a perfect tandem united by blocks

Hannah Brown • Jul 30, 2024 • 6 min read

E-⁠residents Saúl Hidalgo and Emilio Martínez, from Spain, are co-founders of MetaDAO, and advise large companies and startups on web3 and blockchain technology

Saúl Hidalgo (left) and Emilio Martínez (right), founders of MetaDAO, share a passion for technology and entrepreneurship.

Emilio Martínez, a computer engineer from A Coruña, and Saúl Hidalgo, a lawyer from Guadalajara, are separated by more than 20 years of age, very different lives, and disparate careers. However, rather than being a drawback, their difference is the key to the success of MetaDAO, the Estonian company these Spanish entrepreneurs founded together. Their unique team advises large companies and startups on web3 and blockchain technology like no one else.

Imagined opportunities

At just 15 years old, Emilio created a gaming server from his home in the small town of Mugardos, in A Coruña in northern Spain. He never imagined that it would go viral. Nor did he imagine that a major esports company would hire him as a result, and that there he would meet the person with whom he would create his own company, MetaDAO.

Likewise, Saúl, “from Guadalajara (central Spain) since birth” with more than two decades of career in a bank, never thought at the time that he would leave his stable job to start a company with Emilio and find his true passions: blockchain and entrepreneurship.

But they did it. And it couldn’t have turned out better.

Fascinated by blockchain

“When Emilio and I met, we were both fascinated by blockchain technology. We started delving into it and getting in touch with profiles related to blockchain development. More and more people and companies approached us for advice, and we saw a business opportunity there,” says Saúl.

“I think Saúl and I make a good tandem, quite unusual in this sector. Saúl brings enormous experience in the world of legal and advisory services, with a very rare specialisation in blockchain, and I bring more technical knowledge about all the technology behind this system,” adds Emilio.

When they considered formalizing their company, they were both settled in Spain, although each in a different city. They opted for an SL (Spanish Limited Company), with the idea of attending some local events or providing services in-person to some clients. “But the truth is that 95% of our work is online, both between us, as we live in different places, and with our clients, who are mostly foreign and located in various parts of Europe, America, and Asia.”

A solution without bureaucracy

MetaDAO was growing more and more every day, and the bureaucracy required to manage the company didn’t allow them to focus on their business to solidify their project.

“We came across e-⁠Residency on the recommendation of some Spanish friends, who are actually now living in Estonia. They told us it was interesting for digital services, that there was a good community around it, and that it could provide value to us,” comments Emilio.

Their experience has been so positive that they, in turn, have been recommending e-⁠Residency to other friends, colleagues, and clients. “Being able to recommend a system that works and solves our clients' problems is also a business opportunity and a direct added value that e-⁠Residency provides us,” notes Emilio.

Now, they manage most of their business through their Estonian company, which has allowed them to offload a significant administrative burden.

“With e-Residency, all the administrative management of your company is really convenient. It's wonderful. For example, applying for VAT was literally done in a click. In two minutes we had the certificate.”

Estonia is a European Union member state and provides a stable legal and judicial framework. It has allowed Emilio and Saúl to operate with total peace of mind not only within any European country but also the entire world.

E-Residency offers unrivalled growth opportunities

Access the world’s largest single trading bloc, a pool of investors in tech and growth businesses, and a supportive startup ecosystem.

Growing together with their clients

Saúl highlights how the programme’s philosophy itself facilitates entrepreneurship.

“Not requiring a large capital outlay at the start, we have been able to reinvest the income in the company's growth."

And they have done it, growing themselves and helping their clients grow.

“What we like most about our work is being able to help people. Blockchain is still an emerging technology, and many of our clients come to us completely lost. Many young people, for example, had an idea at university or started a project with friends and did not have the technological or legal structure to develop it. Or the more traditional consultancies, which have begun to invest in blockchain but do not understand what crypto or an NFT is. Being able to support them and see their project come to life is very satisfying. And I am passionate about the technology behind this. The possibilities that blockchain gives you are enormous,” Emilio tells us.

Estonia, in fact, was the first country in the world to develop an early type of blockchain technology to protect its systems, “which allows total traceability and immutability of data and transactions and provides great confidence,” Emilio highlights.

Helping future e-⁠resident entrepreneurs

For Saúl, blockchain has changed his life: “I have found my passion. Blockchain is exciting because it’s like watching a small child grow up and seeing how everything evolves, how everything changes. Being part of this paradigm shift that this new technology represents, being part of this history... it’s thrilling,” he says.

“I love helping when I see someone who has the same passion for their business and ventures into entrepreneurship. For me, it has been a personal and professional rebirth. After 22 years in a bank, feeling that excitement again for creating new things, full of possibilities, being in contact with entrepreneurial people, full of ideas and stimulating projects, and being able to help them with my experience, is a gift.”

If they had to advise someone considering becoming an e-⁠resident, Saúl is clear: “The first thing we make them see is that this is not a programme for all types of businesses. If your business is developed here in Spain and is mainly physical, like a bar or a hairdresser, having an Estonian company doesn’t make sense,” he stresses.

He adds: “But if your business is digital, if it is not necessarily tied to a specific place, e-⁠Residency is certainly something to consider since:

"You can access all the advantages of having a European Union company, with very interesting potential to start your business and make it grow, and with the huge benefit of almost completely eliminating bureaucratic procedures that make you lose focus on your business.”

The author would like to thank Manuela Bailo for interviewing Saúl and Emilio and for drafting this article.