The $0 mistake that screams "rookie" in tech

MarsBased podcast: Best of March

In this critical episode, our CEO Àlex Rodríguez Bacardit dissects the ultimate rookie mistake: demanding an NDA for initial meetings. Àlex reveals how we transitioned from signing them 'left and right' to using them as high-signal qualification tools. After 12 years and over 1,000 potential leads, this conversation reveals why secretiveness is a red flag, how we simultaneously worked for rivals Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, and how AI helps us spot predatory clauses to ensure balanced business partnerships.

Watch the full episode here

MWC & 4YFN Recap

MWC 2026: Beyond the AI Hype

Another MWC is in the books, and MarsBased was right there in the middle of it. While the sheer volume of attendees was impressive, this edition felt like a true week for the community, a chance to catch up with old friends and finally meet in person those we’ve only seen through a webcam. We were thrilled to see that even after a decade, the turnout for our sessions remains incredible, proving that there is still a massive appetite for honest conversations about building software and sustainable companies.

The week kicked off with the grit of real-world AI production at our Afterwork session, where we discussed the long journey of balancing fast adoption against the "next shiny thing." This moved into a deeper reflection at 4YFN, where Àlex moderated a panel on Vibe Coding. His takeaway was clear: while the term might fade like "founder mode," its legacy is a lower barrier to entry for non-coders and a more natural way to communicate with our tools.

Our CTO, Xavier Redó, echoed this optimism at Talent Arena, emphasizing that as AI makes coding a commodity, our true value as engineers shifts toward planning, system design, and quality evaluation.

We also tackled the business side of things at the Agora Stage, where Àlex joined Amir Salihefendic (Doist) to discuss the realities of bootstrapping. We explored how building remote-first companies without the "VC treadmill" allows for long-term bets and independent values, even if it makes us more rational and conservative with our capital. We closed the week focusing on the human side of tech leadership, addressing the "20,000 blunders" that come with managing technical debt and mental health in an era of AI burnout.

It has been a privilege to support the Barcelona ecosystem for another year, and we’re already heading home with fresh ideas for what comes next.

Read the full MWC recap on our blog

New project: Elevating operations with Progess

We’re excited to bring another local powerhouse into the Martian orbit. Progess, a Barcelona-based company that manages personnel for a wide range of industries, has chosen MarsBased to lead the evolution of their internal systems. Our partnership starts immediately, focusing on the scaling and technical refinement of their core Ruby on Rails application. It’s always a pleasure to work with neighbors who understand that a robust business needs an equally robust technical foundation to support its growth.

As we dive into their internal workflows, our goal is to transform their existing app into a high-performance engine that matches the scale of their operations. While our current focus is strictly on the internal architecture, we are already looking ahead at the various ways we can help Progess modernize their digital ecosystem. There’s no better way to start the quarter than by applying our deep Rails expertise to help a local leader streamline their path to success.

Martian Day Q1 2026: Synchronizing the squad

Our Q1 2026 edition of the Martian Day served as a timely reminder of the value of bringing the whole squad back to base. In a remote-first company like MarsBased, these quarterly gatherings are essential for us to synchronize, review our performance data, and ensure our technical trajectory aligns with the high standards we set for our work. We kicked off the event with hands-on coworking, creating a unique environment for high-level alignment where we shared nuanced architectural patterns and ensured our collective knowledge of AI strategies is consistent across the entire team.

This year, our focus has naturally gravitated toward the maturity of our AI workflows, treating AI as a professional engineering discipline rather than just a set of tools. We spent our time together moving beyond standard implementations to focus on the precision of neural integrations, ensuring they are as robust and scalable as any other part of our core infrastructure.

By evaluating high-level alternative architectures and emerging models, we are consolidating our mastery and hardening our internal processes to stay at the forefront of the industry. Expertise is our baseline, and this Martian Day reinforced that our strength lies in the architectural precision we bring to every project.

Go behind the scenes at the base

Bonus episode: Troy Hunt & the art of being Pwned

We sit down with Troy Hunt, the legendary creator of Have I Been Pwned (HIBP), to discuss the shifting tides of cybersecurity over the last 12 years. In this high-stakes conversation, we explore whether AI is truly changing the nature of data breaches or if it’s just more noise, and why the banking industry remains stubbornly stuck with insecure SMS protocols despite the risks. Troy also reveals the fascinating mechanics of how HIBP stays incredibly lean as a bootstrapped team of just three people while handling billions of queries from across the globe.

Beyond the technical architecture, Troy opens up about the 2019 acquisition process that almost changed the fate of his project forever. He shares the raw behind-the-scenes story of that deal and the refreshing perspective of why he is ultimately glad it fell through. It’s a masterclass in staying true to your vision, maintaining a lean operation, and understanding the real-world implications of data security in 2026.

Get schooled by the master of breaches