How Your Environment and Mindset Prepares You | CEO of Handson.tv Rodrigo Barros

Let me step back. After I quit my professional career as a soccer player, I went to work with my dad in this small real estate company. But before my dad, my grandfather, he had this little bar, like real little bar, you know. He was like a— I don't know how to say in English, you know, the driver of a bus, But not even the driver. He was like asking people to pay the bus. I don't know if you've seen this in your country, but yeah. There is. Yeah, that was my grandfather. So when he launched his bar, that was like a big thing for him. And then my father was working with him since he was like 10 years old, right? My father grow. And when he was 16, he went to my grandfather and say, hey, you know, Father, now you need to give me some money because I'm, You know, I'm becoming older. I need to make more money here in the bar. And then my grandfather told my father, you know what, son? The problem here is the bar only fits for one family. So my father had that experience and he kind of exchanged that experience to me. So I was growing and my father was, You know, my father used to say that the bar is only for one person, one family. The bar cannot fit 2 families. And then I was like, oh, I think that's a message for me, right? So this small real estate company of my father couldn't fit more than one family. So I could not work with him, right? And then I was like thinking about how can I build my bar that can fit more than one family, right? So now with my companies, we fit 600 families. It's better than one family, right? But why? Because of a mindset. Because the way I program my brain. I wanted this since I didn't have anything. So I went to work with him. And then I heard this phrase that changed my life, and I hope to improve yours, which is, tell me who you walk with, I'm going to tell you where you are going to be. Tell me who you walk with, I'm going to tell you where you're going to be. Why? Because your environment is what develops your mindset. Your environment is what brings your own culture. Imagine if you're here at Draper and then you come here and everybody's thinking, oh, you know, it's so hard to do this, it's so hard to do that. Even you come with a lot of energy, you will think that is hard to do, so you will not do. So on that day, I decided when I heard that phrase, I decided that I wouldn't work on the real estate company. And I was watching on television this big guy. Every week interviewing 2 big people from my country, from Brazil. So 2 big CEOs, 2 big entrepreneurs, 2 big politicians, 2 big— like big people, powerful people, people that have made a lot of money in their lives. So I was like, you know what? This guy is doing this only himself on television, national television. I'm going to be the second guy. I'm going to start doing this. So I went to do theater. In 3 months, I was on television. You know, I throw myself on that environment and I was on television. In 6 months, I was interviewing great people. In 1 year, I built also a magazine, right? And I was putting in the coverage of my magazine the biggest people from Brazil. In 2 years, I launched this event. That started as a small event in my home city, which is Guarulhos, back in Brazil, close to São Paulo. And I realized after the first year, I realized that I could get that small event that I was doing in one city, because I did in one year, I did 10 events. I was like, okay, next year I'm going to do 10 cities, not only one, but 10 cities. Because I have my concept proven, right? So then comes a story which I think it's fun and I want to share with you because it's about behaving. I went to have lunch and remember, because of my 2 past years, and this is an important thing, everything that is happening with you and with your life today, it's because what you did backwards. It's because what you did The years before. That's why you're here at Draper today. That's why you're gonna do something good in your life or something bad in your life in the couple following years. Okay? So then on that day that I wanted to do this, I had all this relationship, all this networking with the big people in Brazil. So I called one of them. He was a CEO, a president of a bank. Back in Brazil, which is Banco do Brasil. It's a huge bank. So I called him and I say, man, I have a project for you. Remember when the United States say, let's go west, young man? I said to São Paulo, let's go to the countryside of the state because we are the hugest state here in Brazil. So let's go for the countryside. Let's explore the countryside. I went to the guy to the Banco do Brasil And I told him, listen, you have a problem. You cannot talk with the small cities around São Paulo, but I can. And he's like, how can you? So I was like, I did this event in Guarulhos. I did 10 events. I proved my concept. It was a great event. I was taking the first event 100 people. The last event I took like 400 people. So I'm pretty sure it's going to work. And you know what? A lot of great people are with us on this project. And he was like, okay, who is with you in this project? I say, me and you. So he was my first sponsor, really. And he was like, Rodrigo, you sure you're gonna do it? I was like, yeah, I'm sure I'm gonna do it, but I need you. So he, because of my other 2 years before that, he sponsored the event. Okay. So imagine this. If I just met him, I couldn't ask and I couldn't approach him like that. But because I had the 2 years before that of story, that's what I did. So this event became a big thing. We did 120 events and I sold this company to the largest company in the world, which is Momentum, for this kind of events. They went to Brazil and they say, who should we buy here so we can grow faster? And they bought my company. So that was my first exit back in Brazil, okay? This happened in 2010. At the same year, I bought my business university, which is a small university, right? It's like we have around 1,200 students, okay? So I bought part of this university and I bought a media panel company. So when you're driving here on 101, you see these media panels that drive like advertisement. So I bought this company