Sebastian Barrios, known as Sebos, was called by Steve Jobs at 16 regarding an app he created that drained phone batteries, leading to the introduction of a new App Store rule.
At 19, he built an app that became the number one app in 19 countries, which led to various opportunities from multinational companies and governments.
Mercado Libre is the most valuable company in Latin America, valued at over $100 billion, and has a significant engineering team of 18,000 developers.
The company operates a vertically integrated e-commerce marketplace with its own distribution network, including trucks and airplanes, delivering over 5 million packages daily.
They deploy approximately 30,000 times a day, showcasing their rapid operational capabilities.
Barrios emphasizes a minimal distinction between engineering and product roles, promoting a unified team approach.
Only about 5% of the team holds formal product management titles, allowing engineers to take ownership of products based on their expertise rather than titles.
Leadership at Mercado Libre is highly technical, encouraging deep involvement in product discussions and user experience over purely revenue-focused metrics.
Barrios shares his unique lifestyle choices, including drinking only water, not listening to music while programming, and avoiding social media and news.
He attributes his upbringing, where his mother raised him with a strong sense of independence and problem-solving skills, as foundational to his approach to life and work.