WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.859 Welcome to the Innovation Conversation, a podcast 00:00:02.859 --> 00:00:05.419 about innovators, both in business and real life. 00:00:05.879 --> 00:00:08.380 Hosted by myself, Ricardo Rescual and Harry McCona. 00:00:08.500 --> 00:00:11.699 This podcast is also sponsored by ODEV Tech. 00:00:12.439 --> 00:00:14.640 ODEV Tech is your premier software development 00:00:14.640 --> 00:00:17.940 partner. Make sure you check them out at odev 00:00:17.940 --> 00:00:22.399 .tech. The podcast is also sponsored by Notion 00:00:22.399 --> 00:00:25.379 .so. Notion is offering six months for free for 00:00:25.379 --> 00:00:27.859 new users. Make sure you check out our website, 00:00:28.120 --> 00:00:30.600 thestoreofevents .co .uk to read in the software. 00:00:31.160 --> 00:00:33.600 Hi and welcome to another episode of the Innovation 00:00:33.600 --> 00:00:36.340 Conversation. Today we are joined by Samuel Pedro. 00:00:36.880 --> 00:00:39.340 Samuel, welcome. Thank you so much for having 00:00:39.340 --> 00:00:42.659 me here, Tato. Samuel, would you like to introduce 00:00:42.659 --> 00:00:45.579 yourself to the audience, please? So my name 00:00:45.579 --> 00:00:47.859 is Samuel Pedro. I'm original from Portugal. 00:00:48.299 --> 00:00:51.259 Currently I'm living in London. It's been a year 00:00:51.259 --> 00:00:55.020 and a half. I'm spearheading a co -development 00:00:55.020 --> 00:00:58.439 agency. The name of the company is No Code District. 00:01:00.100 --> 00:01:02.640 It's a pleasure to be partnered with Ricardo 00:01:02.640 --> 00:01:06.439 and the Startups event. Yeah, that's a quick 00:01:06.439 --> 00:01:08.459 introduction of who I am and what I'm doing at 00:01:08.459 --> 00:01:11.780 the moment. This is quite interesting because 00:01:11.780 --> 00:01:15.359 obviously we met at my event in, I think it's 00:01:15.359 --> 00:01:17.900 February, but you actually have quite an entrepreneur 00:01:17.900 --> 00:01:19.939 background. I mean, you've launched your several 00:01:19.939 --> 00:01:22.379 companies in Portugal and then you moved to London. 00:01:22.620 --> 00:01:24.819 I think you're already launching several companies 00:01:24.819 --> 00:01:27.870 as well. So how did that journey went? I mean, 00:01:27.870 --> 00:01:30.250 how to get started actually in Portugal and then 00:01:30.250 --> 00:01:33.950 over to the UK? It was quite simple. Basically, 00:01:33.950 --> 00:01:37.750 I wanted to start working. I wasn't finding, 00:01:37.790 --> 00:01:41.269 let's say, a job that I would enjoy. I was very 00:01:41.269 --> 00:01:45.769 good working for my employees, my employers. 00:01:46.609 --> 00:01:49.790 I decided to start adding my own business. It's 00:01:49.790 --> 00:01:55.780 my seventh business. The one did in fact not 00:01:55.780 --> 00:01:59.120 work at all. All the other ones shut off, but 00:01:59.120 --> 00:02:01.540 I did in fact shut off all those others. So it 00:02:01.540 --> 00:02:04.000 was mainly because I was tired of the business. 00:02:04.120 --> 00:02:07.299 I felt that I needed other things in my life. 00:02:07.840 --> 00:02:11.879 It was related to how much money we can in fact 00:02:11.879 --> 00:02:17.460 make, be worthwhile in the business. So at the 00:02:17.460 --> 00:02:20.879 moment the main focus is no code district. I 00:02:20.879 --> 00:02:23.240 still have other two that are like e -commerce 00:02:23.240 --> 00:02:26.319 businesses, but those are like in small businesses. 00:02:27.819 --> 00:02:30.319 The main focus at the moment is in fact scaling 00:02:30.319 --> 00:02:34.060 and growing districts. When you're launching 00:02:34.060 --> 00:02:37.379 a business, I already have tons of questions 00:02:37.379 --> 00:02:39.620 for you. I was just wondering like when you launched 00:02:39.620 --> 00:02:42.139 a business in Portugal, for example, and you 00:02:42.139 --> 00:02:43.659 know, I talk with people from all over the world. 00:02:43.740 --> 00:02:46.419 It's always interesting to compare how hard or 00:02:46.419 --> 00:02:48.439 how easy it is to launch a business in different 00:02:48.439 --> 00:02:51.689 countries. How complicated was it to actually 00:02:51.689 --> 00:02:54.150 launch a business in Portugal versus the UK, 00:02:54.969 --> 00:02:57.030 and to actually get your first client? I would 00:02:57.030 --> 00:03:01.050 say, depending on the structure, how you decide 00:03:01.050 --> 00:03:04.650 to, in fact, start a business. There are a lot 00:03:04.650 --> 00:03:06.990 of ways you can do it. In Portugal, I was mainly 00:03:06.990 --> 00:03:11.349 working as, here in the UK, would be the same 00:03:11.349 --> 00:03:19.039 as solo proprietor. Think that's the name just 00:03:19.039 --> 00:03:22.199 one person was not working as a limited company 00:03:22.199 --> 00:03:25.620 in Portugal It was quite fast. Let's say in one 00:03:25.620 --> 00:03:27.479 