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Founder Interview – Building an Online Network of 3 Million Users
Tell us about yourself – your background and education. How did you get involved in the web space?
I’m an advertising person by training, a journalist almost by chance and an entrepreneur by temperament… For six years I was the editor of UOL’s homepage. UOL is the leading Internet portal in Brazil. In 2006, together with three partners and an investor, I founded Brancaleone, a communication and technology start-up.
When I started working at UOL I was an advertising professional and a novice in electronic media and felt like a black sheep on a team of online journalists. It was the year 2000 and the Internet was beginning to break out of the early adopters’ niche here in Brazil.
“I felt like my role was to act as an interpreter for people who were new to the Internet, a kind of guide to the virtual world for the average user who was just beginning to explore the Internet.”
It was a major challenge since UOL was the main reference point for Brazilian online content at that time.
How would you say the web has evolved in Brazil from when you were the editor in chief for UOL in 2000 to now? How do you see it evolving in the next 5 years?
“Many things have changed since then. Web portals are still relevant, but Internet users have taken an active role in the hierarchy of content.”
Orkut (google’s version of Facebook launched in 2004) was also an important turning point on the Internet here in Brazil. This social network arrived in Brazil when lower middle class people were beginning to buy computers and, even more importantly, when Lan-Houses (internet cafes without coffee) were sprouting up all over the country. Orkut brought a feeling of active involvement and visibility that allowed Internet users to see themselves for the first time in this new medium. Creating self-content had a significant differentiating aspect for this audience, it allowed them to recognise their own identity by profiling and expressing themselves next to their peers.
I see this way of interacting on the Internet becoming more sophisticated over the next five years. It can clearly be seen that younger Internet users (children, pre-adolescents) are much more critical of content and features, and also much more involved in collaborative projects. So I look at the future with optimism, as a tendency to move from passivity – a maturing process – taking even greater advantage of the possibilities to participate, interact, criticise and build collaboratively.
How did Migux come to life – how did you come up with the idea, and what has it become? How did it grow to over 3M users?
If Brazil Sounds Like Beaches and Carnaval to you, Think Again.
flickr: bjurman
Recession has hit Europe, the US and Asia badly, and it seemed like the whole World was struggling… But it wasn’t – Brazil has not only avoided recession, it has also seen a rise in web start-ups with the fast broadband expansion and internet adoption it has experienced in the past 5 years. You can now find free Wi-Fi throughout Rio de Janeiro’s beaches and favelas, such as City of God which was made famous after the film.
While visiting women-led start-ups in Brazil, you can re-live the year 2000 web excitement. For most of them, 2009 has been a great year, with significant traffic and turnover growth, with the only struggle of hiring people for the many vacancies they have. Even funding hasn’t seemed to be a problem lately, with Brazilian investors moving away from their usual international focus to invest in local start-ups.
With The NextWomen COO launching a new business in Brazil, online marketplace for domestic services AchaLa.com.br, we have decided to launch a new series on Brazilian Female Entrepreneurs and Investors to remind us all of the excitements of non-recession years that are about to return.
With the support of our NextWomen Internet Hero Andiara Petterle, IDG brazil and Startupi we have started interviewing Brazilian Female Internet Heroes, who may inspire you to expand your business to this ever-growing country or invest in its web start-ups.
If you know any interesting web businesses founded, led or invested in by women in Brazil, send them our way.
Brazil Means Business Symposium – A 360 Degree View of an Emerging Economy
AMSTERDAM – Joana Picq, COO of The NextWomen will be speaking at the first edition of the Brazil Means Business Symposium, that will take place March 29th 2010, in Holland, showcasing some of the fastest growing Brazilian companies in the IT and Bio/Pharma sectors. If you are based in Holland or in the area on the day, take advantage of a special discount which allows all our readers a 10% discount with the code: NW
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Brazil is a Great Place to Start a Business
Brazil has become an attractive market to do business in the last decade, according to the President of the Banco De Lage Landen, in the South of Brazil, Porto Alegre, Mr. Maarten Viskaal:
“Brazil is economically developing very well. Huge investments are planned for in infrastructure, energy and oil extraction. The middle-class is upcoming and pushing domestic demand for consumer goods and housing.”, and “more and more there will be a push into high-tech solutions”.
In Brazil, De Lage Landen provides vendor finance services to the agricultural, construction, healthcare, and technology sectors.
