This is about me.
Constantly trying to understand myself.
Let’s start with my values
I am an extroverted and ambitious person who tries to bring value to everything I take part in. I believe I have a strong sense of urgency, I am proactive and I think meritocracy matters. My dreams are simple: becoming a father and building a company that adds value to society. I like being close to new knowledge and surrounded by people who know more than I do. Perspective matters to me, excellence fascinates me and trying to see things through other people’s eyes is my mantra. I love learning from my own mistakes and from other people’s mistakes. That is validated learning for life.
Now about my beliefs
I believe we all have a mission that should define the direction of our lives. I believe that people who put in the work will, most of the time, get something out of what they planted. That applies to work, relationships or pretty much anything in life. Besides that, people are the key to results, good or bad. Every activity belongs to people.
As for my story, it is pretty simple. I never lacked anything
I always had everything. My parents never let me lack anything. Family was always present, a few friends, and a girlfriend from very early on. I studied in Guarda, had grades around 16/20 and by 10th grade I already knew I wanted to study Mechanical Engineering.
I ended up getting into Aveiro comfortably and with very good conditions. I finished my bachelor’s with an average of 12/20, but honestly that did not make much difference. It was my extracurricular projects that made me grow. I finished my master’s with 17/20. There I applied myself more and made a huge shift in my fourth year of university, when I started loving business discussions and developing a builder mindset. As for projects, there were several. Here is my university portfolio: https://joao-gamboa.github.io/.
One of the heaviest milestones of my life was my thesis. That was where I said “I am a simple guy, the best is enough”. In the first thesis meeting, I told my professor that I was not there to get 14, 15, 17 or 18. “Less than 20 is a fail”. And that was it. I think it was a deserved 20. It was the first time I saw my mother cry out of happiness. During those 20 seconds of intense applause I felt a wave of emotions. It started with a huge feeling of happiness and then came a simple “now what?”.
The next day I was already officially at Vulkan. We had closed our first client four months earlier and now it was time to do what I did not know how to do: problem definition, GTM, sales, value delivery, everything. Building Vulkan was the experience that made me grow the most so far, by far. Even though it did not go the way I wanted, it is something I am extremely proud of, because I proved to myself that I can create value, even in other countries.
About my fears
My biggest fear is the most certain one: death. Then, lack of success, because one day that could limit the experiences I want to give my family.
My mission
I still have not fully understood it. I know it involves creating value for society and improving our day-to-day life. In what area? I still do not know.
I want to have a positive impact and bring value to the table.