Our Story
Our founder Juan Carlos Moya was born and raised in Colombia, a beautiful country in South America
As a young child he was known to be a very resourceful and creative boy who could not sit still and who loved using existing resources to create solutions to everyday problems. He would constantly take apart his toys and reinvent them to make them useful in when they got damaged or old. His father often told him “Son, you will be a great engineer”.
Technology always had a special place in his heart, robotics and electronics were his fascination (in addition to a good meal in the company of friends on the beach while he listened to a good reggae album).
At the age of fifteen, he decided to make his first version of a “Smart Home” by recycling different pieces of various appliances that were no longer fully useful but had parts that could still be used.
At the age of fifteen, he decided to make his first version of a “Smart Home” by recycling different pieces of various appliances that were no longer fully useful but had parts that could still be used.
Also, he used a child’s phone that he no longer wanted to use «because he was already grown up», to make his first Bluetooth communication system so he can talk long hours over the phone lying down in his bed while he amplified his girlfriend’s voice using some old speakers that his parents no longer used.
As he grew older, he was attracted to home design and architecture so once he graduated from high school, he decided to go to the University to study Civil Engineering. Learning about house structures and design was something very interesting for him
But his fascination with information and technology led him to continue his final degree in Systems Engineering. After college he started working at IBM Colombia as a help desk representative helping users both over the phone, and at the office to solve problems and teach them to be more productive using his computers as a tool. At the same time, this experience helped him to practice and improve his Customer Service Skills.
From a very young age he wanted to come to the United States because it was the niche of technology and opportunities, and him having an entrepreneurial spirit, moving to the country of opportunities was a dream. By the time he made the decision to move, he had already been married for 7 years to the love of his life, Catalina. And they had a beautiful 4-year-old girl, Daniela.
His wife had the same entrepreneurial spirit and neither of them were afraid of working hard, moving to another country, learning a new language, or starting from scratch, in fact it sounded fun to take the challenge and a great example for their children of perseverance, also a life lesson that will teach them to pursue their dreams, execute them and make them happen!
They had a friend in Palm Springs so they researched and loved what they learned! This was going to be the perfect place to raise a family (another one was on the way, Andres). They arrived in the Spring of 2000 and fell in love with the exotic landscape, warm climate and spectacular mountains. But what they liked the most was the community, the people, and the energy that is typically found in places that are not too big or too small.
Juan Carlos and his wife worked on all sorts of things to be able to practice their little English and survive at the same time. Banqueting, house cleaning, caregiving, construction, restaurants, Real Estate and finance among others
Finally, when they had a better level of English, they decided to start their own business. They noticed that companies focused on fixing computers rather than doing preventative maintenance and that was how «MB Computer Doctors» was born. Catalina designed some house made business cards, and using a printer and a paper cutter, they produced their very first piece of marketing.
Juan went during the Hot Summer of 2002 canvassing in Palm Springs and offering with excitement his Computer Solutions for 8 hours during 3 days in a row, until he had his first lead, then another one, and he started to fill his schedule with clients to whom we are eternally grateful for giving us their loyalty and trust the last 2 decades.
Over time, technology continued to evolve rapidly, and we decided to diversify and include new products and services in our portfolio such as VoIP PBX, security cameras and Home Automation. We became experts as technology integrators of all home and business solutions, from Audio and Video, lights & temperature control, security systems, and Business solutions, so it was time to change the name again to a more appropriate one, “MB Smart Solutions”
BUT… recently we wanted to create a brand that would represent all our services and thus “OHKIO” was born, a friendly robot that reflects the qualities, ethics and good attitude of our Staff who is always ready to provide to our clients, high-tech solutions in a simple, effective way and within all budgets.
We are very grateful to the Coachella Valley community for giving us their unconditional support and we are very excited to continue being part of the growth and development of our beloved Valley.
