On the thirty third floor of the second highest skyscraper of Mexico City, sixty empty chairs are pointed towards the front of the room where four empty chairs await the spokespeople. Four speakers at BBVA Spark Space are about to discuss the opportunities and challenges of acquiring talent in LATAM and data driven talent management to a large audience of Chief Human Resources Officers and Head’s of People. On one of the center stage seats, there is a copy of “Ulysses” by James Joyce. The Irish novel belongs to Mariano Miranda, a 28 year-old entrepreneur from Costa Rica, founder of Buo. Before addressing how his company has saved legacy companies millions of dollars through the centralization of processes and analysis of talent data, Mariano casually read ‘Episode 14, Oxen of the Sun’ and latinate prose.
Mariano has a firm handshake, wears browline black optical glasses, and is always dressed in a black or white t-shirt with the stamped bright green logo of his company. The logo resembles the eyes and brow of an owl, a symbol for Athena, the goddess of wisdom and strategy. Buo’s trademark is spot on, as they forefront a revolution of employment and HR tech in LATAM. At the helm of Buo, Mariano champions a cause that’s as personal as it is professional.
‘Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds.’
As Zoroastrianism’s basic tenets or Freddy Mercury’s father's repeated teaching statement, this is Mariano’s life mantra. Raised in a family where academic discipline was as natural as breathing—his mother an economist and lawyer, his brothers in medical fields, one a successful odontologist and the other an overachieved cardiologist —Miranda's upbringing was steeped in the principles of rigorous thought and ethical action. These values, crystallized in the phrase "Good thoughts, Good words, Good deeds', Mariano’s personal axiom. Throughout his life and professional career, Mariano aims to be a good person and has infected everyone he has come across with his positivity ever since.
Between the Pacific and Caribbean, in the heart of Costa Rica, Mariano grew up in San José. Always an outstanding student, his grades even outshined those of his MD brethren, influenced by his mom’s underscoring the importance of education. On the other side, his father, in accordance with the Costa Rican tale of the tape, owned a mango plantation. Between April and August, his father would show up to Mariano’s school in his pickup truck, its back bed overflowing with mangoes, hauling the high season crop to give to every teacher and then to his children’s peers. Until recently, Mariano developed an aversion to mango, the menu during his childhood was made up of the following: Mango Ceviche, Mango Salsa, Chicken with Mango Sauce, Mango Smoothie, Mango on Rice, Mango Salad, Mango Salad #2, Mango Salad #3 and for dessert, Mango Ice Cream. His brothers and him had the king of fruits coming out of their ears. Mango, however, paid for Mariano’s tuition, setting his personal ambition higher and higher as his studies and time passed by, better grasping his own capacity and his ability to strive for something greater.
While his peers were wearing Wanchope’s Manchester City shirts, watching replays of Médford’s decisive goal for Costa Rica against Sweden in the World Cup, and playing football in grass patched pitches, Mariano ran track. He competed on track and field’s arguably most difficult event, the 400 meter hurdles. The 400 meter hurdles is a pure burnout race. A sprint at medium pace, hitting your threshold at roughly three quarters of the distance makes the last span agonizing. You need endurance like a pure distance runner and the ability to fight through the lactic acid, all while jumping over 90cm hurdles along the way, making adjustments mid race, and even if you are leading the sprint, you can’t lose focus of your stride and technique. The similitudes of this event are innumerable with entrepreneurship. Mariano was ingrained with this discipline to overcome professional hurdles, stay focused and adjust month to month later in his career as an entrepreneur and CEO. After the end of every race other runners would throw up, the physical exertion and stress, the lactic acid build up, the blood flow redirected to the legs, made most competitors heave after their maximal effort. He never did. Recently, his track coach, Francisco ‘Fugue’ Figueroa passed away but Mariano recalls with immense fondness Coach Figueroa saying to him, “Show no weakness, hold your head up high, puke behind the stands afterwards, but show to the others that you are stronger than them.” To this day, Mariano has added to his mantra the discipline and pride that the 400 meter hurdles branded on his back.
