Ian Borges, the entrepreneur who quit his job to start his own startup to see the world
Who has not dreamt of leaving the 9am-to-6pm job to travel the world? Brazilian Ian Borges went beyond daydreaming and made the dream come true. After ten years at L’Oreal, he left everything to open his own startup to be able to travel the world. At the age of 30, he has already visited 50 countries.
Traditional vacation leaves never satisfied him
“I’ve always been passionate about travel but I had to restrict them to 30 days of vacation a year. With this change of life I was completely free to enjoy new experiences,” he shares.
His 10-year career at L’Oreal led him to the post of director at the age of only 28. One day on a vacation trip, he went to visit a cousin in Mexico and there they talked about a project with the Brazilian businessman Ricardo Semler, known for having implemented an innovative management model in his company, Semco in the 1980s.
The new project involved future work and new management models. “My cousin asked if I knew anyone who was interested in the subject and I said yes: myself. I returned to Brazil and resigned, “he recalls.
Creating Leadwise to offer online courses
Borges became a partner of Semler and in May 2016, Leadwise was created, a company providing training for managers and leaders interested in implementing a more horizontal and transparent management model in their companies.
The startup offers exclusively online courses and is based on the idea of transforming the concept of hierarchical work that predominates in the companies for a more encouraging and collaborative model. “We want people to feel like going to work,” highlights Borges.
In July 2017, the startup teamed up with another Semler company, the Semco Style Institute, a school founded in Netherlands and focused on face-to-face courses in innovative management. A good part of the company’s and the institute’s team work remotely, just as he himself who is a digital nomad. Together, the two companies have 25 people, 12 are full-time employees and the rest are freelancers.
Leading a nomad life
Borges usually travels three months and returns to Brazil to stay a month to meet up with family and friends. The entrepreneur has sought to reconcile destinations that interest him personally with those offering business opportunities. While travelling, Borges counts on the company of his girlfriend Taíssa Souza, who left her job as a financial analyst and created the site Bora Morar Fora.
During travel periods, Borges often needs to adapt his work schedule according to the local time zone; meetings are conducted via video conference.
Some key rules to lead a nomad life
To account for such a bold work model, Borges follows some fundamental rules. The first one is to find a project that you truly believe in. “Being clear that it is what you want will help you maintain the level of resistance to move forward whenever the obstacles appear because they are sure to appear.” The second one is not to be scared to leave the comfort zone. The third one is to always have a good data package wherever you are.
