The 10 Percent

Joao Afonso
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  • EVERY TWO WEEKS

We all know the statistics: 9 out of 10 startups fail. But what about the 10% that succeed? What makes them different? In each episode, I sit down with founders of early-stage startups that I believe have the vision, execution, and market fit to be part of that successful minority.

Episodes

  1. 29/10/2025

    Intuitivo – The Future of Learning Starts with Better Assessment

    In this episode of The 10 Percent, João Afonso sits down with João Guimarães, co-founder and CEO of Intuitivo, the edtech startup from Portugal that took home the top prize at the Web Summit 2024 Pitch competition. Intuitivo is transforming the way teachers create and evaluate assessments, using automation to save time and improve learning outcomes. João shares his founder journey — from the early prototypes and fundraising challenges to navigating the complex world of education systems. We talk about scaling in a mission-driven industry, building trust with educators, and staying focused on impact while growing fast. A conversation about resilience, purpose, and reimagining how the world learns.

    35 min

  2. 15/10/2025

    Overtune - Turning Inspiration into Music

    Every day, millions of songs are started - but never finished. In this episode of The 10 Percent, Joao Afonso speaks with Sigurdur “Siggi” Arnason, founder and CEO of ⁠Overtune⁠, a groundbreaking music startup from Iceland on a mission to democratise music creation. Founded in 2020, Overtune has already raised €2 million to build what could become the first billion-dollar company in music creation - helping anyone, from casual creators to seasoned artists, turn their ideas into finished songs using intuitive tools and assistive AI. During the conversation, Sigurdur shares Overtune’s journey from an early “toy” prototype into a serious creative platform - and the hard lessons behind that transformation. We also dive deep into a fascinating graphic he brought to the conversation: Overtune’s Music Creation Churn Map, a visual breakdown of where most creative ideas get lost in the music-making process. From uncaptured inspiration to unfinished mixes and unreleased tracks, the map shows exactly where Overtune steps in - bridging the gap between imagination and output. Beyond product talk, the episode explores the realities of building a tech company from Iceland with global ambitions, balancing AI innovation with artistic authenticity, and the unique challenges of working in one of the toughest industries for startups - music. If you’ve ever wondered why creativity so often stalls before it starts, or how technology might help us get more ideas across the finish line, this episode is for you.

    32 min

  3. 05/08/2025

    Savearth - The Startup Using AI to Save Water and Build a Massive Business

    In this episode, I sit down with João Machado, founder and CEO of Savearth, a climate tech startup using AI-powered smart devices to reduce water waste in hotels - a $7 billion dollar problem - while raising awareness among guests and driving profits. But this is just the beginning. João shares his vision to turn Savearth into a climate-focused unicorn, expanding beyond hospitality into smart homes, gyms, student housing, and more. We talk about using behavioral intelligence to drive sustainability at scale, the challenge of entering a conservative industry with hardware, and how Savearth plans to monetize its impact data in the future. If you’re curious about the intersection of deep tech, sustainability, and ambition—this one’s for you.

    31 min
  4. How Tilect Is Using AI to Rethink Pricing Strategies and Maximize Profit

    16/07/2025

    How Tilect Is Using AI to Rethink Pricing Strategies and Maximize Profit

    We all know the statistics: 9 out of 10 startups fail. But what about the 10% that succeed? What makes them different? In each episode, I sit down with founders of early-stage startups that I believe have the vision, execution, and market fit to be part of that successful minority. In this episode of The 10 Percent, I sit down with João Santos, CEO and co-founder of Tilect, a startup building an AI-powered platform that helps large companies optimize pricing strategies without massive implementation costs or bloated timelines.João previously helped build a €30B/year AI pricing engine at BMW. Now he’s taking those insights to a broader market with Tilect, a conversational, collaborative pricing tool designed for business users—not just data scientists.We talk about:Why most companies are still stuck on outdated cost-plus pricing;How Tilect’s AI “agentic” platform works in real-world scenarios;What it takes to land clients representing €1.7B in annual revenue—just months after launching;The value of starting with technical founders;And why João believes Tilect has what it takes to be part of the 10 percent of startups that succeed.Whether you’re building in AI, SaaS, or B2B enterprise, this episode is packed with strategic insights you won’t want to miss.

    54 min
  5. On a Mission to Prevent Workplace Injuries with eDynamics

    15/07/2025

    On a Mission to Prevent Workplace Injuries with eDynamics

    We all know the statistics: 9 out of 10 startups fail. But what about the 10% that succeed? What makes them different? In each episode, I sit down with founders of early-stage startups that I believe have the vision, execution, and market fit to be part of that successful minority. In this episode of The 10 Percent, I sit down with Joana Figueiredo, co-founder and CEO of eDynamics, a health tech startup using data, AI, and motion analytics to tackle one of the workplace’s most overlooked issues: fatigue-related injuries. With a PhD in biomedical engineering and over a decade of experience leading cross-disciplinary teams, Joana is building eSole and ErgoCoach — an AI-powered solution combining wearable sensors and real-time feedback to predict and prevent musculoskeletal injuries, especially in sectors like logistics and retail where physical strain is constant.We talk about:- The problem no one talks about in the workplace — and why it costs companies billions;- Joana’s founder journey and how she turned deep tech into a startup;- The challenges of building hardware-meets-software solutions;- Getting early traction with pilots;- What it takes to build for the long game in health tech — and why now is the moment;This is a story about motion, data, and building something meaningful from the ground up — literally.

    1h 3m
  • 5 Episodes

About

We all know the statistics: 9 out of 10 startups fail. But what about the 10% that succeed? What makes them different? In each episode, I sit down with founders of early-stage startups that I believe have the vision, execution, and market fit to be part of that successful minority.

Information

  • Creator
    Joao Afonso
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    5
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Joao Afonso
  • Show Website
    The 10 Percent