Apart from not throwing up at the track, from a very young age Mariano found solace in reading. Prior to leaving a copy of Ulysses on his seat and before discussing the future of HR, he remembers the first book he read to be the “Diary of Anne Frank”. Today he emphatically recommends “100 Years of Solitude” by Gabriel García Marques, “Cartucho” by Nellie Campobello and poetry by Amado Nervo. Mariano hurdled and read in high-school, and always had the ambition of studying in the United States. His academic prowess and determination landed him a full scholarship at Yale University. Miranda’s academic background in economics and technology provided the framework for Buo later on. A nomad at heart, Mariano was always clear he wanted to study abroad, and travel the world. He lived in Paris and walked Montmartre, backpacked South East Asia and got smitten by Angkor Wat, work wandered him all over South America, and through every travel and life journey Mariano always knew at heart he wanted to have an impact in Latin America. His relentless drive for practical solutions to social issues and his thirst to be an entrepreneur, brought Buo to life in Costa Rica.
Built on different pillars, Buo recently raised over $3M in a Seed round and has headquartered in Mexico City in its ambition to grow in LATAM. Mariano has chiseled in stone the following stanchions within his company:
To redefine the workforce by aligning skills with opportunities, thereby creating a fairer, more productive workplace.
Get better by hiring smarter.
Unlocking human performance providing unprecedented visibility into talent.
Innovation, profitability, and discipline.
Buo’s three core values: innovation, profitability, and discipline are an extension of Mariano. He works out 5 days a week, wakes up everyday at 6 am, barely drinks and is strict on a balanced healthy diet. A gifted and charismatic salesman, Mariano focuses on the economic viability and annual recurring revenue of his company. On innovation, however, he doesn't take credit for Buo’s groundbreaking products. He shares compound innovation alongside his team—Paqui Casanueva, Orlando Lopez, and Ximena Loranca— and every HR collaborator they have ever worked with along the way.
Miranda has built an enterprise that not only predicts employment outcomes but actively works to enhance them, leading him to the forefront of a revolution in employment and technology in Latin America. Buo stands as a beacon of innovation in a region where traditional employment metrics fail to capture the full spectrum of human potential. With a focus on leveraging technology to match the right person to the right job, Buo harnesses the power of cutting edge Machine Learning models to predict long-term job performance and compatibility. This isn’t just a business for Miranda; it's a mission.
Mariano’s strategy is clear and compelling: analyze the vast oceans of data available in today's digital world and distill them into meaningful, actionable insights. This process isn't just about filling positions but about fostering a workplace where talent thrives and businesses flourish. The company’s innovative approach has led to a significant reduction in turnover and a boost in performance across the board. Miranda’s vision for a smarter, more humane job market is fast becoming a reality. In a world still grappling with the legacy of outdated employment practices, Mariano Miranda and Buo are crafting a new paradigm, one that promises not just better jobs, but a better way of living and working.
Miranda’s journey, however, isn’t merely a tale of corporate success. It’s a story of personal evolution and commitment to social innovation. From his early days, he exhibited a profound connection to his community and a keen awareness of the broader social fabric. Whether discussing economic theories with his mother or navigating the complexities of identity and acceptance of sexual orientation in a conservative Tican society, Miranda's life has been a workshop in balancing personal authenticity with societal expectations.
This balance is evident in his approach to mental health, both in his personal life and in the workplace. Today, Miranda upholds wellness and resilience, advocating for policies and practices that support mental health. His leadership style is a reflection of his life philosophy: holistic, inclusive, and always forward-thinking.
If you’d look into Mariano’s closet, it would resemble that of a cartoon character. As if Popeye was looking at what to wear, you will always see Mariano wearing a black or white Buo t-shirt and baggy pants. He does, however, wear two red bracelets. The color of those charms, unlike his attire, changes from year to year. Every year he picks a color, giving it a symbolism for what he yearns for that particular year. 2022 was green for luck, 2023 was turquoise for recovery and peace, and 2024 is red for strength. Strength as Buo looks to expand its reach.
Mariano recalls that throughout his years at Yale his professors would always go out of their way to help him, his investors cherished working with him, his friends endorsed atypically his ventures. Humbly he says he doesn’t understand this, but as soon as he walked into the offices of DILA, at Paseo de los Tamarindos, the team immediately recognized that he had a unique ability to bring out the best in those around him. A true outlier in the venture ecosystem that has moved to Mexico, yet he still hates spicy food.
"Building something from scratch is so freaking hard. But nothing, nothing is more exciting." M.M.
https://getbuo.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mmarianoh/
Further Data:
Attached are some of Mariano Miranda’s psychometric results on Buo’s output.