day you can start doing business and trading 00:03:27.479 --> 00:03:31.379 as a business Here in the UK. I decided to go 00:03:31.379 --> 00:03:34.520 with a limited company instead of going as a 00:03:34.520 --> 00:03:38.120 individual The company is liable not me say that 00:03:38.120 --> 00:03:40.860 in the UK for the limited companies It's easier 00:03:40.860 --> 00:03:43.500 and it's faster. So I opened the company like 00:03:43.500 --> 00:03:47.310 in two days something like that is the the Tide, 00:03:47.430 --> 00:03:49.909 sorry for the promotion, but Tide account that's 00:03:49.909 --> 00:03:53.849 a bank. I opened my company using Tide and it 00:03:53.849 --> 00:03:56.830 took like two days to start to be able to have 00:03:56.830 --> 00:04:01.650 a company rating in the UK. The hurdles to open 00:04:01.650 --> 00:04:05.490 a business in the UK were much less than it would 00:04:05.490 --> 00:04:09.729 be in Portugal to open a limited company. Starting 00:04:09.729 --> 00:04:12.909 getting the first clients. By reason I would 00:04:12.909 --> 00:04:16.490 say from all the business I had Same model, the 00:04:16.490 --> 00:04:20.870 agency. The agency model, I have at least I saw 00:04:20.870 --> 00:04:23.209 it three times the experience. One of them did 00:04:23.209 --> 00:04:26.889 not work at all. We need zero. We need zero. 00:04:28.089 --> 00:04:32.790 I decided to shut it down. I'm in Portugal. Regarding 00:04:32.790 --> 00:04:36.850 the agency model, I would say it's not time to 00:04:36.850 --> 00:04:38.930 find the first client or to get the first client 00:04:38.930 --> 00:04:41.449 was almost the same. We are talking like less 00:04:41.449 --> 00:04:46.019 than two weeks to get the first client. So it's 00:04:46.019 --> 00:04:50.339 pretty quick. I think the main difference from 00:04:50.339 --> 00:04:53.800 what I've been experiencing here in the UK compared 00:04:53.800 --> 00:04:59.139 to Portugal, besides my experience, it's been 00:04:59.139 --> 00:05:01.819 at least seven years, seven, eight years that 00:05:01.819 --> 00:05:05.459 I've been working on the entrepreneurship agency 00:05:05.459 --> 00:05:07.860 side of things. So the experience is different 00:05:07.860 --> 00:05:12.160 now. I would say the main difference is the speed. 00:05:12.920 --> 00:05:16.620 The speed you get opportunities. Portable is 00:05:16.620 --> 00:05:19.500 a it was a little bit slower than in the UK here 00:05:19.500 --> 00:05:25.920 in the UK easy, but a nice workload Can get like 00:05:25.920 --> 00:05:27.860 consistently it's I know that probably every 00:05:27.860 --> 00:05:31.639 week I can get to three four and good weeks five 00:05:31.639 --> 00:05:36.519 new meetings for new clients in the show would 00:05:36.519 --> 00:05:40.720 be Regarding also the value of the projects, 00:05:40.800 --> 00:05:42.980 it's very different. The market is much bigger 00:05:42.980 --> 00:05:47.120 and is spent in a different freedom. In all these 00:05:47.120 --> 00:05:49.600 companies you've launched, did you ever get external 00:05:49.600 --> 00:05:51.959 funding for the company or how do you get funding? 00:05:52.439 --> 00:05:54.459 You just literally wait if you ask for half the 00:05:54.459 --> 00:05:56.000 money upfront and then that's how you fund in 00:05:56.000 --> 00:05:58.319 the business or was there a different external 00:05:58.319 --> 00:06:02.319 funding? I would say all of the business were 00:06:02.319 --> 00:06:06.939 bootstrapped. First, the big business. Portugal 00:06:06.939 --> 00:06:09.860 that was ST business group were working mainly 00:06:09.860 --> 00:06:12.540 in marketing websites and business strategy and 00:06:12.540 --> 00:06:18.819 some branding it Now I would say it was a mistake 00:06:18.819 --> 00:06:22.500 an error, but at the time didn't felt like it 00:06:22.500 --> 00:06:28.600 the company via a personal credit time That's 00:06:28.600 --> 00:06:32.819 how I started a business group at the time in 00:06:32.819 --> 00:06:36.399 Portugal Was I would say it was a bad decision 00:06:36.399 --> 00:06:39.600 in this was a bad decision since I I made a credit 00:06:39.600 --> 00:06:45.259 that was not necessary Now on no code district, 00:06:45.360 --> 00:06:48.600 it's totally bootstrapped at some money aside, 00:06:48.680 --> 00:06:53.420 but was used to create some some things for the 00:06:53.420 --> 00:06:58.060 company The businesses have been in some way 00:06:58.060 --> 00:07:00.000 bootstrapped only as to business group we had 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:04.639 a 10k no credit at the time We covered the credit 00:07:04.639 --> 00:07:08.379 expenses after one year, so that was okay. That 00:07:08.379 --> 00:07:11.459 was my only experience with having funding for 00:07:11.459 --> 00:07:15.079 my own business. I know from other entrepreneurs 00:07:15.079 --> 00:07:18.980 that when I go to VCs, Angels, and so on, I've 00:07:18.980 --> 00:07:20.800 never had the experience. Probably in the future, 00:07:21.060 --> 00:07:23.699 if I decided to, one of the main things we want 00:07:23.699 --> 00:07:26.860 to do in No Code District is also to start a 00:07:26.860 --> 00:07:31.660 startup studio, our own as a service company. 