Second career: entrepreneur

The path to entrepreneurship

I was born in the building trade because I’m of Portuguese origin. My father has always worked in construction. I always loved construction, and later, since I studied electrical engineering, I was always connected to the electrical and computer parts… So yes, it was a bit of a mix.

And I’m a very creative person. I have a lot of ideas. So, I had already looked at the market, at what was being done on the market, and I found that there was really nothing. And that’s it. So, that’s how the desire to become an entrepreneur came about. And then, I just had to take the plunge. It’s always quite complicated because you have a salary, you have a comfortable life… And I left all that behind!

I gave up everything for it. That was really hard. But actually, things worked out well because where I was before, we had to split up. So, this was really an opportunity for me to finally do what I always wanted to do.

Getting into smart building

I also looked at how buildings, the ones that used technologies that made them kind of smart buildings, how they did it. And I thought “They haven’t understood a thing!” I found they were actually doing it like if they were conventional buildings. But the philosophy or design of a smart building is completely different. And that, I realized, was because that skill was just plain missing. Because, since the skill wasn’t there, I said to myself “We really have to get into this because there’s a real opportunity here!”

And it’s mainly because I’ve been to a lot of conferences on smart cities and all that. And I always thought “The people who are here talking are on a cloud, but they have no idea of the reality. Because everything we’re hearing today: smart cities, smart meters, smart grids, circular economy, the whole shebang… It’s all fancy talk but, for a smart city to work, you need the smallest element: it’s the house.”

After that, you have to know one thing: people grow older and older, and they want to stay at home as long as possible. And here again, it’s a fact that tends to lack, and we know how to do a lot of things, at least I know how to do a lot of things that will make life easier for the elderly. In fact, there are a lot of products in society that need to be exploited to provide services that make people, everyone, more comfortable.

And that’s the whole idea behind smart building. Really, doing smart building where, really, the house  brings added value to its occupants.

Fine-tuning your concept

I’ve done it. And you know, when you start something from scratch, you have to come up with something, a concept that is really good, a concept people adhere to, a concept where people understand “Yes, this is a really good idea! That’s what we need.”

Why to start a business

To me, being an entrepreneur means above all being able to create solutions that will bring added value to society. I would really like to do something for society. But something that can really help people live better or even do something that will improve the environment and so on. It may sound strange, but to me, all my clients are like family because I spend a lot of time with them. They tell me “Anyway, this is your home! And that’s something quite… To me, it’s one of the things that makes me happiest as an entrepreneur and freelancer.

When you always find solutions, when you are always there when they need you. Reactivity! In fact, customer loyalty comes automatically.

Smart Cube is hiring

For anyone who wants to work in a forward-looking company with innovative solutions, you are welcome. Do not hesitate to apply! You shouldn’t be unhappy here because we have a broad portfolio of highly innovative solutions. We are rather unique on the market. Give it a shot and come see me.