It’s never too late if the outcome is good. After more than 30 years in the advertising industry, María Rivas (Barcelona, 1971) co-founded a tech company… and believe me, it’s packed with technology.

Zentinel DMS has developed an integrated solution for the digital collection of operating data from any machine: the ZentNode adapters read data such as energy consumption or temperature sending it straight to the customer’s information systems, while the ZentEdge server visualizes the collected information in real time to solve possible anomalies and improve machine performance.

For María, venturing into the creation of a hardware and software company has been, and continues to be, “a fascinating challenge.” “I step out of my comfort zone, without limits or fears.”

TB: What is the purpose of your project?

MR: We offer a disruptive technology for gathering data in order to convert it into qualified information in a reliable, sustainable and cybersecure way. We provide reliable data for mainly industrial algorithms.

TB: Where are you at now and where do you see it in two years?

MR: We were born in 2022 in Barcelona and we are currently in an expansion phase. We have opened an office in Brazil and we want to put the focus and energy in Latin America, since in Spain we see that there is a lack of interest in knowing how to produce to improve, at least in the industrial sector. In one year we will begin to address the presence in Europe, and in two years we see ourselves established in at least six countries in Latin America.

TB: A good idea you had.

MR: Putting our technology at the service of a social problem. The entire founding team decided to create SPASM (Multiple Sexual Assault Prevention System) using sensor technology. It was born with this purpose and then we saw that it had potential and that we could expand its prevention and alert service to other social problems such as transphobic aggressions, bullying or drug trafficking, among others.

TB: What is the biggest challenge you have faced?

MR: Starting a technology company, without being an engineer, but being an openly practicing analogist with a background in communication and advertising. The ‘sub-challenge’ has been to create a technology company as a woman.

TB: The best advice you’ve ever been given.

MR: My father, Jaime Rivas, told me, “Maria, if you decide to do it, do it right. If you don’t, don’t do it.”

TB: A role model.

MR: Carmen Gamazo, my grandmother. She fought against established norms, both social and family, and was one of the first women to study pediatrics outside Spain. Her determination has always been a reference for me.

TB: A technology that will shape the future.

MR: Any technology that has reliable data as a source of development.

TB: Face-to-face or remote?

MR: Hybrid and flexible. Minimum three face-to-face days in the office. Human relations are a must.

TB: A startup or company.

MR: SOM-HI, a platform that contacts companies and individuals to help them with sustainability policies.

TB: What makes you disconnect?

MR: Until the end of August, I went out to oxygenate with my faithful friend Keco to the beach in the Maresme, but in general I like to read and enjoy quality time with my partner and family. I also don’t say no to a trip or a cultural or gastronomic plan. And I would like to go horseback riding again.

TB: A book to recommend.

MR: The dictionary. I try to look up a word every day. I recommend it.

TB: A series, movie or song that defines your moment in life.

MR: “Nessun Dorma”and Pavarotti. Sublime.

TB: A recipe, a restaurant.

MR: Fried eggs with ‘puntilla’ and french fries at Casa Feli (my mother’s). We always say that the best restaurant in the world is in our house. There is always a table, delicious food cooked with love and you pay with a kiss.

TB: A place in the world.

MR: Family home. I know it’s surprising that I have such a connection with my parents, but really, when you’re at an age like mine you realize a lot of things, to value what you have. That bond of security and reassurance is the best thing you can have: an advice, a conversation, a caress, a “don’t worry”, a “are you okay?”, a message of support, a “we are proud of you”, a “you are an awesome boss”, a “congratulations”, a “don’t worry, it will be fine”…. All that love is priceless, it’s what really defines you and where you want to be. I want to give importance to emotional balance and my balance, my beacon, is my family.

TB: Where would you invest 100k?

MR: In a circular economy project. I already have one on the radar.

TB: What does Tech Barcelona mean to you?

MR: First a meeting place, to become an ecosystem of creation and organic technological development. Tech Barcelona puts at your disposal a wide range of resources, both human and technical, that separately you may need to spend a year of investment to identify, contact and activate. It is a highly creative environment, within a context with a Mediterranean identity, very fresh and dynamic, intercultural talent, highly competitive, but above all professional support in the phases of projection and consolidation.

Very interesting projects are emerging from Tech Barcelona and the presence of world reference companies with your DNA will surely increase. The support, which sometimes we do not see or do not value enough, and the dissemination made by the communication team is of high quality. If you want to be, you have to be in Tech Barcelona.