Welcome to this interview that promises to be as riveting as a Hollywood action movie! Today we meet Rob Nagel, a UI/UX designer from Austria. Rob, besides being a design guru, is the proud owner of a WordPress-Websites business. Yes, that’s right! This man is a master of two worlds. But he doesn’t stop there, he also freelances for big companies while presenting himself as the WordPress “Developer” for small businesses – double life, double fun!

INTERVIEW

1Q: For those who don’t know you, who are you?

My name is Rob Nagel, and I am from Austria. I grow up in Vorarlberg next to Switzerland, but I spend the last 11 years in Vienna.

2Q: What do you do?

I am a senior UI/UX Designer and WordPress-Websites Business owner.

3Q: What is your role in the company (if you are not self-employed)?

My role is UI/UX Design as a Freelancer for big companies (www.robnagel.at) and a WordPress “Developer” for small companies (www.nailit.at).

4Q: In today’s competitive world, what do you think is the one thing that sets you apart from the competition?

So, for the UI/UX part it’s definitely my experience since I am doing it for over 10 years and designed many many websites, as well as Online Platforms, or Apps. For the WordPress Business it’s the service we offer. I say we because I have an employee. The customer pays monthly like a subscription, and we create and take care of the website, so that the customer does not have any worries about updates, security, changes, and so on.

5Q: How did you end up at ULab?

I think it’s the best place for co-working in Alicante and the staff is just awesome! Also, the people who already work here are awesome as well. Very friendly and I think all of them have a high knowledge in their field of work. So, only the best are here

6Q: What do you find in ULab as a place to work, and what advantages do you find in working in a coworking space?

For me as a foreigner it’s so good to speak and get in touch with natives and you also meet nice people from everywhere such as Norway, Germany, UK, Ecuador and so on… Through the people you get to know the city, the restaurants, the good places and stuff like that. I already worked in other coworking spaces back in Austria but ULab has nice meeting rooms which is very important. You know, MS Teams, Zoom, Slack, Google Meets became a daily part of our life especially since stupid Covid. Therefor you need some meeting rooms to satisfy people’s needs. I also like the community here when people share their breakfast or lunch together down at the Auditorio. Sometimes there are also events to take part where you can meet and greet all kind of people and enjoy the food and the drinks!

7Q: Do you think that working in a coworking space helps new entrepreneurs?

I don’t know, this really depends in which field you are working in. For developers I think so, since you can ask for help if you have a specific problem. But in general, I am not sure if it helps you professionally since it is mostly very quiet during work. If you are a social person, I think it can help you to gain some knowledge, but I don’t think that every person will share their experience… It really depends on what you do and what you expect.

8Q: Do you have a new project in the pipeline for 2023 – 2024 that you would like to share with us?

Right now, I am still involved in the project from last year (energy provider in Austria), Designing many digital products for them including online platforms, apps, and websites. One little cool side project just popped up today actually, it’s an App for scaling agile businesses through CHAT GPT… kind of weird but cool haha

9Q: Small quiz: Choose a movie/series/book that represents your life (Or both… You decide!)

OMG, I watch too many series, and movies to choose from… very hard question. I wanted to be a Rockstar, that’s also why I have so many tattoos haha… I really thought I am gonna make it with my band but since I am writing this interview now you see that I didn’t make it (lol). Maybe there is a movie about this situation? I am also constantly moving so I feel like a nomad (not intentionally). I hope Alicante is the final destination 🙂

10Q: And finally, is there a phrase, philosophy or reference that you follow in your day to day life?

Yes, I try to live after: GET THINGS DONE! And from a very famous green little creature called Yoda: Do or do not, there is no try! (But actually, I always try haha) What I really try (again) is to live in the moment because the older you get the faster time passes by and I kind of feel I miss too much the moments right now. I always look into the future and forget to live now… I don’t know, maybe you can combine them and say: Live the moment! Do it! Get it Done!