The one who may well become the walkie talkie of the XNUMXst century is being born at the hands of an Algarvian, who lives in New York. The Roger application, which is available for iOS and, in beta version, for Android, promises to revolutionize the way of communicating on the mobile phone and has already captured the investment of one million dollars from one of Facebook's strongmen.
This is the new project of Ricardo Vice Santos, a 29-year-old Farense, who was one of the drivers of Spotify and who, at the end of a bad day at work, carrying bags at the airport in Faro, decided to change his life. Since then, he has never stopped helping to build the Future.
Ricardo Vice Santos was a high school student who liked to program at the Pinheiro e Rosa School in Faro. This taste – and talent – led him to win the Informatics Olympics, in Portugal, having continued his studies at the Instituto Superior Técnico, but for a short time.
«In the first year I was at Técnico, Gulbenkian paid for an internship in London and this was the first time I had been on a plane. Upon returning, I received the news that my parents were going to divorce, I was forced to return to Faro, and I went to carry bags to the airport. I worked 12 hours a day. Once, I missed the ride to the airport and went on foot [Ricardo lived near the Pinheiro e Rosa School]. I ended up doing my shift and the shift of a colleague who was absent. At the end of the day, I still missed the bus, and walked home while crying. I thought if I survived that, I survived everything!».
Ricardo set a goal: «double the salary every year. Whenever it stagnated, I changed the job». The young man left the airport and went back to computing. He started with Algardata, arranging computers, then Lisbon, then Barcelona, then Helsinki, or better Tampa, but this was just a “stop” to Stockholm where he began collaborating with Spotify.
“In Barcelona, I went to my boss and asked for double the salary, which he didn't accept. I had an offer from Nokia, but 
when I arrived in Helsinki I had an e-mail saying that, after all, I was going to work in Tampa, a city in the middle of nowhere. I didn't like it. I knew Spotify and had applied, but it took them a long time to decide. So I called and asked, "if I'm in Stockholm tomorrow, will you give me an answer?" Accepted. I paid for the most expensive plane flight of my life, because it was bought overnight and I spent my 24th birthday there. I had the longest interview of my life and that's how I joined Spotify».
Within the company, Ricardo Vice Santos had an ascending career: he started as a programmer in Sweden but, in 2011, he moved to New York, with two colleagues, to build and lead the technical team. What started with three people, reached 500. Then, he stopped programming and was promoted to responsible for growing new markets – «a mix of analyst, with business” – which represented more than 200 days on a plane a year, for meetings, presentations, more meetings and more presentations. Basically, Ricardo Vice Santos helped launch Spotify all over the world.
An intense pace of life, which does not allow you to waste time on anything. As an example, Ricardo Vice Santos revealed to students at Pinheiro e Rosa School, last Monday, that he has “22 shirts all of the same model, but in different colors, and five pants, all the same”.
In the session at his old school, Ricardo Vice Santos was asked many questions. One of the interventions questioned what would be the future of technology. “I'm not good at predicting the future, I'm better at building it,” he said.
And that's what Ricardo wants to do with the Roger application that he launched with Andreas Blixt, one of the companions who crossed the Atlantic with him to create the Spotify development team in New York.
Spotify was left behind a year ago, and in December 2015, it was made available to Roger. Investors appeared, among them Chamath Palihapitya, one of those responsible for the growth of Facebook users, which has a venture capital in Silicon Valley: Social Capital. From this “source” came a million dollars.
Leaving Spotify was not an easy decision for Ricardo Vice Santos, but for Sul Informação, explained the reasons: “In the business world, there are certain times to work on certain things and, in the last few years, I felt some frustration. It wasn't Spotify, it was me. Everyone dreams of their business growing as Spotify did, but I already missed Spotify when I was younger. It was difficult, I had to ask the “father of the bride” to leave [Daniel Ek, founder of Spotify], but I keep the best relationships, I have shares in the company, and I just want them to win. I still talk a lot with Daniel, it's family», he guarantees.
Roger already has users in 63 countries
An application with a button to talk, another to listen. A conversation in the way of walkie talkie adapted to the availability of users, who can listen to the message and respond when there is time to do so. That's a bit of it, Roger. A mix between sms and voice. All this within a 48 hour period. Then the messages are deleted.
«It's a conversation over time. The casualness and the spontaneity was one of the things we thought was important. We wanted something that wasn't rehearsed, that you couldn't edit. If you have something that isn't saved, you'll think about it less, there's less downsides. I might even say the wrong things, but it makes everything more human», explains Ricardo Vice Santos.
Ricardo Vice Santos and Blixt's new project has already attracted investors and is also beginning to attract users. “We already have users in 63 different countries. At this point, the total volume of users is less important, the impact we can have on those who use the application matters more».
One of the positive evaluations that Roger has received comes from the doctors: «I have already received an email from a doctor in the United States who is using it with the team. There are laws that say that patients' data cannot be saved for more than a certain time, data protection laws, in this case the communication can be done by Roger, because the messages are only saved for 48 hours».
In addition, "there are people who are blind to use it, or with mobility difficulties, given the simplicity of use", concluded Ricardo Vice Santos.
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