00:07:33.969 --> 00:07:37.529 We'll probably venture into trying to find funding 00:07:37.529 --> 00:07:43.230 or capital outside. It would be a strategic decision, 00:07:43.610 --> 00:07:46.589 so focused on other stuff and having a team working 00:07:46.589 --> 00:07:49.410 on specific software as a service. It's actually 00:07:49.410 --> 00:07:52.910 quite interesting, your story, because most entrepreneurs 00:07:52.910 --> 00:07:56.069 I talk to, not most, but all of the startups 00:07:56.069 --> 00:07:58.290 are always looking for funding. So that's the 00:07:58.290 --> 00:08:00.629 go -to model, which is, hey, can I get some external 00:08:00.629 --> 00:08:02.750 funding? because I don't want to bootstrap. I 00:08:02.750 --> 00:08:06.269 just want to get a really nice office and have 00:08:06.269 --> 00:08:09.029 unlimited beer. I need some VC to back me up 00:08:09.029 --> 00:08:11.329 for that one. So bootstrapping is always fascinating, 00:08:12.069 --> 00:08:13.990 but I don't know. You obviously talk with a lot 00:08:13.990 --> 00:08:15.649 of entrepreneurs yourself. So what do you think 00:08:15.649 --> 00:08:18.790 are the main errors that people keep on having 00:08:18.790 --> 00:08:20.810 time and time again, or keep on making time and 00:08:20.810 --> 00:08:25.990 time again? I mean, there are many errors that 00:08:25.990 --> 00:08:30.660 an entrepreneur can make for sure. a ton of them 00:08:30.660 --> 00:08:33.759 and I will continue to make I think you can find 00:08:33.759 --> 00:08:35.759 different perspectives of what kind of errors 00:08:35.759 --> 00:08:39.399 but on the business side of things having a clear 00:08:39.399 --> 00:08:44.159 picture of how the business will work how it's 00:08:44.159 --> 00:08:47.100 going to be the day -to -day business like just 00:08:47.100 --> 00:08:51.399 having the idea not having not having full of 00:08:51.399 --> 00:08:55.860 what it takes to market to sales to manage a 00:08:55.860 --> 00:08:58.429 customer relationship to manage complaints to 00:08:58.429 --> 00:09:02.129 find other suppliers, to have a team to manage 00:09:02.129 --> 00:09:06.809 the workload of that team, of those being greedy 00:09:06.809 --> 00:09:09.909 of the day -to -day of the business. Actually, 00:09:09.909 --> 00:09:12.070 if you are an entrepreneur and you have a very 00:09:12.070 --> 00:09:13.990 small team, let's say one guy, two guys, three 00:09:13.990 --> 00:09:16.809 people working, you don't have that thing set 00:09:16.809 --> 00:09:19.529 up. It could be a disaster, but if you are not 00:09:19.529 --> 00:09:22.370 able to learn and adapt, could definitely put 00:09:22.370 --> 00:09:27.009 the business in a bad spot. That's one of them. 00:09:27.129 --> 00:09:29.710 The other one is having an idea that doesn't 00:09:29.710 --> 00:09:32.529 have a demand or enough demand. This would be 00:09:32.529 --> 00:09:36.950 a second take not having a good enough research 00:09:36.950 --> 00:09:42.789 about what is going on. Sometimes we officially 00:09:42.789 --> 00:09:47.129 launch the business without a testing period 00:09:47.129 --> 00:09:50.250 or at least a testing mindset. Okay, I will work 00:09:50.250 --> 00:09:53.019 on this business for two months, but Official 00:09:53.019 --> 00:09:56.059 it's launched we are working, but it's a testing 00:09:56.059 --> 00:09:58.080 phase. Let's see how it works Let's see what 00:09:58.080 --> 00:10:00.600 I can learn from in fact having the business 00:10:00.600 --> 00:10:06.519 on the ground and working That's why I was saying 00:10:06.519 --> 00:10:09.940 like the testing is or the testing mindset that 00:10:09.940 --> 00:10:12.659 would allow us for us to say after two months 00:10:12.659 --> 00:10:14.940 if it's not working if you don't like it because 00:10:14.940 --> 00:10:17.919 you Know if you like to work on that business 00:10:17.919 --> 00:10:22.019 You are in fact working on the day to day Having 00:10:22.019 --> 00:10:25.299 the chance to at least give it, change to something 00:10:25.299 --> 00:10:28.539 that you weren't thinking at the first moment. 00:10:29.539 --> 00:10:34.659 Well, I would say those are like important mistakes 00:10:34.659 --> 00:10:38.120 not to do when you're starting business, especially 00:10:38.120 --> 00:10:40.559 if you are a young first -time entrepreneur. 