Built in Medellín.
Built to deliver.

In 2017, after being made redundant from Virgin Care as part of a large cost-cutting exercise, Dave made a deliberate choice. Life in the UK had become comfortable in a way that felt like stagnation. He travelled to Chiang Mai to think — and came back with five goals: continue making a positive impact on people, live somewhere closer to nature, build something financially sustainable, learn a new language and integrate within a different culture, and settle down.

He arrived in Medellín in September 2017. In April 2018 he bought Ondas — a hostel, café, and bar in a busy tourist neighbourhood — and began building.

What he found in Colombia was not what the outside narrative suggested. The people he hired and worked with woke up early, worked hard, studied outside of work, and conducted themselves with integrity and humility. Pre-pandemic, Medellín had already established itself as Latin America's leading technology and innovation hub — cited consistently as the number one destination for digital nomads in the region, and recognised for its ecosystem of startups, international investment, and engineering talent.

Running a busy and vibrant hostel, café & bar on a tight budget in a foreign country turns out to be an excellent training ground for building high-performing, diverse teams. Every initiative at Ondas required the same things Emerald now applies to every placement: strong vision, clear governance, inclusive leadership, and the right person in the right role. The first delivery teams were built at Ondas.

The western professionals who came and stayed — often for months at a time — were themselves a signal. They were not tourists. They were technology workers, entrepreneurs, and founders who had chosen Medellín because it worked: the infrastructure, the connectivity, the culture, and the talent pool.