The kids are alright
➔ Factory goes to school
The world could be divided between those who believe entrepreneurs are born that way and the others, for whom the relentless drive to solve problems is a set of behavioral skills that you can grow and develop throughout life.
The old nature versus nurture conversation.
Working to support startups for many years now and watching IT engineers with an idea turn into competent founders, we can tell you that, at Factory Lisbon, we’re Team Nurture. We’ve watched countless times people, young and old, grow into brave leaders driven by a need to make things happen. Stubborns who never give up and, if needed, fake it ‘til they make it. We also believe these are some of the most effective people pushing the needle for a much urgent global change.
Without labelling it, we’ve always been on team ESG. In the European cities where Factory is engaged with, we watch how startups are keen and fast to tackle Environmental, Social and Governance issues, developing and testing new solutions for participation and inclusion, making for smarter cities, but also more humane and sustainable.
That’s what led us to start 2024 with a pilot ESG program focused on taking entrepreneurs to local high schools.
During the second week of January, Factory Lisbon went to Olaias, a school in the outskirts of Beato which serves many underprivileged families, and spoke to all 9th graders about entrepreneurship.
The idea was to demystify concepts like startup, unicorn, scale-up, fundraising or venture capital, but also share the life stories of founders from our own community and ultimately inspire a few kids.
A women, a scientist, a founder
If the goal is to inspire, who better to share her story than Luísa Cruz, cofounder and CTO of MicroHarvest, a biotech startup helping to curb climate change by producing protein out of bacteria, in a lab right from inside our Factory Lisbon building.
Luísa is a scientist and we can tell her PhD sounds a little intimidating at first. But as she shares her personal story with the class, they quickly realize there are many different paths to becoming your own boss, some of which are purely accidental.
Not all kids in this class speak Portuguese. Many are sons and daughters of first generation immigrants and are still struggling to learn the language. No problem! Luisa swings from Portuguese to English and back, making sure everyone’s engaged, as she explains why studying or working abroad can be enriching, but also why she chose to come back to Portugal a few years back.
And if you had only one piece of advice to give, what would it be, Luísa? “Try new things, find what you love and pursue it fiercely”.
It may sound a bit cliché but it makes for good career choices, she reassures the class before dismissing for recess.
Putting the star in startup
Injuries stalled Anthony's dream of attempting to play basketball for a living, but the startup ecosystem gained a very bright star.
After quitting a corporate job in 2011, he started his own company, Hole19. It was one of the first startups to enroll in Startup Lisboa, the city incubator founded around the same time and Anthony has since been a benchmark of resilience for many in the startup community, generously mentoring and sharing his experience throughout the years.
Today Hole19 runs a very successful app used by 4 million golfers worldwide, with a team of 40 based in Lisbon.
A student raises his hand to ask how it felt to start a business. For Anthony, it was a relief, because it meant a way out of a job he didn’t enjoy. But let’s not be fooled: during his entrepreneurial journey, he wanted to quit many times! He remembers going without a paycheck for a year, while simultaneously trying to convince investors to give him money, and his team to defer payments. “Would you work for me if I didn’t have the money to pay you right now?”, Anthony asks the class. Everyone goes silent, as they realize the life of a founder is anything but easy.
The bell will be ringing soon, it’s time to say our goodbyes. The shy kids stay after the tone to ask the questions they didn't dare to speak in front of the class. The teachers look happy and we exchange promises of having them and the students visit Factory Lisbon soon, as a school trip, and show them what we mean by “ecosystem”.