00:10:41.340 --> 00:10:43.759 Make sure you understand that this will require 00:10:43.759 --> 00:10:46.639 work. There's a lot of operational stuff. Make 00:10:46.639 --> 00:10:49.000 sure you choose a business idea that will have 00:10:49.000 --> 00:10:53.179 demand so you can make money of the effort you 00:10:53.179 --> 00:10:55.659 are having on creating a business is not an easy 00:10:55.659 --> 00:11:00.120 stuff to do. Make sure you are flexible enough 00:11:00.120 --> 00:11:05.519 in the beginning to change if needed. Your own 00:11:05.519 --> 00:11:09.940 good if you don't like the business or for money 00:11:09.940 --> 00:11:13.600 side of things. In fact, there is another opportunity 00:11:13.600 --> 00:11:18.289 that is better for you or the team. I'm always 00:11:18.289 --> 00:11:20.210 curious about this, because I know you've done 00:11:20.210 --> 00:11:24.509 a lot of sports yourself. I'm going to say well 00:11:24.509 --> 00:11:26.090 -known athlete, but you kind of are a well -known 00:11:26.090 --> 00:11:28.830 athlete, so you have a career in sports as well. 00:11:29.789 --> 00:11:31.809 And when you're building a business, I'm sure 00:11:31.809 --> 00:11:33.629 you had a lot of down moments, right? Those moments 00:11:33.629 --> 00:11:35.389 you just want to give up and say, you know, I'm 00:11:35.389 --> 00:11:37.169 going to throw you in the towel. That's it. That's 00:11:37.169 --> 00:11:40.250 it for me. How do you get past those moments? 00:11:40.789 --> 00:11:42.409 What was that one thing that kept on ringing 00:11:42.409 --> 00:11:44.710 in the back of your mind saying, got this, or 00:11:44.710 --> 00:11:47.409 I don't have this, or I need to keep going? doing 00:11:47.409 --> 00:11:50.090 this because of ABC, I mean, what was it? I don't 00:11:50.090 --> 00:11:56.169 want to be like the source of any... I may share 00:11:56.169 --> 00:12:00.590 my opinion. So definitely entrepreneurship is 00:12:00.590 --> 00:12:05.649 a place of learning, especially if you in fact 00:12:05.649 --> 00:12:10.830 commit to being an entrepreneur. So for now, 00:12:11.070 --> 00:12:12.809 definitely we can change throughout life and 00:12:12.809 --> 00:12:16.370 stuff happens and we are always able to change. 00:12:16.590 --> 00:12:18.850 but if in fact you don't like to work for somebody 00:12:18.850 --> 00:12:24.330 else and you want to build your own money you 00:12:24.330 --> 00:12:26.809 have to work and you want to have your own stuff 00:12:26.809 --> 00:12:30.330 not working out it's it's okay being an employee 00:12:30.330 --> 00:12:34.929 being an employee i i see the benefits of it 00:12:34.929 --> 00:12:37.909 i see also the downside side of it on a more 00:12:37.909 --> 00:12:42.450 personal uh personal level let's say on the value 00:12:42.450 --> 00:12:45.289 side of things on the philosophy of life those 00:12:45.289 --> 00:12:51.149 things I would say the things for me that ground 00:12:51.149 --> 00:12:53.409 me the most to continue on the path of entrepreneurship 00:12:53.409 --> 00:12:56.590 is like looking in the future, looking in the 00:12:56.590 --> 00:13:00.450 future and see what in fact I can achieve comparing 00:13:00.450 --> 00:13:03.169 the two things. Okay, let's imagine I spent 20 00:13:03.169 --> 00:13:05.730 years being an employee, what will happen to 00:13:05.730 --> 00:13:08.549 my life? Let's say regarding my relationships, 00:13:08.730 --> 00:13:12.990 my network, my network, my network, my creativity. 00:13:13.629 --> 00:13:17.529 those areas that I like to nourish on myself. 00:13:19.950 --> 00:13:23.269 What will happen in the next 20 years if I continue 00:13:23.269 --> 00:13:27.090 to be an employee or if I in fact risk and go 00:13:27.090 --> 00:13:31.070 being an entrepreneur and continue to be an entrepreneur. 00:13:31.850 --> 00:13:35.750 So that's what keeps me the most grounded is 00:13:35.750 --> 00:13:38.490 what I can achieve in continue to being an entrepreneur. 00:13:38.570 --> 00:13:40.990 Even though it's not easy, even though sometimes 00:13:40.990 --> 00:13:45.370 it's not Sweetest fruit we can eat there's a 00:13:45.370 --> 00:13:48.029 lot of things that we have to suck it up and 00:13:48.029 --> 00:13:51.309 continue to do But normally it's basically looking 00:13:51.309 --> 00:13:54.029 at 20 years and see okay What can I achieve and 00:13:54.029 --> 00:13:57.169 will I be happy if I have at least a chance or 00:13:57.169 --> 00:14:00.090 the opportunity to achieve this? I know it depends 00:14:00.090 --> 00:14:03.789 mainly on me also the other person but if you 00:14:03.789 --> 00:14:06.909 are able to adapt continue to learn and you have 00:14:06.909 --> 00:14:10.990 a good appetite for the obvious decisions that 00:14:10.990 --> 00:14:15.419 you have to make Time to time, it's what keeps 00:14:15.419 --> 00:14:18.500 me grounded. Okay, I will continue to learn. 