most experienced and influential technology leaders in the world.In this episode, we talk with Dorion Carroll, a veteran with 35 years of tech lead...
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Season 2
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Episode 106
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1:12:36
When is the right time to start your company? Building MarsBased #2
When is the right time to start your company?In this second episode of Building MarsBased, we answer a listener’s question that every aspiring founder wrestles with: Should I launch while keeping my day job, or go all in?We unpack t...
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Season 2
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Episode 105
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33:54
How to come up with your first business idea: Building MarsBased
Starting a business begins with one powerful idea, but how do you come up with your first one? In this episode of Building MarsBased, we share the real story behind our company’s early days and how a simple concept evolved into a long-lasting, ...
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Season 2
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Episode 104
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25:12
We finally bring an expert on company culture / Aaron Schmookler
What really makes company culture crack as you scale from 10 to 30+ people? In this candid conversation, Aaron Schmookler (co-founder of The Yes Works) sits down with Ă€lex RodrĂguez Bacardit (CEO, MarsBased) to unpack the patterns they have see...
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Season 2
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Episode 103
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57:27
New series: How to build an agency | Life on Mars
We’re launching a new Life on Mars series: How to Build an Agency, a practical, transparent guide for freelancers, micro-agencies, and growing studios. We’ll cover everything from picking a name and services, getting your first client, contract...
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Season 1
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Episode 102
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8:18
The CEO who made herself “irrelevant” (and scaled to millions ARR) / Laura Urquizu
What does it really take to scale a SaaS from a tiny Barcelona startup to a global leader protecting brands like major clubs and top electronics companies? In this candid conversation, Laura Urquizu (CEO, Red Points) shares hard-won lessons on ...
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Season 1
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Episode 101
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1:06:40
Halfway through 2025: How MarsBased is evolving, growing, and staying true to its values
In this new episode of Life on Mars, we take you behind the scenes at MarsBased to share how the first half of 2025 has unfolded for us as a team and company.This year has marked the beginning of a new chapter, one shaped by growth, cla...
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Season 1
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Episode 100
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34:07
10 years without shortcuts or investors: the MarsBased keynote reveal
After 10 years building MarsBased as a fully remote, bootstrapped, and values-driven tech company, we’re finally sharing the full story. This keynote, recorded for our 10th anniversary, is a reflection on everything we've learned about building...
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Season 1
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Episode 99
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53:58
When does company culture break? with Greg Scown (TextExpander)
What happens when your company outgrows the culture that once defined it? In this episode of the MarsBased Podcast, Ă€lex RodrĂguez Bacardit sits down with Greg from TextExpander to discuss how growing to 30+ employees forced them to ...
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Season 1
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Episode 98
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54:17
Top 10 podcast moments that shocked, cracked us up, or both!
10 moments. 10 guests. Total unpredictability on Life on Mars.This isn’t your average “best of” episode. it’s a chaotic, hilarious, insightful rollercoaster through the most unforgettable english-language moments from life on mars, the ...
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Season 1
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Episode 97
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49:39
Beyond the AI demo: Turning prototypes into real businesses
Turn your AI demo into a real business. In this episode of Life on Mars, real founders share their experiences, strategies, lessons, and mistakes behind building scalable AI startups and growing products beyond the demo phas...
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Season 1
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Episode 96
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1:02:56
Road to CTO #1: From economist to coder: why Charles Chase never went back to corporate
In this episode of Road to CTO, we sit down with Charles Chase, a serial entrepreneur and investor, who shares his journey from aspiring accountant to building multiple successful companies, including Velocify. Charles reveals how a pi...
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Season 1
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Episode 95
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1:08:13
Prompt engineering vs. Spaghetti prompting
Are your ChatGPT prompts messy and inconsistent? You might be falling into the trap of spaghetti prompting, random, unstructured inputs that lead to weak responses.In this episode, we break down the difference between spaghetti promptin...
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Season 1
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Episode 94
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18:02
Quantum computing: The future is closer than you think - Corporate Innovation Summit
Quantum computing is no longer just a futuristic concept, it’s quickly becoming a practical reality. In this must-watch panel discussion, three quantum pioneers dive deep into the real progress being made and what’s coming in the next few years...
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Season 1
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Episode 93
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37:47
Corporate Innovation Summit: How AI is moving from obedience to autonomy
What happens when AI stops just following commands and starts making decisions on its own? At the Corporate Innovation Summit, industry leaders dive into the world of agentic AI—intelligent systems capable of autonomous action. Thi...
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Season 1
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Episode 92
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41:07
How punk rock influences Simone van Neerven's innovation strategy on reBel.la
In this exciting episode of Life on Mars, Alex have a great conversation with Simone van Neerven, founder of reBel.la, to explore how challenging the status quo can drive creativity and change. With a career that began at...
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Season 1
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Episode 91
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58:47
The Future of Agency Work: Navigating AI and Growth Strategies with Szymon Boniecki
Are you ready to explore the dynamics of running a successful consultancy in today’s fast-evolving tech landscape? Join us as we sit down with Szymon Boniecki, co-founder of Monterail, a pioneering Ruby on Rails agency. In this engaging episode...
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Season 1
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Episode 90
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44:45
Is M&A activity REALLY on the rise this year? with Clemens Rossberg
Welcome to another captivating episode of the Life on Mars podcast by MarsBased! 🎙️ In this electrifying discussion, we dive headfirst into the dynamic world of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) with our brilliant guest, Clemens Rossberg. 🌟 In...
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Season 1
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Episode 88
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57:46
087 - Our 2024 in review + forecast for 2025
What if economic downturns could be a springboard for growth instead of a setback? Join Àlex, the CEO and founder of MarsBased, as he shares the inside scoop on how his company not only weathered the technological market storm of 2024 but emerg...
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Episode 87
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47:01
086 - Open source, open heart: Ghost’s John O’Nolan secret (spicy) sauce
Join Ă€lex RodrĂguez Bacardit (CEO @ MarsBased) and John O’Nolan, founder of Ghost, as they delve into the world of independent, values-driven tech businesses. They discuss Ghost’s foundational structure, the role of transparency and bootstrappi...
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Season 1
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Episode 86
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53:37
085 - Beyond TextExpander: Greg Scown’s journey after stepping down as co-founder
Greg Scown, co-founder of TextExpander, shares an inspiring journey through the partial sale of his company to Summit Partners and the path that led him there. Discover how casual coffee chats carried invaluable advice, such as re-registering a...
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Episode 85
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53:16
084 - Goodbye to Startup Grind
Join Àlex, CEO of MarsBased, as he tells the story behind starting both MarsBased and the Barcelona chapter of Startup Grind in 2014. Prepared for a rambling of 45 minutes?This episode covers running both the chapter and MarsBased, reas...
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Episode 84
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40:08
083 - Bootstrapping, marketing, branding & ass-kicking, with Tanya Van Gastel (Co-founder of The Multiverse AI)
Curious about the challenges of transitioning from a corporate environment in China to the bustling startup scene in Barcelona? How has she created an AI company and is bootstrapping her way up? How is their marketing strategy? How do you build...
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Episode 83
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1:01:21