|
|
Wrapping up 2025: Team, tech, and future. |
|
|
| It’s been a year of transformation, and December has been the perfect time to pause and reflect. Before we jump into 2026, we gathered for our X-mas Martian Day, our annual team event where we disconnect from the screens to reconnect with each other.
It was a day to celebrate the wins, spend quality time together and to reflect upon the good and bad of this year that’s coming to and end.
But we haven't slowed down on delivery. This month brings exciting launches from our partners, a provocative take on the state of our industry, and a warm welcome to new clients.
While this is our final issue for 2025, it’s really just the prologue for everything we’re preparing to build next! |
|
| | Best Life on Mars episode of December |
|
|
|
"If what you’re truly passionate about is coding and nerding out, don't become a CTO."
This is how Sergio Gago, CTO at Cloudera and author of The CTO Toolbox, opens our most-watched episode of the month. He challenges the romanticized view of tech leadership, urging engineers to understand the heavy paradox of the role: to truly succeed, you must eventually abandon the comfort of the IDE to embrace the uncertainty of business strategy and human management.
Through his journey from a "Mickey Mouse" startup founder to leading global Big Data operations, Sergio dissects the identity shift required to survive in the C-Suite.
It is a raw, necessary masterclass on overcoming imposter syndrome and ensuring you don't become the bottleneck in your own company's growth.
Watch the full episode here |
|
| | The 2025 review with the founders |
|
|
|
Àlex, Jordi, and Xavi, the founders of MarsBased, gathered for this special end-of-year episode to review 2025. It was the year they decided to shift into high gear, tripling the usual hiring pace and facing the inevitable growing pains that come with scaling into a medium-sized structure. This conversation captures the pivotal moment when the founders decided to stop "thinking small" and embrace the challenges of their new internal reality.
They discuss this journey with total transparency, moving past the wins to dive deep into financials, milestones and fuckups with radical honesty.
Listen to the special episode |
|
| | Inside our X-mas Martian day 👽 |
|
|
|
Our annual Martian Day is much more than just an end-of-year celebration!
We kicked off the day with an honest reflection on the challenges overcome and the milestones achieved, hearing firsthand about the company's vision and ambition for the next cycle.
As AI has become a core component of our operations, we also held a deep-dive workshop to explore advanced applications and time-saving strategies. However, the real heart of the day was the human warmth, highlighted by our annual recognition awards.
These emotional moments, where we celebrate the outstanding contributions of our team members, were followed by the laughter of our traditional company trivia and Secret Santa. It was a vital reminder that behind every technological achievement is a human team whose personal bonds are the real fuel allowing us to conquer new horizons.
If you wanna see more photos, here’s a great blog post |
|
| |
New client! eTech Yachting: Python, IoT, and AI |
|
|
|
Scaling high-end technology is hard; doing it on the high seas is even harder. We are delighted to officially welcome eTech Yachting as our newest client at MarsBased, marking a bold step into the marine technology sector, combining our expertise in Python, IoT, and Artificial Intelligence to innovate where the digital and maritime worlds meet.
|
|
| |
Software engineering is dead, long live software engineering! |
|
|
|
The rules of the game have been completely thrown away. In this provocative piece, Sergio Gago (The Pirate CTO) describes building a fully functional nutrition app in just four hours without writing a single line of code, just "vibe coding" with LLMs.
Is this the end for engineers? On the contrary, it’s a rebirth. As traditional coding becomes a commodity, the true value shifts toward the "savvy builder", those who can define what customers actually need and orchestrate AI to deliver it. Traditional software engineering as we knew it might be over, but a more powerful, value-driven era is just beginning.
Read the full article here |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Building an Inclusive Web: Our Accessibility Guidelines |
|
|
|
Web accessibility is more than just a technical requirement; it is a fundamental commitment to ensuring every user can navigate our digital products with dignity and ease.
In the latest update to our Handbook, we have formalized our accessibility guidelines, emphasizing the power of predictable HTML and semantic structures. By respecting natural heading hierarchies and ensuring clear labels for every interaction, we create foundations that assistive technologies can interpret naturally, without the need for redundant complexities.
These standards, carefully crafted by our expert Marta Armada, also focus on the physical user experience, advocating for consistent keyboard flows and a "safety-first" approach to motion. We strictly avoid disorienting patterns like scroll-jacking or excessive parallax effects, opting instead for minimal, purposeful animations that communicate state without being intrusive.
By combining these proven standards with flawless technical implementation, our engineering team is now better equipped than ever to build inclusive experiences that truly work for everyone.
Read the guidelines here
|
|
| |
Bonjour, Dreaming French! |
|
|
|
We are thrilled to close the year with the official launch of Dreaming French, the newest addition to the Dreaming Languages family. Following the success of their Spanish platform, this launch brings their unique "Comprehensible Input" method to French learners worldwide.
We love building products that bridge cultural gaps and enable education through technology. If learning a new language is on your New Year's resolutions list, this platform is the perfect place to start your journey.
|
|
| |
Happy Holidays from MarsBased! 🎄 |
|
|
|
As we sign off for the year, we want to take a moment to wish you a wonderful holiday season. Thank you for being part of our journey in 2025. We hope you enjoy a well-deserved break, recharge your batteries, and start the new year with renewed energy.
See you in 2026 for another orbit around the sun!
The MarsBased Team.
|
|
| | | | |
|
|
|
| |
|