00:14:18.740 --> 00:14:24.100 It's just a challenge. If I face this challenge 00:14:24.100 --> 00:14:30.240 twice, and I'm able to overcome it, it will continue 00:14:30.240 --> 00:14:35.259 to become better at overcoming challenges in 00:14:35.259 --> 00:14:38.059 the business, whether it's marketing, strategy, 00:14:38.740 --> 00:14:43.360 product, and so on. So I would say If you have 00:14:43.360 --> 00:14:48.399 the to quit, continue to do it. In this case 00:14:48.399 --> 00:14:50.039 scenario, we can always bounce back as being 00:14:50.039 --> 00:14:53.980 an employee and it's a learning experience at 00:14:53.980 --> 00:14:57.919 the moment. What I would say to, for people that 00:14:57.919 --> 00:15:00.460 want to continue to be an entrepreneur and face 00:15:00.460 --> 00:15:03.000 those hard times would be, okay, just focus what 00:15:03.000 --> 00:15:05.379 is the opportunity that lies ahead in the next 00:15:05.379 --> 00:15:10.039 years. What is the risk of not taking that chance, 00:15:10.399 --> 00:15:13.700 just being other thing. Because it's all about 00:15:13.700 --> 00:15:15.940 risk management, isn't it? Because I talk with 00:15:15.940 --> 00:15:17.279 a lot of people and they all say the same thing. 00:15:17.279 --> 00:15:19.080 It's all about managing your risk and then calculating, 00:15:19.539 --> 00:15:23.039 okay, can I handle the pressure of having this 00:15:23.039 --> 00:15:28.419 risk on top of me for X amount of time or not? 00:15:28.679 --> 00:15:31.240 And then based on that, you risk it. And you 00:15:31.240 --> 00:15:33.059 just see if you're able to be successful, isn't 00:15:33.059 --> 00:15:39.059 it? Being an employee is also a risk. There are 00:15:39.059 --> 00:15:40.720 things that only happen if you are an employee. 00:15:40.720 --> 00:15:43.580 You can be fired, for instance. In your business, 00:15:43.720 --> 00:15:46.419 you cannot be fired. So it's your business. Worst 00:15:46.419 --> 00:15:48.759 case scenario, you have to work harder. If something 00:15:48.759 --> 00:15:52.120 is not working, you just have to try to do it 00:15:52.120 --> 00:15:56.220 in a different way. It's on your learnings. But 00:15:56.220 --> 00:16:00.440 yeah, I would say risk is definitely one tenuous 00:16:00.440 --> 00:16:03.379 aspect of being an entrepreneur. Risk of time, 00:16:03.580 --> 00:16:06.480 risk of money, risk of relationships, risk of 00:16:06.480 --> 00:16:11.090 mental health. personal, your own health. I think 00:16:11.090 --> 00:16:14.929 again, if we are able to be in a specific context 00:16:14.929 --> 00:16:17.990 or moment of life and be open to learn and adapt 00:16:17.990 --> 00:16:21.870 with some kind of intention behind, we'll be 00:16:21.870 --> 00:16:26.870 able to operate and do other stuff. I'm always 00:16:26.870 --> 00:16:29.970 curious, how do you manage your own mental health 00:16:29.970 --> 00:16:33.409 on this journey? Because you've had many successes 00:16:33.409 --> 00:16:36.129 throughout your career. So how do you keep How 00:16:36.129 --> 00:16:37.450 do you keep on making sure that you make the 00:16:37.450 --> 00:16:40.190 right decisions, but also that you're able to 00:16:40.190 --> 00:16:43.070 control your stress levels, to have a somewhat 00:16:43.070 --> 00:16:45.070 healthy life? How do you manage all that? I think 00:16:45.070 --> 00:16:49.389 that's very flexible. I try my best to stick 00:16:49.389 --> 00:16:53.070 to routines, let's say, but it also depends on 00:16:53.070 --> 00:16:57.129 the workload I have at a specific moment. If 00:16:57.129 --> 00:17:00.929 you ask me any habits or things that I do to 00:17:00.929 --> 00:17:07.670 make sure I'm healthy, Be definitely to a couple 00:17:07.670 --> 00:17:10.589 of hours a day at least one or two that I'm not 00:17:10.589 --> 00:17:14.029 working Or to that I'm doing something else not 00:17:14.029 --> 00:17:17.609 work It's one of the things I try my best to 00:17:17.609 --> 00:17:20.250 do sometimes we have like 16 hours work days, 00:17:20.670 --> 00:17:23.809 but it's not possible it depends It may happen 00:17:23.809 --> 00:17:25.849 sometimes it's not every day, but let's say it 00:17:25.849 --> 00:17:28.769 may have it already happened several times throughout 00:17:28.769 --> 00:17:34.079 my career, so I would say definitely have a specific 00:17:34.079 --> 00:17:35.799 moment of your day that you are not working. 00:17:36.400 --> 00:17:39.920 I do recommend exercise at least three or four 00:17:39.920 --> 00:17:43.359 times a week just to keep your body healthy and 00:17:43.359 --> 00:17:46.640 your mind healthy. I do like to journal. It also 00:17:46.640 --> 00:17:51.480 helps me to get my thoughts out and be able to 00:17:51.480 --> 00:17:57.650 see them, learn from what I'm thinking. Also 00:17:57.650 --> 00:17:59.990 helps to in some way structure your thinking 00:17:59.990 --> 00:18:04.109 like as a entrepreneurs we May be bombarded with 00:18:04.109 --> 00:18:08.029 messages about mindset and how mindset is important 00:18:08.029 --> 00:18:12.269 For you besides just of your internal self -talk 00:18:12.269 --> 00:18:15.150 if you are able to put it in words in a paper 00:18:15.150 --> 00:18:20.069 for