Hi, I’m Ruben Ugarte

My name is Ruben Ugarte and I have been thinking about creating the future since I was a little boy.

I grew up in Honduras, a small country in the heart of Central America. As a kid, I would spend countless hours daydreaming and creating completely different worlds in my mind.

My fondest memories include me walking around my house with my dog—a cocker spaniel named Princesa—looking for interesting things. I was fascinated by the world around me and how I could modify it.

Even as a kid, I was already thinking of how to help others. I once asked my parents if I could build a treehouse atop this huge mango tree that we had. When they asked me why I wanted such a thing, I replied, “to see clients.”

When I was 12, my family immigrated to Vancouver, Canada. In one single decision, my world changed. I went from seeing life in 480P to 1080P.

I grew up with two drastically different perspectives, one of fear and insecurity and one of prosperity. These two perspectives shape much of what I do today.

Canada also gave me the ultimate gift: freedom. I could now walk to school by myself, take public transportation and go to the mall with my friends without needing my parents approval.

At the time, you needed to be 14 years of age to get a job and you can bet that the day I turned 14, I went to a nearby grocery store and handed in my resume. Making my own money was yet another freedom that I loved.

When I was 15, I taught myself how to code by reading obscure websites. I was fascinated by the internet and what you could create with it. I knew I needed to know how to use it and I made it happen.

Shortly after, I started helping organizations create websites and small products. I was going to create my ideal future and help others do the same.

At 19, I started my first official business with my dad. We wanted to take educational content and put it online. At the time, online courses weren’t as popular and we saw an opportunity. The business never took off and five years later we sold the software.

After nine months of soul searching, 9 countries and 25 cities, I found my next opportunity. I became enthralled by the world of data. It required technical skills—which I had—but it was primarily used by non-technical folks like marketing teams. I became a translator or data marriage counselor as I used to tell clients.

I then noticed something unusual. Despite having great data, many organizations were still making the wrong decisions. Just like before, I knew there was something there.

I started focusing on decision-making, especially around strategy and innovation. I realized that decisions are the pivot points where change happens. If you can help an organization make better decisions, you can change anything. In essence, you can create a drastically different future.

That’s where you find me today. I have taken the learnings from working with 85+ organizations and distilled them into essays, videos, a weekly newsletter and two commercially published books (Data Mirage and Bulletproof Decisions).

Everything I do is bespoke—a British word for custom. To understand my thinking, I suggest you check out the many free resources available through my website.

I regularly publish short essays, videos, audios and newsletters designed to make you think of the world differently. My goal is to provoke your thinking even if we never work together.

I’m still living in Vancouver, Canada and I spend my days exploring nature with my Golden Retriever, Remy. If you resonate with my story, get in touch. 

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