As a child in his native Colombia, Alberto Pardo dreamed of becoming a pilot. Now a successful adtech, digital transformation, and e-commerce entrepreneur, Pardo, who goes by the nickname “Banano,” has a long track record of flying high—not just in the big blue skies, but also in the world of media. He is the founder/CEO of Adsmovil, a global digital advertising solutions company, and cofounder/CEO of Nuestra.TV, a free, bilingual on-demand video streaming platform.

In this interview, Pardo talks about his love of flying, how his childhood influenced his entry into the digital industry, and why being a CEO is like being a pilot.

You ended up fulfilling your childhood dream.

Exactly. I graduated with a degree in industrial engineering from a university in Colombia and came to the United States to study for an MBA. When I finished my master’s, the first thing I did was learn how to fly. I got my license and am a private pilot. I have a crazy love inside my head for airplanes. I follow every single community on the web and in social media regarding them.

What about becoming a pilot appealed so much to you?

My kid doesn’t know that I wanted to be a pilot, but I see not only with my son, but also other kids too — they’re fascinated with airplanes. Planes means more than moving from one place to another. Flying is about using the imagination, creating, discovering, traveling. I have traveled so much in my life. I’ve lived in many places in Latin America, as well as in the US. I’ve been a pioneer in many things. It’s all very related with my early airplane dreams.

Tell readers about your childhood.

My family lived in Bogota, Colombia. In 1983, my dad gave me an Apple
AAPL
II Plus, one of the first that the company released. I was the only one with a computer in my high school. All I did with it was play three or four games — Olympic Decathlon, Space Invaders, and another I don’t remember. Every single afternoon, three or four friends from my school would stop at my house and play for a couple of hours.

Years later, I became cofounder of a startup named DeRemate.com. I was working in a telco company in Colombia in a big company with a good position and salary. A couple of friends called me and said they were trying to replicate eBay for Latin America.

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I threw away everything and decided to start that venture. Since then, it’s been consistent. I build companies and sell them. In the past 22 years, I have been part of three or four startups. One of them was DeRemate.com. The second one is Adsmovil. I built two or three more that still exist or were already sold.

You recently launched bilingual video streaming platform Nuestra.TV. How did that come about?

We decided to start it here in the United States. The U.S. is the most sophisticated and largest market, not only for digital but also for TV. We want to be part of the transformation that television is facing right now worldwide. The US is leading this process, but it’s going to happen everywhere. We’re in a good niche, as the U.S. Hispanic population is the fifth largest economy in the world.

In the future, we are going to expand to other markets, maybe Spain—and, of course, Latin America. Right now, we’re very focused on this market. Nuestra.TV offers movies, series, and other video content for the family.

What’s the best piece of business advice you ever received?

There’s a saying in Spanish: A veces, el mejor negocio es no hacerlo or sometimes the best business is not to do it.

Very wise advice. What are the similarities and differences between your love of the skies as a pilot and your work as an entrepreneur and CEO?

When you want to become a pilot, you need to be trained. Part of my training in business was to get an MBA and part was working on DeRemate.com.

When you’re a pilot, everything is in your hands. You’re the one that has control. If you crash or if you land, it’s your decision. When you’re a startup CEO, you’re also the one responsible for making the right decisions.