Javier D. Caruso
Founder at Webstarted · Engineering Manager at Flight Club (GOAT Group) · Startup mentor and early stage investor · High school teacher Fundador de Webstarted · Engineering Manager en Flight Club (GOAT Group) · Mentor de startups e inversor early stage · Profesor de secundaria
Buenos Aires, Argentina · Remote since 2012 · Argentine and Italian citizenship Buenos Aires, Argentina · Remoto desde 2012 · Ciudadanía argentina e italiana
hola@javiercaruso.com· javiercaruso.com· linkedin.com/in/jdcaruso· github.com/jdcaruso
I started programming in 1991, on a PC XT with no hard drive and no color monitor, and never stopped. Thirty-five years writing code, close to thirty getting paid for it: developer, engineering manager, product owner, and founder since 2019. I have worked remotely, and run distributed teams, since 2012.
Ten years at Flight Club (GOAT Group, valued at US$3.7B), where I built a remote engineering team across six countries and designed from scratch the warehouse management system that still runs retail and warehouse operations. In 2019 I founded Webstarted to fix something I kept seeing: startups with good ideas and no way to build a team fast enough. Today it is six platforms, 91,000+ Latin American tech professionals, and clients backed by Sequoia Capital, Google Ventures, Y Combinator and Accel.
The lesson I repeat to every founder: the hardest problem in tech is not the code. It is the people.
Empecé a programar en 1991, en una PC XT sin disco rígido ni monitor color, y nunca dejé. Treinta y cinco años programando, casi treinta cobrando por hacerlo: desarrollador, engineering manager, product owner y, desde 2019, fundador. Trabajo remoto y manejo equipos distribuidos desde 2012.
Diez años en Flight Club (GOAT Group, valuación US$3.7B), donde armé un equipo de ingeniería remoto en seis países y diseñé de cero el sistema de gestión de depósito que hoy sigue corriendo las operaciones de retail y warehouse. En 2019 fundé Webstarted para resolver algo que veía todo el tiempo: startups con buenas ideas y sin forma de armar su equipo a tiempo. Hoy son seis plataformas, 91.000+ profesionales tech de Latinoamérica y clientes respaldados por Sequoia Capital, Google Ventures, Y Combinator y Accel.
La lección que le repito a cada fundador: el problema más difícil en tech no es el código. Es la gente.
ExperienceExperiencia
FounderFundador
Staff augmentation and direct placement of Latin American tech talent for venture-backed companies. Six platforms, all built from zero:
Staff augmentation y direct placement de talento tech latinoamericano para empresas venture-backed. Seis plataformas, todas construidas de cero:
- Webstarted: a talent base of 91,000+ tech professionals, 5,900+ of them pre-vetted.
- WebstartedHR: end to end recruitment SaaS, 2,000+ features, AI built in.
- Webstarted Academy: the social impact arm, 38,000+ members across the region.
- Webstarted Ventures: early stage investment arm, 2 exits. General Partner since 2023.
- Webstarted Tools: 40+ free desktop and web widgets for builders, no account needed.
- Webstarted Games: the game studio.
- Webstarted: base de talento de 91.000+ profesionales tech, 5.900+ pre-evaluados.
- WebstartedHR: SaaS de recruitment end to end, 2.000+ features, IA integrada.
- Webstarted Academy: la pata de impacto social, 38.000+ miembros en la región.
- Webstarted Ventures: brazo de inversión early stage, 2 exits. General Partner desde 2023.
- Webstarted Tools: 40+ widgets de escritorio y web para quienes construyen, gratis y sin cuenta.
- Webstarted Games: el estudio de juegos.
Public clients: GOAT, Hodinkee, SecurityScorecard, Flowspace, Qurable, Deel, AWS. From pre-seed to Series B and beyond. Co-host of the Startup Sessions podcast with Rocío Azparren, 43+ episodes with founders and investors from the region.
Clientes públicos: GOAT, Hodinkee, SecurityScorecard, Flowspace, Qurable, Deel, AWS. Desde pre-seed hasta Series B y más. Co-conduzco el podcast Startup Sessions con Rocío Azparren, 43+ episodios con fundadores e inversores de la región.
Engineering Manager, then Team Lead and Product OwnerEngineering Manager, después Team Lead y Product Owner
GOAT Group runs GOAT, Flight Club, alias and Grailed: one of the largest marketplaces in the world for sneakers, streetwear and luxury, valued at US$3.7B.
