Joseph Mauricio Phillips Arguedas
Tech entrepreneur,
author and speaker.
I've been building software since the year 2000. First as an employee, then as a founder. Today I translate that experience for executives who want to lead well in the AI era.
Track record
25+
years building software
Since 2000
1,000+
clients served
SaaS and custom dev
1
verifiable exit
Zumo → Huli Health, 2018
4
academic credentials
Accounting, CS, MPM, ML
The track record
Over two decades. Three companies. One exit.
Master Joe Phillips is a tech entrepreneur, author, and keynote speaker. His work rests on an operational conviction: AI won't displace leaders — it will displace the leaders who don't learn to use it well.
Born in San José, Costa Rica, and shaped as a citizen of the world, he has spent more than two decades building software. His entrepreneurial path began with Trifecta Software (founded in 2011), where he launched CostaRicaCRM.com as a regional SaaS and has built — to this day — custom software projects for companies in the United States.
In 2014 he co-founded Zumo Imagination as CTO and software architect, giving rise to Zumo Medical — a digital health-record platform that scaled across Latin America and was acquired by Huli Health in 2018. In 2016 he founded Spearhead Technologies (*Facturero.com*). That three-front practice — regional SaaS, healthtech with a successful exit, and custom dev for U.S. clients under NDA — gave him an unusually layered view of modern management. He has served 1,000+ clients across SaaS and custom development.
Academic background
His training combines accounting (UMCA, 2008), computer systems engineering (Universidad Latina, 2010), and a professional Master's in Project Management accredited by the PMI Global Accreditation Center (Universidad Latina, 2015). In January 2021, before the GenAI boom, he completed Expert in Machine Learning with Python at PROMIDAT. That sequence — numbers, code, management, AI — lets him hold a room with CFOs, CTOs, and CEOs at the same table.
The black belt
The book's metaphor isn't borrowed either. Joe is a Sabeomnim of Hapkido (certified master instructor) since 2022, at the Cheong Kyum Kwan — in direct line from the late Founder Lee, Seung-Woo (Hapkido Cheong Kyum World Federation · CKWF). He trained for decades in a discipline where mastery is earned belt by belt. That lived practice underpins the progressive pedagogy of AI Black Belt: Fundamentals Before the Prompt, published on Amazon (Legacy Publishers, May 2026).
The public present
In 2025 he co-directed the intensive Business Essentials program in San José alongside Dr. Esteban Bonilla. He's the new regular columnist for Primera Línea (PrimeraLinea.cr), and makes his international speaking debut at the Ismael Cala Summit (Miami, July 31, 2026) with the keynote The 95% Are Failing: The Truth About AI No One Is Telling You, where he'll also formally launch his book. In November he speaks at Blockchain Jungle Costa Rica.
His voice combines the technical rigor of someone who actually built software for two decades, a verifiable exit on the record, real authority on discipline as practice, and a firm refusal to sell hype.
Continuous training
Masters I trained with.
Mastery isn't an event — it's a practice that renews itself. Every belt in the book is backed by my commitment to remain a student. These are three mentors whose schools shaped real decisions in my career.
2015
Robert Kiyosaki
San José, Costa Rica
Conference and Rich Dad Poor Dad book signing
2019
Tony Robbins
Amsterdam
Business Mastery II
March 2023
John C. Maxwell
Orlando, Florida
Maxwell Leadership Certified Team
Lineage
The Hapkido path.
The black belt isn't the end of the road. It's the beginning.
The line that closes the book isn't literary metaphor — it's inherited practice. My martial training belongs to a specific lineage, in direct line from the founder.
Three generations above
Founder Lee, Seung-Woo († 2026)
Founder of the lineage and of the CKWF
Grand Master Choi, Suk-Hwan
My teacher's teacher
Grand Master William Rayo
My direct teacher
Sabeomnim Master Joe Phillips
Black belt 2021 · Sabeomnim 2022 · Cheong Kyum Kwan · CKWF
Seoul, Korea · 2024
Founder Lee, Seung-Woo
Seoul, Korea · 2024. With the late Founder Lee, Seung-Woo († 2026), founder of the lineage and of the Hapkido Cheong Kyum World Federation (CKWF), and my teacher, Grand Master William Rayo, at the CKWF headquarters.
Bogotá, Colombia · 2022
Grand Master Choi, Suk-Hwan
Bogotá, Colombia · 2022. My graduation day as Sabeomnim (Master Instructor). With Grand Master Choi, Suk-Hwan —my teacher's teacher— and Grand Master William Rayo.
Costa Rica · 2021
Grand Master William Rayo
Costa Rica · 2021. Black belt grading day, with my teacher Grand Master William Rayo, at the Cheong Kyum Kwan dojang.
FAQ
Frequently asked about Master Joe
Three, in chronological order: Trifecta Software (2011) — where he launched CostaRicaCRM.com as a regional SaaS and continues to build custom software projects for U.S.-based companies; Zumo Imagination (2014) as CTO and software architect — a health-tech startup that scaled across Latin America and was acquired by Huli Health in 2018; and Spearhead Technologies (2016), responsible for Facturero.com. Trifecta and Spearhead are active.
Bachelor's in Accounting (Universidad Metropolitana Castro Carazo, 2008), Bachelor's in Computer Systems Engineering (Universidad Latina, 2010), Professional Master's in Project Management accredited by the PMI Global Accreditation Center (Universidad Latina, 2015), and Expert in Machine Learning with Python (PROMIDAT, January 2021 — before the GenAI boom).
Because it isn't borrowed: Master Joe trained Hapkido for decades and holds the rank of Sabeomnim (certified master instructor) since 2022, at the Cheong Kyum Kwan — in direct line from the late Founder Lee, Seung-Woo (Hapkido Cheong Kyum World Federation · CKWF). In martial arts, the black belt isn't the end of the road — it's the beginning. It means the fundamentals are so integrated the practitioner is finally ready to learn what comes next. The book mirrors that structure: seven progressive belts where AI doesn't enter until the Red Belt, after the business fundamentals are in place.
Costa Rican by birth, citizen of the world by choice. He lives and operates primarily from Costa Rica, but his work is distributed across Latin America, Spain, and the stages where his audience decides the future of their teams. He speaks Spanish and English with equal fluency.
Contact
Ready to enter the dojo?
Keynote · Executive mentoring · Workshops · Consulting · Media. Three direct paths, a human reply in 24-48h.