119. Guillermo Rauch: Founder of Billion Dollar Startup Vercel

Child prodigy is a phrase that’s often overused. Some youngsters are indeed talented, but to classify them as prodigious is, in so many cases, a reach, to say the least. Prodigies are once-in-a-lifetime talents who grow their gift in unimaginable and seemingly unreasonable ways. And while they can’t always be defined or understood, when the world sits back and marvels at the blossoming of their gifts, it is truly something to behold. What’s even more incredible is how they apply themselves and their special talents to change those around them and, to a larger degree, the entire world for the better. 

You may characterize a prodigy by my guest today. Vercel founder Guillermo Rauch is a digital genius who started entrepreneurship as a preteen. His contributions to tech are legendary, and he continues to support innovation and pioneer new solutions, ideologies, and application theories. He joins us today to share his fantastic journey, looking back and forward and revealing the amazing job he and his organization are doing. You must listen to this discussion if you've decided to make your mark.

In this episode:

• (1:12) – Guillermo discusses how his journey began. 
• (8:24) – The sky is the limit with Open Source.
• (9:40) – At age 11, he becomes obsessed with becoming a hacker.
• (19:52) – Working on React with social media leader Facebook. 
• (26:02) – The birth of Vercel.
• (34:33) – Vercel and AI. 
• (36:04) – There is no shortcut to success. 

Our Guest

Guillermo Rauch is a Software Engineer and CEO of Vercel. A native of Lanus, Buenos Aires, Argentina, he made his name and career via the web and Open Source. His early teens were spent advocating for and teaching others how to use solutions like Linux before later working with JavaScript and other web development. Guillermo later joined MooTools core team and got his first full-time job at the age of 18 after relocating to the United States. A serial entrepreneur, his first company was Cloudup, which was later acquired by Automattic, which powers WordPress. After several high-profile opportunities, he founded Vercel, where he currently guides their corporate vision servicing companies like The Washington Post, Porsche, Under Armour, and Nintendo. 

Resources and Links

Hawke Media

• https://www.linkedin.com/company/hawkemedia/
• https://www.instagram.com/hawkemedia/?hl=en 
• https://hawkemedia.com/
• https://twitter.com/hawkemedia
• https://www.facebook.com/hawkemedia/

Guillermo Rauch 

• https://vercel.com/ 
• https://rauchg.com/about
• https://twitter.com/rauchg
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/rauchg
• https://www.instagram.com/guillermorauch/

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