---
title: "From Immigrant to Iconic CTO: Elias Torres' Journey"
url: https://stacklist.com/card/49345b4e-18a0-4b53-a722-008c1eed1baa
source_url: "https://www.codestory.co/episodes/s3-e6-from-immigrant-to-iconic-cto-how-elias-torres-co-founded-drift-built-a-1b-saas-unicorn-and-disrupted-b2b-tech/"
stack: https://stacklist.com/c/podcast/stack/5ec9d90b-f9c8-4e6d-98a1-c24a59b0416e
summary: "Code Story podcast episode S3 E6 features Elias Torres, a first-generation LatinX immigrant from Nicaragua who co-founded Drift and built it into a billion-dollar SaaS unicorn. The episode covers his journey from growing up in a communist country to graduating from Harvard and creating a revenue acceleration platform that disrupted B2B tech."
tags: "startup, podcast, saas, cto, drift, entrepreneurship, latinx"
key_entities: "Elias Torres (person), Noah Labhart (person), Drift (organization), Harvard (organization), Revenue Acceleration Platform (concept), Nicaragua (location), SaaS Unicorn (concept), Transistor.fm (technology), Squadcast (technology)"
classification: "transcript"
content_hash: "sha256:b8c857bfca3d98e9f476dbc5565467028b77484fce01dcf78bc603871123efb4"
acp_version: "0.2"
token_counts_approximate: 585
visibility: public
agent_accessible: true
status: "final"
---

# From Immigrant to Iconic CTO: Elias Torres' Journey

Code Story | Startup Podcast for Technical Founders — S3 E6: From Immigrant to Iconic CTO: How Elias Torres Co-Founded Drift, Built a $1B+ SaaS Unicorn, and Disrupted B2B Tech Press Play to Listen While You Browse S3 E6: From Immigrant to Iconic CTO: How Elias Torres Co-Founded Drift, Built a $1B+ SaaS Unicorn, and Disrupted B2B Tech Code Story | Startup Podcast for Technical Founders 0:00 26:02 1× A first generation LatinX immigrant, Elias Torres was born in Nicaragua. Growing up in a communist country, he had little resources, even food. Thirty years ago, he came to the US, and hasn't looked back, living the American dream and graduating from Harvard with an MS in Computer Science. He's married with 3 teenagers, and is currently learning a new stage of parenthood. When he's not being Dad or CTO, he enjoys disconnecting while he is kite surfing or sailing. Torres strives to find balance in building a successful company as an entrepreneur with not forgetting his roots, and increasing opportunities for people of color in the US. Five years ago, He and his co-founder figured out that teams needed to increase the effectiveness of their go to market strategy. Today, everyone wants to do things in real time... not during the 9 to 5. So he set out to build a revenue acceleration platform, and did so quickly, given that this was the 4th company the founders built together. This is the creation story of Drift. Links https://www.drift.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/eliast/ Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts Amazing tools we use: If you want the best publishing platform for your podcast, with amazing support & people - use Transistor.fm Want to record your remote interviews with class? Then, you need to use Squadcast . Code Story uses the 1-click product ClipGain , sign up now to get 3hrs of podcast processing time FREE Credits: Code Story is hosted and produced by Noah Labhart . Be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Pocket Casts , Google Play , Breaker , Youtube , or the podcasting app of your choice. Checkout our episode stacks on Stacklist! https://stacks.codestory.co/ Hosted by Noah Labhart | Technical Founder & Startup Mentor. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Latest Season of the Podcast is Sponsored By