instance or on your iPad or computer To some 00:18:20.069 --> 00:18:23.509 way even out noticing you are committing yourself 00:18:23.509 --> 00:18:28.150 to process of reflecting Writing and making sure 00:18:28.150 --> 00:18:31.130 one thing is thinking one thing is thinking is 00:18:31.130 --> 00:18:34.789 writing so One thinks but not everyone is able 00:18:34.789 --> 00:18:39.690 to write or express an idea in in a phrase So 00:18:39.690 --> 00:18:43.349 I would say that Without being aware of it. You 00:18:43.349 --> 00:18:46.970 start creating your own narrative Then you can 00:18:46.970 --> 00:18:50.609 in some way direct for words and your way of 00:18:50.609 --> 00:18:56.740 thinking towards your goals It's like being in 00:18:56.740 --> 00:19:00.000 the woods, let's say. You start finding your 00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:03.940 path and creating your path based on what you 00:19:03.940 --> 00:19:07.720 are thinking and how you are able to articulate 00:19:07.720 --> 00:19:11.160 your own ideas about, let's say business for 00:19:11.160 --> 00:19:15.460 instance. You can even explore the business side 00:19:15.460 --> 00:19:20.640 of things. I would say write, journal, some exercise 00:19:20.640 --> 00:19:24.750 and take some time off every day just to be able 00:19:24.750 --> 00:19:28.789 to operate on another level the next day. It's 00:19:28.789 --> 00:19:31.809 not possible. Try your best to manage workload, 00:19:31.970 --> 00:19:34.490 and if it's not today, try to do it tomorrow. 00:19:36.230 --> 00:19:39.230 I'm always curious on one very interesting thing, 00:19:39.349 --> 00:19:41.990 I think, which is the books you read, right? 00:19:42.569 --> 00:19:44.990 So, which ones are the ones that give you the 00:19:44.990 --> 00:19:47.450 most motivation? I mean, to be honest, I'm a 00:19:47.450 --> 00:19:49.650 big fan of, it's gonna sound even embarrassing, 00:19:50.190 --> 00:19:52.769 I'm a big fan of comic books, and I remember 00:19:52.769 --> 00:19:56.299 reading Donald Buck and stuff like that whenever 00:19:56.299 --> 00:19:58.319 I'm feeling down thinking, you know what? I'm 00:19:58.319 --> 00:20:00.539 probably having a better day than he has. So 00:20:00.539 --> 00:20:02.539 that always keeps him motivated. So what books 00:20:02.539 --> 00:20:05.680 do you read and keep you motivated? I don't read 00:20:05.680 --> 00:20:08.839 books that are not technical. So the only time 00:20:08.839 --> 00:20:12.420 I read like fiction books were in school, was 00:20:12.420 --> 00:20:15.079 in school. Otherwise, I started reading a lot 00:20:15.079 --> 00:20:17.460 when I entered the university, my bachelor. That's 00:20:17.460 --> 00:20:19.500 when I started reading a lot. Until university, 00:20:19.579 --> 00:20:21.740 I didn't like a lot to read. But then I found 00:20:22.089 --> 00:20:24.470 Said in fact, I like to read there because I 00:20:24.470 --> 00:20:27.529 can learn something from them. Oh at the moment 00:20:27.529 --> 00:20:30.970 That's regarding books. I only read technical 00:20:30.970 --> 00:20:33.190 books where I can learn something from it. I 00:20:33.190 --> 00:20:36.190 don't like fiction I will probably start reading 00:20:36.190 --> 00:20:38.829 fiction somewhere in my life, but it's not easy 00:20:38.829 --> 00:20:42.690 for me to let's say Warrant piece of Tolstoy 00:20:42.690 --> 00:20:46.869 out. I will rather I will rather read 2 ,000 00:20:46.869 --> 00:20:50.230 pages or 3 ,000 pages of something about business 00:20:50.230 --> 00:20:52.960 or app development or marketing so I can turn 00:20:52.960 --> 00:20:58.039 that knowledge into something useful or at least 00:20:58.039 --> 00:21:01.880 touchable for my life. Books that I would recommend 00:21:01.880 --> 00:21:05.000 for somebody to read. Profit First. I would say 00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:08.380 Profit First is a nice book to read if you are 00:21:08.380 --> 00:21:10.799 a business owner. If you are starting a business, 00:21:10.940 --> 00:21:13.980 start thinking about the profit, how you're going 00:21:13.980 --> 00:21:17.539 to make a profit. I would also recommend some... 00:21:17.539 --> 00:21:23.579 I don't know. I'm awful on the... of the authors 00:21:23.579 --> 00:21:27.339 and so on. But I would recommend Gordon for marketing, 00:21:27.599 --> 00:21:32.240 that's for sure. There's also, no, it's a collection 00:21:32.240 --> 00:21:35.140 of how to build business models and how to build 00:21:35.140 --> 00:21:39.380 value propositions. I think it's from strategizer. 