Mr. Viskaal, who has been based in the country for several years, and has witnessed the fast pace of transformation and greater economic stability, adds that the
“The scenario of Brazil diving into a deep economical crisis combined with hyper inflation and currency devaluation is something of the past. The country is economically well run and has a strong banking sector”.
Keen Interest in R&D Carried out by European Biotech Companies
There is keen interest from European entrepreneurs to export goods, biotech imagining equipment, and services to tap the huge consumers’ market that Brazil represents. And there is interest, from Brazilian companies, in biomedical R&D carried out by European biotech companies. Entrepreneurs, investors, market analysts, and technology startups interested in going to market, forming partnerships, and investing in Brazil will be attending the Brazil Means Business Symposium, to better understand how the emerging economy is poised for growth.
Brazilian Software Companies will Have a Huge Presence Read more
Twestival Global London is set to Raise Money for Concern Worldwide
Thursday March 25th 2010 will see people meeting in cities across the Globe, ‘Using Social Media for Social Good’. Now in it’s second year, the event, which uses the power of Twitter for marketing, aims to bring people together offline at locally held events in an attempt to improve education, have fun and create awareness.
With this year’s theme of Education, all (and they mean 100% of) ticket proceeds go to Concern Worldwide, which aims to make education accessible to the some 72 million children across the world that presently have no opportunity to go to school.
Last year saw:
- Involvement from 202 cities
- 1,000 volunteers
- 10,000 donors
- Funds raised of over $250, 000
As those involved gave money to improve access to safe and clean water for the 1 billion who currently do not have this.
Concern Worldwide Read more
Female Internet Hero Angel Gambino joins Social Network Sonico
Female Internet Hero Angel Gambino joins Sonico – the social network of Latin America that organises people’s lives online – as its new Vice President, Business Development at Sonico headquarters located in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Founded in July 2007 by Rodrigo Teijeiro, currently Sonico’s CEO, Sonico is the social network of Latin America that organises people’s life online and has been widely adopted across Latin America. Indeed the social communication platform has over 42 million registered users.
Located in Buenos Aires, and with a team of over 80 people, Sonico was elected by BusinessWeek as the 5th tech startup with the highest global growth potential. Sonico closed its first round of capitalisation of USD 4.3 million in May 2008.
Female Internet Hero leads Ambitious Online Women’s Network in Brasil
Andiara Petterle, Brasilian Female Internet Hero
In our search for Female Internet Heroes, we have come across Andiara Petterle, CEO of Bolsa de Mulher, the largest online women’s communications group in Brasil, with around 7 million members and users per month. It’s not only a social network, but also a producer of content, supplier of services, e-commerce, internet and mobile relationship tools. Educated in Brasil, USA and British Columbia. Andiara was responsible for Bolsa de Mulher’s repositioning.
Bolsa de Mulher belongs to the Ideiasnet corporation, and was built-up by acquisitions of portals in astrology and self-knowledge and nutrition and well-being. It also bought out Feminice, a teen portal, previously competing with the social network. More recently, the company acquired celebrity portal TeContei. The objective is for the company to reach all segments of the women’s universe.
“Our audience is extremely relevant. We have around ten times the number of subscribers of the biggest women’s magazines in Brazil. We comprise a company focused on knowing women, and developing effective solutions for experience exchange, thus making their lives easier and happier”, says Andiara Petterle, who is a frequent lecturer at digital media, women’s consumption, and media convergence events.
The company positions itself with business models for the sale of on-line advertising, e-commerce, and mobile. In the Bolsa de Mulher social network, advertisers find segmented channels such as the Bolsa TV – an interactive TV channel; Universidade Feminina – a pioneering e-learning initiative with around 100 thousand enrollments; the Bolsa de Bebê – with exclusive content for mothers and pregnant women; as well as tools like the Mostre Seu Estilo – a fashion community, and the Make UP – an interactive beauty tool, and for gastronomy-lovers Bolsa Gourmet, a meeting and information exchange point among the country’s greatest chefs and users. Read more
International Women’s Day
International Women's Day March 8
Today is international women’s day, a day that honours the economic, political and social achievements of women. The day originated in 1975, when the United Nations began sponsoring it. Two years later, the UN adopted a resolution proclaiming a United Nations Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace to be observed by Member States.
With more women in the boardroom and an increased number of women serving as role models in work or private life, things are looking good for women. But that many think true equality has not yet been achieved shows the global women’s organization Aurora by highlighting a number of women’s issues. Their worldwide register of IWD local events allows women and the media to find out about local activity on International Women’s Day. Read more
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