Entrepreneurship Course

Last year I’ve attended an Entrepreneurship Course and Business Plan Competition in Lisbon. The main goal of VectorE is to learn how to plan and manage New Technology-based Business Ventures.


The course covers a range of subjects including strategic planning, potential and competitive market analysis, product and process management, gathering resources and financing, and internationalization.

During 4 months you have bi-weekly classes. On tuesdays there are theory classes given by reputable teachers from all over the world. This is where students learn business concepts, etc. On wednesdays the students get to visit companies started-up by entrepreneurs. Here, I think is one of the most valuable assets of the course.

In the end you get to present your Business Plan built during the course. The audience is composed by the teachers, consultants and members of national institutions for new business creation. The BP is then evaluated by the panel and the winner is announced some time later.

I was very happy to have won the business plan competition last year. It was on of the most exciting moments of my life. I really worked hard for it and in the end I enjoyed the victory very much. I really learned a lot during those 4 months.

Quoting the course site:
“More than just simple pursue the objective of creating a start-up, this program is about thinking and acting like an entrepreneur– focused on recognizing and evaluating opportunities, locally and globally, permanently challenging the vision and improving the strategy, investing in team talent and motivation and generally promoting the creation of a culture of innovation.”

It really is about thinking and acting like an entrepreneur!
You have to think Innovation, Innovation, Innovation to do it well.

June 29, 2004 | | 3 Comments 

Book: Smart Luck

I’m currently reading Smart Luck and the seven other qualities of successful entrepreneurs which I bought on a recent trip to London. It’s a very interesting book on leadership and entrepreneurship.


The book features some of the most well know entrepreneurs:
Richard Branson: founder of Virgin Group is owns low-cost airline virgin express, megastore Virgin Megastore, online wine merchante Virgin Wine and Virgin Books. Curiosity: he makes his home (Necker Island) another business.
Anita Roddick: founder of the Body Shop
Alan Sugar: founder of computer company Amstrad
Charlie Dunstone: founder of mobile accessories chain Carphone Warehouse
Simon Woodruffe: founder of Japanese fast food chain Yo! Sushi
Other British entrepreneurs including: Luke Johnson, Michael Grade, Reuben Singh, Felix Dennis, Anita Roddick, Lord Alli, Guy Hands, Lord Rogers, James Dyson, Mike Lynch, Dan Wagner, Brent Hoberman, David Potter and Sir Michael Bishop.

June 25, 2004 | | Leave a Comment 

Webmonkey’s back!

Web reference for so many years, Webmonkey is back. They are publishing new articles again.


As I’m talking about reference sites I would like to mention two more:
SitePoint is a publisher of informative Web development and design content. The site has some avoidable advertizing but the articles are really good.
boxes and arrows is a community dedicated to information architecture, information design, interaction design, interface design. The articles are mostly informative and other resources are very useful too.

June 22, 2004 | | Leave a Comment 

German Stores Out of Small Change

BBC is reporting that German retailers are importing euro coins from Austria.
According to the article Germany needs more small euro coins. German shoppers use notes to buy goods and keep their coins at home. The fun part is the reason people keep coins at home. Quoting:
“Another possible factor is a tradition in some regions for brides-to-be to collect copper coins to buy their wedding shoes.”


Tradition is still what it used to be.

June 22, 2004 | Tags: | Leave a Comment 

IKEA. Been There. Done that.

I had lunch with Pedro and Ivone at the new IKEA store in Portugal. We had a great time despite the store being completely full! Nice to see good swedish design, good signaling and attention to detail. It will force other companies to have a different approach to the market. More quality, more client service and competitive low prices.


On the news today:
diariodigital.pt: IKEA abre loja de Alfragide esta terça-feira
publico.pt: IKEA fans
portugaldiario.iol.pt: Furniture ‘Made in Portugal’
diarioeconomico.com: here.

June 22, 2004 | Tags: | Leave a Comment 

IKEA Lisboa Finally!

IKEA is finally opening it’s store in Portugal today! It’s a big event since you can go to IKEA almost all over Europe except Portugal. After so many visits to IKEA abroad I’ll be finally able to visit it in here.


I’m a big fan of the IKEA concept. I like the way they do business, their products, their design and their prices. I have written about IKEA before. I even built an IKEA blog which covered some of the news IKEA was releasing with it’s opening in Portugal. Unfortunately, they didn’t like the idea and I had to close the blog.

The blog has kept it’s address active and so last week I received an email from a national newspaper wanting me to answer some questions as an IKEA fan. Last sunday the article was published. You can read some of my previous buys as well as other curiosities about being an IKEAholic.

Another IKEAholic (and a very good friend) Pedro has made an excelent post where he points out that we won’t be able to attend the opening hour but will be having lunch there at the opening day. He also points a lot of other things about IKEA.

Only 12 hours left for our first IKEA lunch in Portugal!

June 21, 2004 | Tags: | 7 Comments 

Portuguese Online Newspapers Load Test

Following the death of a election candidate just hours ago I’ve been following the news online. As soon as the news broke Portuguese online newspapers started responding slowly or not responding at all.

30 minutes later a second check for all the newsapers and the result didn’t suprise me. The online news reference in Portugal, Publico.pt launched their ultra-light version that only shows the latest news in a blog-like layout. The other ones kept their usual image-intense layouts and simply took ages to respond.

Expectedly, one of them even kept the ads running making the access even more impossible.


No news around the online newspaper market in Portugal. Once again Publico.pt showed why it is the leader. Congratulations.

June 9, 2004 | Tags: | Leave a Comment 

Exercise in Customer Experience

Reading Benjamin’s blog I’ve found this article by Mark Hurst. He makes a great analogy on the topic of E-commerce Customer Experience.

June 9, 2004 | | Leave a Comment 

Apple’s New Airport Express

Apple has introduced a new device that is more than just an Wireless Access Point.
Apple’s New Airport Express features include:

  • AirTunes: Play your iTunes music through your stereo or powered speakers — wirelessly.
  • Wi-Fi: Everyone can surf the web wire-free because AirPort Express provides simultaneous wireless Internet access via your DSL or cable modem for up to 10 computers.
  • Network Replicator: Extend your wireless network range beyond the normal limit of a single AirPort.

        

And above all the device is highly portable. Look at the size of the device! One of the target markets for Apple’s new device are business travelers who can now connect wirelessly in the confort of the hotel room.
Applause for Apple’s Innovation. Again.

June 9, 2004 | Tags: | Leave a Comment 

From Free to Fee in 10 Easy Steps

A sucess story on how an online newspaper went from free to fee. The article explains the context and the steps that Albuquerque Journal took to start paid subscriptions. It now generates over $100.000 a year with this business model.

The article puts it in 10 simple points:
1) Decide why you want to charge and convince your newsroom it’s the way to go
2) Set your paid content model
3) Set pricing
4) Mechanics of locking content
5) Keeping track of users/backups
6) Getting the money
7) Customer service 8) Communicating the decision to charge
9) Test your setup
10) Continuing to fight addiction

Each of this points is extensively explained by the article making it a must read for anyone wanting to go from free-to-fee.

June 4, 2004 | Tags: | Leave a Comment 

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    andre_ribeirinho_t.jpg My name is André Ribeirinho, I'm an entrepreneur who lives in Portugal
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    Adegga - Social Wine Discovery


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