00:21:39.680 --> 00:21:43.539 I guess that's the word. I think that's the company 00:21:43.539 --> 00:21:47.299 that produces the books. I would say I have read 00:21:47.299 --> 00:21:53.529 every area of a business. from law to HR to marketing 00:21:53.529 --> 00:21:58.609 to strategy operations and so on. So I would 00:21:58.609 --> 00:22:02.549 say if you can read the topic that you like and 00:22:02.549 --> 00:22:05.190 read and learn and try to make something out 00:22:05.190 --> 00:22:07.529 of it. I'm wondering, you know, all the companies 00:22:07.529 --> 00:22:10.309 you approach now and become your clients. Have 00:22:10.309 --> 00:22:14.910 you found them? Let me rephrase that. Everyone's 00:22:14.910 --> 00:22:17.109 kind of talking about WebTree and Fibto and blockchain 00:22:17.109 --> 00:22:19.539 and all these things. And we're still building 00:22:19.539 --> 00:22:23.140 websites, not fully on WebTree, but mostly Web2 00:22:23.140 --> 00:22:25.700 today. Do you think everyone should start building 00:22:25.700 --> 00:22:28.279 things on WebTree or just continue Web2? Because 00:22:28.279 --> 00:22:30.059 if you're just in the basic thing, Web2 actually 00:22:30.059 --> 00:22:32.440 works well. Say you can definitely continue to 00:22:32.440 --> 00:22:35.640 build on Web2. We cannot run from WebTree. It 00:22:35.640 --> 00:22:40.039 will come and when it comes, it will be the normal 00:22:40.039 --> 00:22:43.559 thing. Same as AI. Beginning, very few people 00:22:43.559 --> 00:22:47.650 were using AI. No. Today, almost every business 00:22:47.650 --> 00:22:51.250 is using AI. To be honest, I'm not a specialist 00:22:51.250 --> 00:22:56.130 in blockchain, web 3, or quantum computer, or 00:22:56.130 --> 00:22:59.329 virtual reality, or augmented reality. But those 00:22:59.329 --> 00:23:04.089 are like the main areas that will end AI. Those 00:23:04.089 --> 00:23:08.089 are the main areas that will impact how we as 00:23:08.089 --> 00:23:14.990 human beings do stuff. A business, if they should 00:23:14.990 --> 00:23:20.869 build a business website on Web3, what kind of 00:23:20.869 --> 00:23:23.230 business are we talking about? Do we have a vision 00:23:23.230 --> 00:23:27.670 for that business? Because that's true. If you 00:23:27.670 --> 00:23:30.170 are a company and you want to build a website, 00:23:30.450 --> 00:23:32.609 okay, why are you choosing between building on 00:23:32.609 --> 00:23:38.690 Web3 or Web2? I think that decision only be made 00:23:38.690 --> 00:23:42.150 to have a clear idea of why you want to go to 00:23:42.150 --> 00:23:45.319 Web3 at the moment. Otherwise, you can just continue 00:23:45.319 --> 00:23:49.400 on web2 and don't have all the other things that 00:23:49.400 --> 00:23:55.299 web3 will require, chains or so on. Think again 00:23:55.299 --> 00:23:58.160 mainly about what you want to achieve on the 00:23:58.160 --> 00:24:01.240 business and what are the goals. Makes sense 00:24:01.240 --> 00:24:03.940 to go with web3. If it doesn't make sense and 00:24:03.940 --> 00:24:06.880 we don't know why I would go with web3, let's 00:24:06.880 --> 00:24:10.859 continue on web2 to what it's most to be doing 00:24:10.859 --> 00:24:14.529 at the moment. But for sure, Our business owner 00:24:14.529 --> 00:24:19.529 myself include myself on that on that pool Something 00:24:19.529 --> 00:24:23.430 I want to I will come here probably I will learn 00:24:23.430 --> 00:24:27.329 more about blockchain and web tree Why can in 00:24:27.329 --> 00:24:32.190 fact be prepared to? Operate on that area without 00:24:32.190 --> 00:24:38.769 any of knowledge at least those areas Those are 00:24:38.769 --> 00:24:41.150 like That's the future, those are the areas, 00:24:41.329 --> 00:24:44.369 at least on the technological side of things. 00:24:44.809 --> 00:24:48.170 That's what is done. I wanted to ask you, if 00:24:48.170 --> 00:24:51.630 you could go back three years in the past, and 00:24:51.630 --> 00:24:53.450 knowing what you know now, what would you say 00:24:53.450 --> 00:24:56.210 to yourself three years ago? That business, to 00:24:56.210 --> 00:25:00.390 have an idea about, started. It's a matter of 00:25:00.390 --> 00:25:03.410 doing, and that doing will compound. It's a matter 00:25:03.410 --> 00:25:07.150 of action. I would say probably more, if you 00:25:07.150 --> 00:25:12.680 can. More try more worry that much. We also something 00:25:12.680 --> 00:25:15.019 I would say don't worry. You just keep working 00:25:15.019 --> 00:25:19.640 and things will come One fold in a good manner 00:25:19.640 --> 00:25:23.900 Yeah, those will be like three things I would 00:25:23.900 --> 00:25:26.920 say to myself like if I was looking three years 00:25:26.920 --> 00:25:31.539 ago About what I was doing It changed from Portugal 00:25:31.539 --> 00:25:35.680 to the UK. So that change on that relocation 00:25:35.680 --> 00:25:39.210 It start working for a company That was because 00:25:39.210 --> 00:25:41.869 I felt the risk was too much coming from Portugal 00:25:41.869 --> 00:25:45.930 and on the same Say after one week coming from 00:25:45.930 --> 00:25:47.890 Portugal opening a business in the UK without 00:25:47.890 --> 00:25:51.569 having without never have been on the UK So