When Miguel Fuentes couldn’t find his dream company, he decided to build it and grow it into the club everyone wanted to get into. He then sold it to PagerDuty, a thoughtful match he took great care to validate. The serial entrepreneur and tech enthusiast is now the general manager and site lead of PagerDuty Chile in Santiago.
“I made what was probably the hardest decision of my life,” he says. “I left thriving entrepreneurial endeavors just to be focused on PagerDuty. A hundred percent. For the first time in my life, I'm just doing one thing.”
Going from co-founder to employee isn't easy, but it’s turned out phenomenally for Miguel. As he puts it: “It's just like making the same wholesome, homemade food in a bigger kitchen.”
We sat down to learn more about Miguel’s exciting and unusual career journey, why he chose PagerDuty, and how it’s the most unique company he’s ever been part of.
The late-blooming entrepreneur
“[I was a bit of] a late bloomer regarding being an entrepreneur,” Miguel says.
As a college student in Valdivia, Chile, he looked on with disbelief as his peers rode the wave of excitement of the first iPhone, making and selling apps on the side. “I was telling them, ‘This is going nowhere,’ and, ‘There's nothing like desktop apps,’ and I was so wrong.”
When his friends started seeing success, newfound perspectives turned the gears in his mind, and his initial skepticism fell away to reveal a strong calling. He moved to Santiago and began experimenting with startup ideas alongside a day job until he launched Variacode.
Starting Variacode
Before his IT consultancy Variacode Chile, Miguel had never truly felt at home in any workplace.
To change this, he built a "zero b.s." culture into his business — each team member was a leader, they did their work, and they had minimal meetings.
“If you are a shy person, you can be a shy person here. If you want to be super expressive, you can do so as well. If you want to bring your other capabilities to work, you can do so, but if you don't want to, then we will not bother you. So it was a very safe environment to be in,” he explains.
That respect-oriented approach also applied to customer selection. “We scanned all these traits, like whether this customer is someone who knows what they’re doing or not.”
This customer selectivity paid off because that’s how Variacode met PagerDuty, and a contract ensued. Miguel says, “Let me tell you; it was a very, very good two years of being contractors with PagerDuty. In fact, a lot of our values aligned so well that we were starting to feel like Dutonians, the name given to PagerDuty team members.”
When Variacode joined PagerDuty
Eventually, when PagerDuty began mentioning the possibility of an acquisition, a series of in-person meetings with the PagerDuty C-suite began.
It wasn’t an easy decision to proceed with the acquisition. “Actually, it was probably the hardest decision I’ve ever made in my life. I left behind all of my entrepreneurial endeavors to do this,” Miguel says.
But, the upside was too good to walk away. “We realized they had a better framework of working than we had, and that we were going to learn a lot, starting with a very awesome definition of values. I can tell you, this is the first time in 15 years of work experience that I know (and cite!) the values of a company,” he adds.
When Miguel finally began working with PagerDuty, his decision proved to be right. “It's a good place where folks are… happy. You answer a survey about work, and then they change work. Who does that, right? No one does that. You can tell leadership, ‘This is what we are doing wrong.’ And then they respond with, ‘Hey, we took that feedback and yes, we're going to change this aspect.’”
What makes PagerDuty great?
PagerDuty follows a hybrid style of working where employees are encouraged to be with their families, bring their kids to school, or take a walk in the park in the middle of the day. At the same time, the company doesn’t sacrifice culture-building.
“We are a company where diversity is celebrated all year round. All year round is Pride Month, or Hispanic Heritage Month, whatever identity you want to celebrate, you don't have just your designated month, you feel that inclusion all year round,” Miguel says with a smile.
PagerDuty also provides ample opportunities for in-person collaboration and connection with colleagues — wherever they may be in the world.
“Working at PagerDuty Chile, you are part of a global team of professionals. You get to work in English and Spanish and experience other people and cultures. You’ll have colleagues in places like North America, Europe, Australia, other Latin American countries, and Japan. You build a global community through PagerDuty’s virtual connection opportunities,” Miguel explains.
He adds how this diverse and inclusive culture encourages career development.
During employee reviews, leaders always provide thoughtful and accurate feedback. From his very first review, Miguel felt seen moving from an entrepreneur to an employee.
“Champion the customer, run together, bring yourself, ack and own, take the lead — these are our values,” Miguel says. “They are deeply understood and applied at every tier. The hiring process supports this by bringing in smart, nice people that are aligned with them, and we have an environment where you can be comfortable and do good work.”
On unlocking the entrepreneurial spirit
While Miguel may have left his entrepreneurial ventures, his entrepreneurial spirit remains very much intact — and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I’m very excited for the future here,” he says with a smile.
For those looking to find the same excitement in their work, Miguel recommends channeling an entrepreneurial mindset, too. He offers these three tips:
- Be street smart. “Don’t be afraid to hack around while remaining compliant. Good companies like PagerDuty will be very positive about you hacking around and being entrepreneurial or innovative.”
- Bring your ideas and voice your opinions. “If you have a different idea, raise your hand and say, ‘No, I don’t think this is how we should do this.’ And then make your case. PagerDuty has taught me that it’s not just about disagreeing, it is about making a proposal that will be well received and that you actually put effort into.”
- Don’t be afraid to bring your self to the company. “It can feel humbling, running together with intelligent folks who are experienced and professional, but you shouldn’t be afraid of bringing your values and your whole self to the company.”
