Spanish-born Alejandro Gayubo has lived in London for three years. Here, he shares his passion for motorbikes, public speaking, and the Science Museum, and explains why he loves the variety of working for TG0.
**Hi Alejandro! Where are you from?**
My parents are from the north of Spain but my younger brother and I were raised in Madrid. I'm a city person so I loved growing up there — there's lots of culture and museums to visit.
**Did you have any career aspirations as a child?**
I'm a really practical person and I've always been obsessed with technology, cars and anything that moves. But I'm also a people person. Even as a child, I knew I wanted a job where I could interact with people, rather than just be stuck behind a computer.
**You spent some time in the US before university — how did that come about?**
When I was 16, my family encouraged me to take a public speaking course in the US. I spent a month and a half at Georgetown University in Washington DC that summer, and enjoyed it so much I returned the following two years (visiting UCLA and a university in New York). I really enjoyed debating, meeting new people, and exploring a new country.
**Then back to Spain to start university?**
Yes, I studied industrial engineering at Universidad Pontificia Comillas in Madrid — ranked among the best universities in the world for engineering. They were very good at emphasising the importance of developing soft skills alongside technical abilities. I did a year in industry at a defence company developing military vehicles, and spent most of my final year working on a project to restore and digitise a classic motorcycle. Tinkering with motorbikes has always been a passion of mine.
**What did you do with your degree?**
I wanted to get some professional experience before a Master's. I got a job with Evlox, a Spanish denim manufacturer, working as an R&D engineer between Madrid and Morocco. I worked across new material development, investigated new dying techniques, and learned a lot about product development, market trends, and working directly with customers.
**What brought you to the UK?**
I came to study for my Master's in product design at the Royal College of Art. I wanted to move beyond the engineer's purely technical view to take the customer's experience into account. It even inspired me to develop my own startup — the idea was to develop a gearbox for electric motorbikes that didn't have gears but could simulate the sensation of driving. Despite the push to adopt EVs, a large chunk of motorbike riders won't switch because they feel they'd lose the driving experience. We found 70% of riders would switch to an EV if we could implement this technology. Unfortunately we weren't the only people chasing this idea — but we did electrify a 1950s motorcycle while keeping all of its original aesthetic charm.
**How did you hear about TG0?**
I had been accepted onto the Innovation RCA incubator programme, and Ming was one of the advisors who helped me develop a business plan and conduct automotive market research. Once the project finished, I gave him a call. I love what he's achieved at TG0, and he gave me the opportunity to join as a mechanical engineer.
**How's it been going?**
It's a really interesting company and a fun place to be. We're working with a lot of different materials and technologies — it's impossible to be bored.