I 00:25:51.569 --> 00:25:54.849 did wait like for nine months before I started 00:25:54.849 --> 00:25:59.589 working on the UK as an operating as a Business 00:25:59.589 --> 00:26:05.789 Yeah, those are like the advice I would say Stress 00:26:05.789 --> 00:26:10.660 and continue to work For your agency, the No 00:26:10.660 --> 00:26:16.680 Code District, what services do you offer to 00:26:16.680 --> 00:26:19.059 companies? Because obviously we have a lot of 00:26:19.059 --> 00:26:20.519 entrepreneurs and I want to make sure that they 00:26:20.519 --> 00:26:22.380 know exactly what we do. So what type of services 00:26:22.380 --> 00:26:24.880 would you offer them? In simple terms, we build 00:26:24.880 --> 00:26:28.579 websites and applications. That's what we do. 00:26:29.000 --> 00:26:33.079 We do those two services from end to end. So 00:26:33.079 --> 00:26:35.619 from the concept of the website to the concept 00:26:35.619 --> 00:26:38.000 of the application until the moment the application 00:26:38.000 --> 00:26:40.880 is in the application or the website on the market 00:26:40.880 --> 00:26:44.339 and trading. All the work that's needed after 00:26:44.339 --> 00:26:47.920 like iterations, analytics, some inputs, some 00:26:47.920 --> 00:26:50.319 changes on the website and applications or version 00:26:50.319 --> 00:26:53.980 one, version two, version three. We support that 00:26:53.980 --> 00:26:57.930 development. If it's a company that is starting 00:26:57.930 --> 00:27:00.289 with us, we also work on the marketing side of 00:27:00.289 --> 00:27:04.130 things. As a development, if we help that startup 00:27:04.130 --> 00:27:07.609 with their first version of their product, let's 00:27:07.609 --> 00:27:11.329 say their first MVP, we help them with a go -to 00:27:11.329 --> 00:27:14.789 -market strategy and all the stuff that's required 00:27:14.789 --> 00:27:18.589 on the marketing side of things. We work mainly, 00:27:18.789 --> 00:27:23.720 so those two services, end -to -end and continuous, 00:27:23.940 --> 00:27:27.160 ongoing in order for iterations and growth. Those 00:27:27.160 --> 00:27:30.579 two services and the process work with founders, 00:27:32.240 --> 00:27:34.220 small and medium enterprises. Normally the founders 00:27:34.220 --> 00:27:36.079 want to start their own software as a service 00:27:36.079 --> 00:27:40.079 company. It's mostly the type of founders we 00:27:40.079 --> 00:27:42.680 work with. Only the small and medium enterprises 00:27:42.680 --> 00:27:45.700 want to build their internal tools. They don't 00:27:45.700 --> 00:27:49.240 have to depend on third party software. They 00:27:49.240 --> 00:27:53.500 want to start integrating AI in their own operations 00:27:53.500 --> 00:27:56.539 in the business and they need like internal tools 00:27:56.539 --> 00:28:00.940 that are able to handle AI. Those are like the 00:28:00.940 --> 00:28:03.660 three main, the two main segments. And we also 00:28:03.660 --> 00:28:06.740 help companies that are already built on bubble 00:28:06.740 --> 00:28:10.799 .io to work with them in order to continue to 00:28:10.799 --> 00:28:14.000 create versions, features, monitoring, auditing, 00:28:14.220 --> 00:28:18.710 security. That's what we do at the moment on 00:28:18.710 --> 00:28:21.549 NoCodeDistrict. Samuel, if people want to reach 00:28:21.549 --> 00:28:25.250 out to you, how can you do so? Easy. You can 00:28:25.250 --> 00:28:29.569 find me on open -experts .com. I have a profile 00:28:29.569 --> 00:28:34.269 over there. You can also reach me at samuelatnocodistrict 00:28:34.269 --> 00:28:36.970 .com. Or you can find me on LinkedIn, Samuel 00:28:36.970 --> 00:28:39.190 Pedder. That's not a lot of Samuel Pedders in 00:28:39.190 --> 00:28:42.329 the world. So Samuel Pedder, NoCodeDistrict. 00:28:42.470 --> 00:28:44.769 You can definitely find me on LinkedIn. Thank 00:28:44.769 --> 00:28:46.230 you so much for your time Samuel, I really appreciate 00:28:46.230 --> 00:28:52.089 it. The podcast is also sponsored by Notion .so. 00:28:52.490 --> 00:28:54.450 Notion is offering 6 months for free for new 00:28:54.450 --> 00:28:57.710 users. Make sure you check out our website, thestartupevents 00:28:57.710 --> 00:29:00.390 .co .uk to read them this offer. This podcast 00:29:00.390 --> 00:29:04.069 is also sponsored by startupnetworks .co .uk. 00:29:04.349 --> 00:29:06.630 Startup Networks is an online forum where you 00:29:06.630 --> 00:29:08.849 can find all the resources you need to run your 00:29:08.849 --> 00:29:11.549 startup, from grants to investors to tips and 00:29:11.549 --> 00:29:13.430 tricks on how to be successful in your startup. 00:29:13.529 --> 00:29:16.890 This podcast is also sponsored by ODEV Tech. 00:29:17.609 --> 00:29:19.849 ODEV Tech is your premier software development 00:29:19.849 --> 00:29:23.289 partner. Make sure you check them out at odev 00:29:23.289 --> 00:29:24.029 .tech.