When he left Brazil to try life in Ireland, he quickly discovered that the world is full of borders — and people trying to cross them.
Some are physical, some are cultural, and most of them are inside our heads.
But, over two years, I learned that the role of a global entrepreneur is not to fight borders, but to build bridges.
Going abroad puts you in a constant dilemma: you want to innovate, but you also need to adapt.
Wanting to preserve your identity, you need to understand the local context. Wanting to grow, the more you need to respect the rhythm of people.
Not to mention, it’s easy to fall into the weapon of energy or the “other side” as an obstacle. I realized that it is precisely there, where differences are not found, that true innovation is born.
A SEDA was born from this idea. When we raised a school, our purpose was never just to teach English — it was to join stories.
From Brazilians, Colombians, Koreans, Italians and so many other nationalities that came to Ireland with the same dream: learning, reinventing and belonging.
Each classroom saw a microcosm of diversity, and it was here that I perceived what it actually means to be global: it’s not about being in various countries, it’s about understanding people from various realities.
Building bridges means translating cultures. It is knowing how to mediate expectations, respect differences and transform plurality by force.
In the world of two businesses, this requires empathy, understanding and a sense of humanity that is often lost between plans and goals.
But it is that sensibility — and not just strategy — that sustains companies that last long and times that prove their purpose.
Now, when I look back, I see that the biggest border I need to cross was not geographical, but mental.
I was learning that global success is not about dominating the world, but about connecting it.
And he understands that he has to put up walls and begin to unravel bridges because he realizes that, not just, in the things that you negotiated, that’s how ideas and people really meet.
