“Creativity is a starting point rather than a point of arrival”. These are the words of Miguel Gonçalves, Ceo of Spark Agency, during another edition of Pitch Bootcamp@Técnico. “During these two days you will have no time to feel tired, just inspired to fight for your future”.
On the first day, April 6, Spark’s team promoted group discussions among the bootcampers regarding their careers and skills. According to Miguel Gonçalves “you have to stand out. Even if you have not realised yet, there will be always something in you that will make the difference”, said the CEO of Sparkl.
Gonçalo Quadros (CEO of Critical Software), André Simões Cardoso (Manager at Fidelidade Companhia de Seguros S.A), and Luís Santos (Managing Partner at Alpac Capital) participated in this year’s edition and shared their experiences with the 193 students. “Técnico gives you the ground on which you will build your career and life will bring you the rest”, pointed out André Simões Cardoso. “We have to find out what trills us and go after it”, said Gonçalo Quadros. “It is important to be obsessed with learning”, stressed Luís Santos, highlighting that “if you are obsessed with learning and you know how to manage time, success will come up sooner than you expect”.
On the second day, April 7, the meeting was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. and few were late. A blind date with four members of the jury from different companies took place. “We are all equal here and we all want the same: to create value.”, said one member of the jury. The speeches of the students were different, some of them know what to say and others are guided by the jury’s reactions. At the end the jury make a final comment, including praise and criticism, and give advice about how to successfully evolve.
Cátia Botas and Daniel Almeida, both Técnico alumni, were part of the jury panel, representing Vodafone. One year ago they were pitching so they know the importance of their role. “I didn’t want to undermine their motivation. I know that the feedback is important and if we are rough on them that may cause the opposite effect”, says Cátia Botas. According to Daniel Almeida “the best advice we can give them is to show them the importance of learning and broadening horizons, because that is what makes us different”.
Luís Alves is attending the last year of Electrical and Computer Engineering course at Técnico so “it made perfect sense to attend Pitch Bootcamp”, says the student. He feels tired but he thinks that the final result has made it worthwhile. “We know that we are good, but being here makes us realise that we are very good and understand why”, says Luís Alves, who goes to his second pitch with the feeling that “everything is going to be alright”.