GOAT Group opera GOAT, Flight Club, alias y Grailed: uno de los marketplaces de sneakers, streetwear y lujo más grandes del mundo, con una valuación de US$3.7B.
- Built and led a remote engineering team of 8 to 12 developers across six countries (Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, the United States and China), years before remote work was normal.
- Designed and shipped the Warehouse Management System from scratch: inventory, stock control and warehouse operations. It is still the daily tool for retail and warehouse.
- Delivery lead for Flight Club retail and for the WMS: backend architecture, business rules engine, reporting and real time inventory.
- Built the reporting infrastructure that gave leadership live visibility on warehouse performance, inventory levels and operating metrics.
- Contributed to the 2018 Flight Club and GOAT merger and to the integration that followed.
- Armé y lideré un equipo de ingeniería remoto de 8 a 12 desarrolladores en seis países (España, Brasil, Argentina, Colombia, Estados Unidos y China), años antes de que el remoto fuera normal.
- Diseñé y entregué de cero el Warehouse Management System: inventario, control de stock y operaciones de depósito. Sigue siendo la herramienta diaria de retail y warehouse.
- Delivery lead de los sistemas de retail de Flight Club y del WMS: arquitectura backend, motor de reglas de negocio, reporting e inventario en tiempo real.
- Armé la infraestructura de reporting que le dio al liderazgo visibilidad en vivo de performance del depósito, niveles de inventario y métricas de operación.
- Participé del merger de Flight Club con GOAT en 2018 y de la integración posterior.
Teacher, Production ProjectProfesor de Proyecto de Producción
Friday mornings, with teenagers who are just starting to imagine what they can build. The entrepreneurial gene gets planted in secondary school, not after.
Los viernes a la mañana, con chicos que recién empiezan a imaginar lo que pueden construir. El gen emprendedor se siembra en la secundaria, no después.
Independent software consultantConsultor independiente de software
Agile management, delivery leadership, product ownership, team building and remote management for global tech companies.
Agile management, delivery leadership, product ownership, team building y manejo de equipos remotos para empresas tech globales.
Senior Software Engineer, then Team LeadSenior Software Engineer, después Team Lead
B2B SaaS for webinars, webcasts and virtual events for global audiences. Web players in .NET and JavaScript. I went from developer to team lead, with delivery on time and a team that stayed.
SaaS B2B de webinars, webcasts y eventos virtuales para audiencias globales. Web players en .NET y JavaScript. Pasé de desarrollador a team lead, con entregas en fecha y un equipo que se quedó.
Development Manager
Developer and team lead at the same time. Teams of 20 people across Argentina and India, working to Microsoft Architects guidelines. Direct line to the owner and the business leads, turning strategy into tasks. C#, JavaScript, ASP.NET MVC.
Desarrollador y team lead al mismo tiempo. Equipos de 20 personas entre Argentina e India, bajo lineamientos de Microsoft Architects. Interlocución directa con el dueño y los líderes de negocio, traduciendo estrategia en tareas. C#, JavaScript, ASP.NET MVC.
Information Specialist, Ternium accountInformation Specialist, cuenta Ternium
Ternium is the largest steel producer in Latin America (Techint Group, listed on the NYSE). Development in ASP, ASP.NET, JavaScript and SQL, plus the corporate intranet, plus managing teams across sites. Frequent travel to Venezuela and Mexico to organize teams and coordinate deployments.
Ternium es la mayor siderúrgica de Latinoamérica (Grupo Techint, cotiza en NYSE). Desarrollo en ASP, ASP.NET, JavaScript y SQL, la intranet corporativa y la gestión de equipos multi sede. Viajes frecuentes a Venezuela y México para organizar equipos y coordinar deployments.
Early careerPrimeros años
Developer at Banco Río (finance, 2001 to 2002), Media Group (media, 2000 to 2001) and Infostar (1998 to 1999). Before all of that, technology trainer at Futurekids Quilmes (1997 to 1998): the first job, and already teaching.
Desarrollador en Banco Río (finanzas, 2001 a 2002), Media Group (medios, 2000 a 2001) e Infostar (1998 a 1999). Antes de todo eso, formador en informática en Futurekids Quilmes (1997 a 1998): el primer trabajo, y ya enseñando.