Today we’d like to introduce you to Kuki Bastos.
Hi Kuki, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m a Product Designer, Design Director and photographer originally from Madrid, Spain, born in the Nederlands. I started my career in advertising while I was living in Spain and after almost 17 years of a very successful time, I was ready to start a new adventure, or two to be specific. The first one started with the launch of the iPhone in 2007 and since that moment, I was waiting for an opportunity to explore new ways of interacting and creating experiences with a revolutionary device, so in 2011 I joined a small startup in Madrid called Wakeapp and we made some of the best mobile and tablet apps at that moment. One of them was a combinatory music experience app for Jorge Drexler, Uruguayan singer-songwriter and academy award winner. The app was a complete success in Spain and Latin America and it was finalist in the SXSW Innovation Awards.
At that time, Spain still was in a very deep financial crisis so Wakeapp was very successful in terms of innovation and creativity but we were barely making money. The startup was burning a lot of money and not getting too much, so we had around six months to make it work. Here comes the second adventure. My wife and I always wanted to live abroad and let our children learn and speak perfect English and go to college in the US. When we came to Austin for the SXSW, we started thinking: Why not try to come here? This was 2013 and Austin was blooming with technology and the startup scene was hot. It looked like a good place to desperately try to make it. We came to Austin in January 2013 with almost no money, the first thing we did after landing my business partner and I was going to a bike shop and buy two bikes. We had the brilliant idea that we didn’t need a car (we didn’t have the money) so we were biking downtown every day for 1 hour. We were in meetings completely soak in sweat. And we realized people didn’t care and when we were telling our story, it worked out very well… We started doing a lot of networking and bombing linked In with messages to CEOs trying to find a partner for Wakeapp. After 2 or 3 months, we contacted with two very successful serial entrepreneurs that wanted to build a new product for parenting, so we came to an agreement of joining as the team but they didn’t want our startup.
That’s how it started my entrepreneurship experience in the US. We launched “Kidü. Smart Parenting” after two years of development but we didn’t have the traction we were expecting and the project was paused.
There was another startup we joined from the same entrepreneurs called Rev Worldwide. A payment processor platform with a white label product and lots of good clients. While I was working there, my wife got sick and she passed away after six months. This is relevant because being an entrepreneur is not an easy and safe environment for anybody so I was feeling a lot of anxiety and stress and decided I needed a “more secure” space. I landed in frog Design, a Design consultancy company and one of the best design firms in the world. I learnt so much there and the experience I got was priceless.
But… after a casual conversation with my old boss from Rev, there was an opportunity to rejoin Rev Worldwide and launch the first own product (not for other clients) and I knew the team, I knew the company and I decided to start my second entrepreneurship tour in the US. Now I’m the VP of Design, UX/UI and we are in the final steps to launch X World Wallet (www.xworldwallet.com) a multi-currency digital account that automatically comes with a Visa debit card you can reload from your bank accounts to earn points at Visa merchants worldwide, and more.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There’s been several obstacles and challenges through my experience. Coming to the US with no money and trying to make it work was a challenge from the beginning. Going biking in Texas for business was not the best idea. But it worked out. Having a big (huge) life-changing scenario in the middle of the adventure was a big challenge but my kids and I decided to not give up and fight for a good life in the US. (As it was what we were trying when my wife was alive)
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a VP of Design, UX/UI in Rev Worldwide, a multi-currency digital account that automatically comes with a Visa debit card you can reload from your bank accounts to earn points at Visa merchants worldwide and more.
But I consider myself a multi-task creative. From photography to prototyping physical products or video production and editing. And, I also consider myself an inventor. I had a patent in Spain for a product I never launched, but I’m still envisioning new products, services, or anything that can make a difference.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
It’s difficult to define success. It depends on the individual point of view. For me success is related to the process more than the final goal. You never know what’s going to happen tomorrow (as my family and I know very well) so I prefer not looking to the future with a tight goal. I prefer to enjoy the ride. Obviously, professionally success is important, and coming to the US the goal was looking for a successful business and help to change the world a little bit. Or making it a little bit better. As I said, I’m on a ride to make it work!
Contact Info:
- Email: kuki.bastos@gmail.com
- Website: www.kukibastos.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kuxkix/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kuki.bastos
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/kuxkix/
Image Credits
Kuki Bastos Kuki Bastos Raimundo Alonso Amar Chadgar Cindy Friedman
