ge.GABRIEL ENGEL Let’s connect
FOUNDER. BUILDER. OPEN SOURCE BELIEVER.Porto Alegre, Brazil The world

Gabriel Engel.

Good things
are built together.

I’m the co-founder and CEO of Rocket.Chat. I build technology that gives people the freedom to connect, collaborate, and stay in control.

Explore my work
AT THE INTERSECTION OFOpen source / Entrepreneurship / Human connection
Gabriel Engel, co-founder and CEO of Rocket.Chat
A builder at heart.01 / INTRODUCTION
01

A little about me

From Brazil.
Thinking beyond borders.

My international ambitions started long before Rocket.Chat. Living in London in 2004, I wrote about wanting to make the world part of my life and my company’s life. In London, I built software, founded FGsys.com, and managed products at Vodafone, focusing on quality of experience, business innovation, and mobile applications. That curiosity later led me from building business software at Konecty to co-founding Rocket.Chat.

My first open source contribution was InteliEditor, a browser-based visual HTML editor developed at Intelimen. Its SourceForge history dates to 2002, with releases and an invitation for international contributors in 2003. Open source made it possible to build with a community that reaches far beyond any one team or country. It still shapes how I think about entrepreneurship, collaboration, and the future of communication.

BEYOND THE SCREEN

Hiking, snowboarding, and time in nature. Travel has also shaped how I see life: the people beside us and the experiences along the way matter as much as where we’re going.

02

The journey so far

Building across
borders.

  1. Apr 1998 - Jan 2001

    Planejar Informática e Certificação

    Project Manager

    Led a team of five developers building an agribusiness portal, with responsibility for technology, Linux infrastructure, and delivery.

  2. Mar 2001 - Dec 2004

    Intelimen

    Co-Founder & CEO

    Founded a Brazilian company developing websites, internet systems, and enterprise server solutions. Grew the team from three to twenty employees; the company was sold in 2004.

  3. 2002–2003

    InteliEditor

    My first open source contribution

    A lightweight visual HTML editor for rich-text editing in web applications, developed at Intelimen using JavaScript, DHTML, PHP, and ASP. The project was registered on SourceForge on 31 October 2002, with an archived release dated 2 December 2002 and further releases in February and July 2003. On 29 July 2003, I invited translators to contribute and join the development team.

    Project on SourceForgeArchived releases2003 call for translators
  4. Feb 2004 - Jan 2006

    Ominor · London

    Senior Web Developer / Project Manager

    Developed web applications from February to December 2004, then managed e-commerce projects from January 2005 to January 2006. Projects included Sainsbury’s, Bupa, and Evans Cycles.

  5. Jan 2006 - Jan 2010

    FGsys.com · London

    Co-Founder & CEO

    Built and managed IT services, systems integrations, and multidisciplinary delivery teams for clients including TNT Express, Aviva, Terra Networks, and Stefanini.

  6. Jan 2009 - Dec 2010

    Vodafone Group Services

    Product Manager

    Managed the VoIP Quality of Experience Monitoring Framework from January 2009 to March 2010. From March to December 2010, managed Business Innovation and Mobile Applications for Vodafone Global Enterprise customers.

  7. Feb 2011 - Nov 2016

    Konecty

    Co-Founder & CEO

    Built business software around real customer needs, laying the foundations for Rocket.Chat.

  8. May 2015 - Present

    Rocket.Chat

    Founder & CEO

    Building open source communication for organizations that need control over their conversations, data, and infrastructure.

Education

UFRGS
BBA, Business Administration · 1998–2003

Harvard Business School Executive Education
Scaling Entrepreneurial Ventures · August 2023

Founder communities

Endeavor Entrepreneur since July 2021. Member of Beacon Founders since June 2023.

Full professional profile on LinkedIn
03

What I’m building

OPEN BY DESIGN
CO-FOUNDER & CEO

Rocket.Chat®

Secure communication.
On your own terms.

An open source communication platform for organizations that need control over their conversations, their data, and their infrastructure.

Explore Rocket.Chat
WHERE IT STARTED

Konecty

Co-founder and CEO, February 2011 to November 2016. Business software shaped by real customer problems, and the foundations of Rocket.Chat.

04

Media & talks

Ideas in
public.

Conference talks, podcasts, interviews, and presentations on open source, entrepreneurship, privacy, and the journey behind Rocket.Chat.

MEDIA ARCHIVEWatch, listen, and readA researched list of appearances from 2016 to 2025. MATRIX CONFERENCE 2025Rocket.Chat: Entering the MatrixA technical talk on federation, architecture, and building a Matrix homeserver in TypeScript. PRESENTATION ARCHIVE20 decks and countingOpen source, company building, community, and the evolution of Rocket.Chat.
05

Personal writing

Life along
the way.

Before Rocket.Chat, I wrote about the things that still matter to me: meaningful experiences, the people we travel with, and staying connected to home while exploring the world.

15 JULY 2003Make the journey worthwhileAfter a car accident in Patagonia, a reflection on uncertainty, the people beside us, and making the journey itself matter.15 MARCH 2004Saudades / HomesickFrom London, thoughts on missing home, staying connected, and making the world part of my life and my company.Browse personal writing
THE NEXT CONVERSATIONLET’S CONNECT

Better things
start with a conversation.

Open source, entrepreneurship, or a shared idea.
There’s always something worth exploring together.

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