Set up a company in Spain: An interview with Cloudgaia’s COO
Expanding to Spain is on the bucket list of many international companies. With its fast-growing digital ecosystem and increasing demand for tech solutions, the country is now a heavy player for European expansion.
Despite the challenges any expansion carries, the advantages keep piling up. At least, that’s what Florencia Cattelani, Chief Operations Officer (COO) at Cloudgaia, says after the company’s successful expansion from Latin America to Europe.
We sat down with her on a Zoom call (and a cup of tea) to sip more of her knowledge on this topic.
Meet Florencia, a tech-enthusiastic Argentinian living in Spain
Florencia: I was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Since June 2023, I’ve been living on the outskirts of Valencia, Spain.
From a very young age, I was fascinated by technology and understanding what was behind this tool we call a computer. Fortunately, I grew up in a family that always supported my dreams and helped me achieve them.
During elementary school, I enrolled in computer and programming courses, and when it was time to choose a high school, we looked for one with a focus on computer science. After those years of exploring the world of technology, I realized it was my passion and that I wanted to dedicate my professional life to this field, so I enrolled in the Computer Engineering program at Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires (ITBA).
Step by step, I explored different roles until I discovered the world of integrations and middleware and became passionate about it. It allowed me to learn about each client’s business (giving a purpose to our technological implementations) while staying involved in low-level architecture and development.
A few years after graduating, (...) I decided to pursue a Master's in Investment Project Evaluation to gain another perspective and expand my knowledge.
Later, I joined Cloudgaia, where I immersed myself in the vast and exciting world of Salesforce. Here, I had the opportunity to take on different roles—from project leader to practice leader for integrations with MuleSoft (where I remain very active in the ecosystem as a MuleSoft Ambassador), moving through strategy, and returning to operations–this time as Chief Operations Officer (COO).
BRIDGE IN: Cloudgaia has some remote positions listed on its website. What is the company’s current work model, and what is your perspective on remote vs. hybrid vs. in-office work? What are the challenges of managing a distributed team?
Florencia: When Cloudgaia first started, work was done in person at its offices in Buenos Aires. While we worked from offices in Argentina, we had global clients in Latin America, Europe, and the United States.
The 2020 pandemic forced us to change and adapt quickly. Overnight, we all found ourselves working from home, no longer seeing each other face-to-face every day, and having to find new ways to interact so we wouldn’t lose the great connections that come from sharing lunches, coffee breaks, and informal conversations.
That moment also opened our eyes to talent worldwide—talent we hadn’t previously considered due to the requirement of working in person. This led us to expand our reach and establish new sites. We opened locations in Uruguay, Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Spain, Portugal, and the United States.
Cloudgaia: a successful case of expanding into Spain and the importance of mastering different languages
BRIDGE IN: Cloudgaia was founded in Latin America and later expanded to Spain. What motivated this decision, and what challenges did you face when establishing operations in the country?
Florencia: That’s right. Cloudgaia was founded in Argentina with global clients. One of our first clients was Coca-Cola European Partners, whom we continue to support today. After working with them for a few years, they requested that our teams relocate to Europe to better align with the time zone. That’s how our expansion began—first to the UK and, years later, to Spain, where we now provide services to Europe.
Initially, our team members were expatriates, but we started adding local talent over the years. Today, we have around 20 people working from Spain.
BRIDGE IN: You yourself made the move from Buenos Aires to Spain within the company. How was the transition on a professional level, and what bureaucratic hurdles did you encounter in the process?
Florencia: Relocating requires a lot of patience and overcoming frustration. Even though I had Cloudgaia’s support, there are always bureaucratic matters that are up to the individual rather than the company. And plans never go exactly as expected—you need resilience, a Plan B, and a Plan C, and you must thoroughly research your options before embarking on the adventure. It’s also important to avoid comparing Argentina with Spain.
I acknowledge that I had an advantage over others—having European citizenship made the process significantly easier. But even with that, nothing happens immediately or seamlessly.
BRIDGE IN: Spain has developed a strong tech ecosystem, but language remains a key factor for international companies. From Cloudgaia’s experience, is English still a barrier to attracting and retaining local talent?
Florencia: For us, English is essential. As a global company, it’s the language that unites us and allows us to communicate with everyone.
In the tech industry, it’s almost impossible to avoid English. From university textbooks to software documentation, talks, and conferences, most (or at least the most innovative and prestigious ones) are primarily in English.
For Cloudgaia, a global company with projects worldwide, English is a fundamental requirement. However, I’ve noticed in Europe that the local language often takes precedence. We’ve had project requests in France, for example, where the team was required to speak French—here, English alone wasn’t enough.