as well. And the following years, I kept interviewing the big people in Brazil. So when comes 2012, I was on television already for 7 to 8 years already interviewing all the big people in Brazil. The audience of my show had more audience than the first guy that drove me to the television, which is—is there any Brazilians here? Yeah, man. Oh, legal, meu. João Dória Junior. Yeah, I know. You know João Dória Junior, right? So he's the guy. Like he is the guy for networking. But on television, he was having like two million people watching him, and I was having like three million people watching me. So that was amazing for me, right? But then I just realized there is something else to do. And one time Tim Draper asked me, Rodrigo, you're a big guy in Brazil. Why are you coming here? And then I said, because I was a big guy in a small field. I want to be a big guy in a big field. OK? I came here to Silicon Valley. And this can help you to think about your mindset now. When I just came here in 2013, it was to do a documentary. Because doing a documentary, I knew I would develop my network here. I would understand how people think. So then, here's the thing that happened. I wanted to interview Tim Draper, okay? And then I sent an email, I couldn't interview him. And I knew he was going to speak in an event. So I went to that event with my crew. I went to the event and I say, you know, I want to interview Tim Draper. And the guy that was with him say, okay, you have 2 minutes. I'm like, 2 minutes? Not bad. Okay, 2 minutes is good. So then Tim walk off the stage and I said, okay, can we just go here in this other place where people are are not around. And Tim, he went there. But you know, he's a nice guy, but he wasn't like very, very comfortable about it. But he went there. When he came there, I say, OK, Tim, here's my card. And I gave my business card to him. You know what business card was that? It was saying Draper University in the business card. And he looked at the card and he say, Draper University? That's my company. You don't work for me. When he turned around the car, he saw Rodrigo Barros, my name, a big fan of your concept. Ooh. Ooh. Yeah, clap. Yeah. Okay? Okay? Yeah. So that's what I'm saying. If I went there, so then from 2 minutes, I had already 10 minutes, right? 10 minutes. Okay, so we start the interview. And I say, he's the father of Adam, blah blah blah, Billy, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. His wife is blah blah blah blah blah blah. So I said everything about, and his face was like, wow, he knows about me. He knows about my life. So prepare yourself to be somewhere. Prepare yourself to approach somebody. Prepare yourself to get your goal, right? And I was prepared. But then after 10 minutes came the 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 40 minutes of interview. And I was supposed to have 2, remember? I did 40 minutes of interview with Tim Draper. At the end of the interview, I came to him and say, Tim, I believe in entrepreneurship. I believe in what you are doing. And I want to— I want to be part of this. I want to be with you on this. I have my company, HandsOn.TV. We are a web TV because that's what we were on that time. We were a web TV. Right now we are a platform. And I want to change the world with you, okay? And he say, okay. I say, okay. I took my shirt and in my jersey was Draper University and HandsOn.TV. Changing the world for better. So I was wearing that shirt and he stand up and say, oh my God, that's one of the best entrepreneurs I've ever seen in my life. I heard that from Tim Draper. You know what I did? I was like, that's not enough for me. Please stand up, take your suit, here's your shirt. Wow. So he got his shirt. Draper University, hands-on TV, changing the world for better. He put the shirt on, we took a picture, and there I was with Tim Draper, with his brand, with my brand, changing the world for better. You know what happened? I accomplished a few from Evernote. I mean, I got to know a lot of entrepreneurs. I got to know a lot of investors. here in Silicon Valley, here in the Bay Area because of that picture, because of that day that I was prepared to be with Tim Draper. And that's what I'm telling you. How are you preparing yourself to be where you are? How are you preparing yourself to be where you want to be? Because they think it's shit, because ideas suck. Right? What matters, it's execution. How much are you executing? Because this is what matters. Because your ideas will improve once you start executing. But if you do not execute and you just think you are a genius, I can tell you, today you are a genius, tomorrow you're going to be a complainer. You're going to tell the world that you were not lucky enough. Thanks God I'm lucky enough to be here today, right? So that's what I want you to realize. How much are you executing? So after Tim Draper, I was doing my web TV and I realized, you know, my drive, my mindset is a media mindset. My mindset is a service mindset. How can I be in Silicon Valley with a media and service mindset? I got to go to LA. No, I wanted to stay in Silicon Valley. But then remember about the strengths? I do not have strength on technology. Even my mindset was not prepared for technology at that time. So then I got deep into it and I brought a CTO, the engineer performance of Netflix, because I'm on the video side, I'm on the media side, and I need the tech side. So I brought him, the CTO, and we start developing in April of 2014 our technology. And then I start changing my mindset for technology. I focus on my strength. Which is my strength? Our programming is on Node. I have no idea. I have never ever programmed that. But my CTO does. Right now we are running the company with 7 people. We have 4 people on the techie side. We have 3 people on the content side. I run the content side. He runs the tech side. You know what I do on the techie side? I empower people. I empower people to do their best. So again, don't try to do things that you're not good enough. Empower your skills. Empower your own talent. Be the best in your own talent and you're going to make it. Be the best in your own talent, and you're going to do something amazing.