Javier Agüera

Co-founder & CEO of Pandora's Way | 5x Founder | Social Change | Educator | Spanish Tortilla Connoisseur

New York, NY, US

About

I'm convinced that most human communities have lost the tools they once had to help individuals navigate big, pivotal life transitions. I envision a future where we do better, and I'm committed to building products, ventures, content, art that gets us an inch closer to it. Currently co-founder and CEO of Pandora's Way. We help parents guide their children into digital adolescence by re-imagining the process of getting their first phone into a rite of passage. We're hiring and fundraising, say hi if it you are purpose-driven and it piques your curiosity! -- And a quick TL;DR about my past journey... - At age 16, I co-founded the first European Android phonemaker, which later pioneered FirefoxOS. Its successor Blackphone (acquired by Silent Circle) competed heads-on with Blackberry and was named Invention of the Year by TIME Magazine. Its third incarnation, Barbara, is currently a established player in the edge industrial IoT space. - I've bootstrapped less successful ventures trying to fight fake news (Neupic) and bringing tablets to hospitality and healthcare (TabSolutions). I learnt quite a lot from our mishaps. - I'm a generalist who gets into rabbit holes easily. I've learnt quite a bit about how to build teams, set up global supply chains, create value for individuals and large orgs alike, designing products across the digital and analog realms, hardware to software, and doing more with less. - I love teaching business ethics and human-centered design; have advised startups, non-profits and government; and I invest a tiny bit in impact-driven companies. - I'm an open book... except for my Spanish tortilla and sangria recipes ;)

Ask me about

Work experience

  1. October 2023 – present

    Ganas Ventures

    Deal Partner
  2. October 2023 – present

    Massachusetts Institute of Technology

    Executive Education Workshop Instructor
  3. May 2023 – present

    Sandbox

    Board Trustee
  4. April 2023 – present

    Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University

    Affiliate - Institute for Rebooting Social Media
  5. April 2022 – present

    Pandora's Way

    CEO & Co-Founder
  6. May 2017 – present

    Barbara IoT

    (Non-exec) Co-founder / Advisor
  7. July 2012 – present

    Nobu Ventures & Advisory

    Angel Investor & Startup Advisor
  8. September 2017 – June 2024

    International Bar Association

    eyeWitness to Atrocities - Advisory Board
  9. January 2023 – May 2024

    Sandbox

    Governance Council
  10. September 2022 – April 2023

    Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University

    Assembly Fellow - Institute for Rebooting Social Media
  11. June 2021 – September 2022

    Massachusetts Institute of Technology

    Teaching Fellow
  12. January 2022 – June 2022

    Massachusetts Institute of Technology

    SERC Scholar
  13. August 2016 – November 2019

    Snips.ai (Acquired by Sonos)

    VP Strategic Alliances
  14. April 2015 – January 2018

    Future Lighthouse

    Member of the Board
  15. March 2013 – December 2017

    Neupic

    Co-founder & Member of the Board
  16. March 2015 – April 2016

    Silent Circle

    Chief Scientist, Devices
  17. January 2014 – March 2016

    Blackphone (Acquired by Silent Circle)

    Chief Scientist & Co-founder
  18. December 2008 – April 2014

    Geeksphone SL

    CEO & Co-founder
  19. March 2012 – February 2013

    European Commission

    Adviser to Neelie Kroes, Vice President and Commissioner for Digital Agenda
  20. December 2011 – September 2012

    TabSolutions

    CTO / Co-founder

Education

  1. Present

    Universidad Pontificia Comillas

    Bachelor of Science (BSc), Telematics Engineering
  2. 2020 – 2022

    Massachusetts Institute of Technology

    Master of Science - MS, Design, Engineering & Management (IDM)