We finally had our summer party last week. It had been scheduled for early July, but we were really busy and kept postponing it. Finally, we decided to do it last Friday, which was also Carlos’s last full day working with us. I think that I’ve mentioned on this blog that in addition to being an exceptional worker, Carlos is also an exceptional person. I’ve never seen him mad or agitated. He’s always mild-tempered and contributing actively to make the company better, even when I’m stressing him out.

We shared an office, and every day we laughed, talked and worked hard. He knows more about the Internet than most people twice his age. He lives and breathes it. It sustains him.

I wish I had his drive, focus and dedication.

And he’s only 17. So he had to return to finish his last year of high school.

He will be a star someday. He already is, but I expect even greater things from him.

I’m not as mature as he is, and I’m . . . well, let’s forget about how much older I am than him for

the moment.

When I finished working at 7PM last Friday, I literally ran out to find his gift. I wanted it to be

special, so that he could see how much he had touched each of us. I found a jacket that I liked for myself and I bought it for him, using the money that the whole team had contributed for his gift. I think that he liked it.

And then we got drunk at La Flauta drinking cava sangria before going out bar-hopping and

then clubbing. Though he apparently fell asleep at some points in the night, when the club closed at 6AM, Carlos was the first to ask us if we’d be going to an after-hours place.

To be 17 again. And to be 17 with such a clear vision of what you want to do and the talent to achieve.

Carlos is the Internet’s Rafa Nadal. Wait and see. I know that he’ll prove me right.

He’s still working for us, by the way, during his spare hours. On Monday, he called me to let me know the tasks that he’d been doing this week. And now, I’m online with him as he pushes me to finalise those tasks.

A really special kid.

Interspersed throughout this post are pics of our employees who attended the party. This last pic is of Didac and Albert, our investors.