When Alexander Gallego started his first company in 2014, he approached it with the same determination he’d used to learn English as a teenager, or to navigate the admissions process as a first-generation college student: “I just had to figure it out,” he said. “I had no backup plan.” Gallego, who was born in Colombia and immigrated to the U.S. at 14, has since launched two companies: data processing company Concord, which he sold to Akamai Technologies for an undisclosed sum in 2016, and Redpanda, which makes software for managing real-time data streams. Companies like Tesla, SpaceX, Lacework, Cisco and Vodafone use the latter, which earlier this year closed a $50 million Series B led by GV, Alphabet’s investment arm, and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Here, Gallego shares his journey to startup success, and his aspirations to bring more people from underrepresented backgrounds into Silicon Valley’s inner circle.

The Founder Who Turned His Love of Tinkering Into a Data-Processing Gold Mine
Alexander Gallego was the first in his family to go to college. Now a two-time startup founder, he encourages others to work on hard problems.
Get access to exclusive coverage
Read deeply reported stories from the largest newsroom in tech.
Latest Articles
google
Why DOJ’s Damaging Evidence Against Google May Not Be Enough to Break Up the Company

Justice Department lawyers on Tuesday revealed embarrassing details about Google’s conduct in the online ad industry as part of a new antitrust lawsuit. Despite evidence and allegations that Google rigged advertising auctions and effectively stole money from website publishers that rely on the company’s advertising tools, the DOJ will have a hard time winning the case and breaking...
Latest Briefs
Intel Shares Plummet After Weak Earnings, Sales Forecast
SAP Lays Off 2.5% of Workforce, Eyes Sale of Qualtrics Stake
Comcast’s Peacock Loses Nearly $1 Billion in Q4
Stay in the know
Receive a summary of the day's top tech news—distilled into one email.
Access on the go
View stories on our mobile app and tune into our weekly podcast.


Join live video Q&A’s
Deep-dive into topics like startups and autonomous vehicles with our top reporters and other executives.
Enjoy a clutter-free experience
Read without any banner ads.

Recent Popular Stories
Exclusive
microsoft
ai
How Microsoft’s Stumbles Led to Its OpenAI Alliance
Founders' Keepers
startups
culture
Founders’ Keepers: The Gadgets, Mugs and Mementos That CEOs Can’t Work Without