#16 - Freela (UAE, Future of Work) | Founder journey - Sebastian F. Guerrero, Co-Founder & CEO

Sebastián F. Guerrero is Co-founder and CEO of Freela. Freela is a Future of Work startup based in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Freela is a self-management platform that features the tools and perks freelancers need to run their daily business routine, acting as the freelancer's back office. It is built by freelancers for freelancers. Freela serves customers across Mexico, the Middle East, and other emerging economies. The company was founded in 2023 and four months after its go-live, it reached 3,500 users. It also participated in prestigious accelerator programs such as the LSE Generate Incubation in the UK, Pygma in Colombia, and the Founder University by Jason Calacanis in the US. It also completed its pre-seed round, raising over US$400k. Sebastián is originally from Guadalajara, Mexico. His parents introduced him to the Middle East and other fast-growing emerging economies from an early age. He studied marketing in Mexico and later worked for a branding agency, which allowed him to lead the agency's expansion into Dubai. In parallel, Sebastián started his entrepreneurial journey, first as a founder of the Centro de Asesoría Escolar y Tecnológica, CAET, a social impact high school in Mexico, followed by Freela and other ventures. Content: 03:20 Sebastián’s first experience in Dubai 07:00 His early years in Guadalajara, including becoming a rugby national player, a marketer, etc. 11:30 His first marketing role as a brand strategist and the opportunities that derived from there 14:30 Launching CAET, his first venture 17:15 The creation of a startup hub, which led him to Dubai and to Freela and the ups and downs 23:40 The challenge of moving abroad and starting a business at the same time 26:50 Sebastián’s contribution back to Mexico and Latin America 27:30 His best advise to aspiring founders Learn more: Sebastián in LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justseb/ Freela in LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/freelasite/ Freela website: https://www.freela.site/ Episode page: https://www.mexpreneurs.com/podcast-freela Our supporter for this episode: https://www.partnershipleaders.com/