Grit trumphs smarts

I choose to believe that anybody can do, learn, and achieve, anything! But our journeys will be different. This mindset nurtures proactivity and challenges me to go outside of my comfort zone, to develop new skills, and to grow.

“Dreams don't work unless you do. The future depends on what you do today.” - Mahatma Gandhi

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Book covers of Maverick by Ricardo Semler and Delivering Happniess by Tony Hseih

Leadership

My leadership philosophy is deeply influenced by Ricardo Semler, Tony Hsieh, and my coaches.

From Semler, I've learned to use team empowerment and collaborative decision-making to enhance engagement and drive innovation.

Hsieh's taught me to create a success-oriented environment, boosting productivity, and morale.

Sports have taught me to grow from failure, to communicate effectively, and how to motivate different people, essential skills to drive team performance in any role and organization.

I talk about leadership on TigerHall.

Infographic chart of the correlation between Trees and Wealth by NYC borough

Infographic chart airplane wildlife collissions from 2001 to 2015 in US airports

Infographic of business performance by US state and US region (east, west, north, south) of a ficticious company.

Infographic chart of the correlation between Trees and Wealth by NYC borough

Infographic chart airplane wildlife collissions from 2001 to 2015 in US airports

Infographic of business performance by US state and US region (east, west, north, south) of a ficticious company.

Data analysis

I admit. I’m a massive fan of Excel as a data analysis tool.

In April 2024 I completed Codecademy’s Tableau course and discovered its exceptional strength to transform data into compelling visual stories.

Tableau lets me present complex data clearly, facilitate strategic insights, identify trends, and drive strategic planning leading to better decisions and business outcomes.

See some of the Vizzes I created on my Tableau Public profile showcasing how they translate data into insights.

Plaza Mayor in Madrid, Spain

Attended language school for 8 months in 1998-99. Took dance lessons and learned to paint in my spare time.

Kölner Dom in Cologne, Germany

Spent 2 months here in 1999 just before starting my University studies at Imperial College London.

Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria

I lived around the corner during the 6 months I spent learning Arabic before returning to London.

La Comédie in Montpellier, France

Spent my summer holidays here learning French while working in London.

Civic Center in Shenzhen, China

Moved here 2018 and have spent part of my time learning Chinese.

Plaza Mayor in Madrid, Spain

Attended language school for 8 months in 1998-99. Took dance lessons and learned to paint in my spare time.

Kölner Dom in Cologne, Germany

Spent 2 months here in 1999 just before starting my University studies at Imperial College London.

Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria

I lived around the corner during the 6 months I spent learning Arabic before returning to London.

La Comédie in Montpellier, France

Spent my summer holidays here learning French while working in London.

Learning languages

In school I struggled with languages. My mother and I tried to persuade the principal to let me skip since I loved natural sciences. We failed. Later I realized it was due to a lack of immersion. So I studied them where they were spoken. I now speak 7 languages.

Learning Chinese tones is hard. I used ANKI to build a set of 20k cards categorized by tones. A few weeks practice and I could distinguish them. Impressed with my progress my teacher asked me to share my method with her other students.

My language skills have helped me to develop empathy for different cultures and perspectives, to enter new markets, and lead diverse teams.

Timeline with logos of Vizero, Groupon, NTLP, MentorSweden, Beanepic, Carjump and Seedcamp.

Entrepreneurship

A successful venture solves a challenging problem.

My first venture, Vizero, let hobby photographers earn money from their craft. We placed #2 in Imperial College’s 2005 New Business Challenge. Post MBA, I launched Groupon Belgium, and spent three years tackling major issues in my investor’s portfolio companies globally.

I’ve built startups in education, energy, lasers, and more, and supported founders as an accelerator mentor, a venture partner at a VC firm, and a co-founder at a hardware accelerator. These experiences have trained me to identify market opportunities, scale businesses, and to roll up my sleeves and deliver results through action.