fbpx
Connect with us
Apply Now

Entrepreneurship

Tech Talent Knows No Borders: Building an Open Source Giant From an Irish Fishing Town, A Founder’s Story with Cian O Maidin

Cian Maidin, A computer scientist turned entrepreneur in digital solution development, founded NearForm in 2011 with the mission to bring the advantages of open-source software to enterprises across the globe. Today, Cian is President of NearForm
Tell us about your childhood and where you grew up?
I grew up in Tramore, which is ultimately where I founded NearForm. Tramore is a beautiful place right on the waterfront, ideal for families with children. Despite growing up by the water, my parents have always said that I am the product of what happens when you leave your child around too many computers! My passion for technology and in particular computer science started very early. My father was one of the first Irish computer scientists, so I grew up around computers that weren’t commonplace at the time. I learned C++, a new language at the time when I was 14, which cemented my interest in computer science. As I moved through my teenage years, I also developed a passion for art, which similarly to computer science, requires a level of creativity.
How did you get started as an entrepreneur?
My entrepreneurship path hasn’t always been smooth sailing. My first company didn’t work out very well, and around 2010 things were winding down and I had to make a decision: did I want to get a “normal” job, or did I want to try starting something new again? I decided to stick to the entrepreneurship path and co-founded NearForm. I had always been drawn to the vibrant vibrant community of developers. Seeing the creativity of the work in this space, the camaraderie, and the ways that developers across companies work together towards common goals has always made me feel passionate about the beauty of Open Source, particularly within Node.js. It was this passion that led us to take a gamble on the then-new Open Source environment, Node.js. Back in 2011, this was considered a bold and alternative approach to development, but I was spurred on by the belief that Node.js was the key to enabling developers to build better software, more efficiently. It was in this context that NearForm came to be, seizing the opportunity to become a key player in the then-fledgling Open Source & Node movements.
What is one business lesson you would tell a startup founder?
Being an optimist and being visionary in an uncertain world means we have the ability to have an impact on the course of events and the direction of where technology is going. Generally, entrepreneurs are extremely strong-willed, which can be a very useful character trait for the role. However, being strong-willed is not enough to alter the course of things, and it is very important as an entrepreneur to know when things are not going to plan and to adapt quickly, and without emotional attachment. Therefore, my advice to new founders is to be ruthlessly honest with themselves.
Continue Reading


Copyright © 2022 Disrupt ™ Magazine is a Minority Owned Privately Held Company - Disrupt ™ was founder by Puerto Rican serial entrepreneur and philanthropist Tony Delgado who is on a mission to transform Latin America using the power of education and entrepreneurship.

Disrupt ™ Magazine
151 Calle San Francisco
Suite 200
San Juan, Puerto Rico, 00901

Opinions expressed by Disrupt Contributors are their own. Disrupt Magazine invites voices from many diverse walks of life to share their perspectives on our contributor platform. We are big believers in freedom of speech and while we do enforce our community guidelines, we do not actively censor stories on our platform because we want to give our contributors the freedom to express their opinions. Articles are not commissioned by our editorial team, and opinions expressed by our community contributors do not reflect the opinions of Disrupt or its employees.
We are committed to fighting the spread of misinformation online so if you feel an article on our platform goes against our community guidelines or contains false information, we do encourage you to report it. We need your help to fight the spread of misinformation. For more information please visit our Contributor Guidelines available here.


Disrupt ™ is the voice of latino entrepreneurs around the world. We are part of a movement to increase diversity in the technology industry and we are focused on using entrepreneurship to grow new economies in underserved communities both here in Puerto Rico and throughout Latin America. We enable millennials to become what they want to become in life by learning new skills and leveraging the power of the digital economy. We are living proof that all you need to succeed in this new economy is a landing page and a dream. Disrupt tells the stories of the world top entrepreneurs, developers, creators, and digital marketers and help empower them to teach others the skills they used to grow their careers, chase their passions and create financial freedom for themselves, their families, and their lives, all while living out their true purpose. We recognize the fact that most young people are opting to skip college in exchange for entrepreneurship and real-life experience. Disrupt Magazine was designed to give the world a taste of that.