Why Tercera and why now?

I launched Tercera because I wanted to create for myself what I hadn’t been able to find in the tech world: a place where I can build cool stuff with a cool, diverse, collaborative group of people. My hope is that Tercera will become a place that does great work while incubating engineering talent with the hope that, one day when I walk into an engineering team, I won’t be the only non-white guy there.

Tercera means “third” in Spanish and I named the company as such primarily because I’m a third generation American, but also because it’s a constant reminder that all of the opportunities and education and trappings that I enjoy are mine because of those who came before me. 

Because my grandparents, with infinite imagination were able to create lawyers and nurses and professors and engineers and wealth out of their love and labor. Tercera means to me that I want to leave the world a better place than I found it, because I know that the things that are good in my life are the result of so much that was done for me by previous generations.  

At Tercera I want to provide opportunities to junior engineers who are trying to break into an industry that, far too often, does not provide the slightest fissure for them. During the years I’ve worked in tech my favorite part, by far, has been working with budding engineers and helping them build up the skills — mostly soft skills, some technical — to strengthen their careers. I truly believe that supporting engineers from communities of color is a great way to create reverberating change and build wealth for folks in these communities. 

I wanted to build a company that didn’t just talk about it, but that would be about it. That’s why our client focus, hiring focus, and philanthropic focus is all aimed squarely at communities of color. I built the company that I always wanted to work for.

I dream that one day I’ll be able to take my pick of tech companies to work for where I won’t have to engage in the calculus of determining which one will be the least worst for me, or how long I’ll be able to stand staying, but rather know that any of them will be an inclusive space and I’ll have the same set of options available to me as the white male engineers that dominate the industry today. 

In the meantime, given these historic moments, we would like to offer our services at a discount to organizations working on social justice issues or those working to create equity for communities of color. If that’s interesting to you or someone you know, feel free to ping us at sales@tercera.dev.