Daniel Vila Boa, CEO of Chilltime and Rui Maia, one of the founders of Xpand IT, were the guest speakers of Alumni E. Stories held this Wednesday, December 6, at Técnico.

Daniel and Rui, former students of Information Systems and Computer Engineering, arrived at Técnico eager to seek more knowledge. According to both alumni, Técnico provided them with “the skills to develop an outstanding work capacity”, a mix of “competition and fellowship“ that prepared them for the future.

When Daniel Vila Boa entered Técnico, he was already an entrepreneur. “I applied all I was learning in classes” to new projects. Daniel Vila Boa created one of the largest Portuguese social networks – NetJovens, and this was what made him follow this professional path. “It was pretty much like that how I became an entrepreneur: the opportunities that I took pushed me that way”, shares Daniel Maia.

Things were slightly different with Rui Maia. Xpand IT has been adding clients, notoriety and market solutions. “The beginning was a way of raising capital and entering the market, but it was also a boost to our creativity”, recalls the alumnus.

They both shared the most important thing: the willingness to take risks and the certainty that they could not stand still. “Patience, perseverance and ability to work hard” are also important. “Few things have instant results”, underlined Daniel Vila Boa. “The most important thing is that you learn something new every day”, he added. “We must have the will to do things and, above all, we must feel we are able to solve something. We add a little bit of luck and choose the right moment to launch our business”, said Rui Maia. “At Chilltime we value a lot people with a positive attitude because when we see ourselves as lucky persons we face life differently. We grab the right opportunity at the right time”.