Shaping Portugal’s Future: A Chat with Carlos Da Silva
Today we chat with Seedstars World mentor Carlos Da Silva, who will be using his experience to guide and advise our startups at the Final Event Bootcamp. He is the Director of the Founder Institute Portugal. The Founder Institute is the world’s largest entrepreneur training and start-up launch program, with over 1200 companies founded across 6 continents.
What is the story of the Founder’s Institute, specifically in Portugal?
Silicon Valley’s accelerators have a very specific mentality and culture. It takes entrepreneurs out of their comfort zones and teaches them to be very sales driven. For Portugal, this is a very new, very unique approach. We try to instill this mindset by being very selective at Founder’s Institute: only 1/3 of the starting startups graduate the program.
What projects are you looking for?
We’re tech based and our expertise lies in focusing on the customer. The startups that make it in our program are usually very disciple, accept your advice and execute on it, and always focus on the proof of concept.
What makes you hopeful about Portugal’s startup culture?
It’s grown immensely in the past 10 years. Back then, there was very little and few possibilities to network and reach out. Today, lots of startups and events are coming up. However, out of 10 entrepreneurs, only 1 will truly be serious and able to found something. Once the scene has matured, however, this too will change.
Does Seedstars World find good investment opportunities? Does the concept benefit you?
Silicon Valley with always be there and have its unique place in startup culture. Still, we cannot forget the new and innovative ideas from emerging markets. Many may be local and too culturally different for us to understand and properly value, but it works for their respective markets. Also, SSW shines the light on some lesser known, but expanding, hubs.
How did you become involved in startups and the Founder’s Institute?
Well, my first job was in emerging markets- East European sales to be exact. I was cold calling in countries like Slovenia, Serbia, and Bosnia. It made very sales and customer driven. At university, I specialized in technology management and did a PhD. Word of advice- in 99.99% of the cases, you don’t need a PhD to be an entrepreneur. In my case, however, it was helpful, because I focused my work on studying business models. 4 years of taking apart companies and their revenue generation made me a better mentor and very useful for Founder’s Institute.
What personal struggles did you face?
(deep sigh) Well, I built my first company with 24 when no one knew what entrepreneurship was. Failure was not tolerated in the EU and would have repercussions for me at home. So essentially, I hid the idea and the process we were going through from friends and family. I didn’t want any negative influence or people telling me it was too risky.
What are your best practices in building your startup/ community/ product?
At Founder’s Institute, we have 30 entrepreneurs with 30 ideas. The ones that truly succeeded were those that looked for customer validation. Find customers and understand their demand before developing. At the end of the day, it’s not about you, but about what pays your bills.
How do you balance the trade-off between ‘vision’ and company?
Ego destroys entrepreneurs. Vision is good but you have to be coachable and open to suggestions. Find advisors, find a board, simply find people that have done it before. Maintain your vision but be willing to alter it to grow. In the end, startup success is defined by the bills, by invoices you pass. An entrepreneur without sales is an unemployed person.
About Carlos
Carlos Da Silva is also a mentor and shareholder of over 10 start-ups, being his expertise Business Model creation and innovation. He is a Professor of Entrepreneurship at the HEG School of Business Administration in Fribourg (Switzerland) and lectures on topics related to entrepreneurship and business model innovation. Dr. DaSilva held the positions of visiting lecturer & scholar at the Thunderbird School of Global Management (F.T. #1 for International Business in the World) and at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
He is also the author of “Entrepreneurial Finance: A Global Perspective”, a practical book for entrepreneurs and investors published by the SAGE. Prior to obtaining his Ph.D. in Technology Management, he worked for several years in international business development at an Eastern European start-up venture that was recently acquired by a large multinational. Feel free to connect with him on LinkedIn .
More on the Economics and Administration (ESCEA), the School of Management Fribourg, where Carlos teaches:
Create Your Future
Founded in 1991 originally as the School of Economics and Administration (ESCEA), the School of Management Fribourg has continued to evolve over the years.
Its flight has been demonstrated in particular through the scope of its training programs (Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree and on-going training), as well as the growth in the number of students and its professional bodies.
There has also been considerable development in its applied research activities and contractual arrangements with businesses and organizations.
Building a Future
«CREATE YOUR FUTURE» is one of the objectives set by the School of Management Fribourg.
Affiliated with the University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland (HES-SO), it is the only School of management in Switzerland to offer a Bachelor’s degree in business economics with a trilingual study option (FR/DE/EN).
The school is also renowned for its Master’s degree in entrepreneurship, which optimally combines a scientific basis with specific applications — a partnership that characterises the schools of management.
