Believing in Serendipity with Rita Vilas-Boas Make Space for Growth Podcast

Rita Vilas Boas first connected with me on Linkedin. After a lot of online engagement, we finally met in person last year to find out we shared many passions. When she was a little girl, Rita wanted to dismantle things and figure out how things worked, but deep down, she wanted to be part of Fame, and dance on a Taxi roof in the streets of New York. Can you picture it?

Different lives
Rita studied biotechnology but soon found out about marketing, where she started her career. She threw herself into it and got a job at Loreal. For 20 years, she was a marketer in multinationals and large family businesses. Through social acquaintances Rita started investing on the side and, in the Covid era, thought this was something she could do full-time, supporting founders and thriving as an investor. Between these areas, Rita talks only about serendipity:

"if we plan too much, it never happens, be ready to change and pivot."

Rita believes we should have 3 careers in our lives. She is now onto the second one, but the future is open for the third phase. Perhaps that's when she will get to the dancing part!

Becoming an investor
Rita is a hands-on investor and puts her money where her efforts will also be. She is keen to be part of the journey and be there along the way for founders.

"Instead of just saying the talk, I walk the talk"

Rita is taking an increasing role in the ecosystem and going through the VC Lab to take her efforts as a business angel further. She wants to bring more transparency into the VC world and is keen to put the new ideas to life. She invests when she believes, and that energy and passion translate into her day-to-day actions.

The day-to-day
Rita has a structured approach to her day, reserving some focus time for due diligence on her potential investments, but also a lot of time out there to see pitches and attend conferences. The balance is hard to find, but it is important to be open to the flow of information constantly thrown your way.

Common threads
Rita claims the common thread in her life is "breaking ceilings". She chose a male-orientated sales environment over marketing, she chose the wine business as the first woman director in the family business, then start-ups in China and now an investor in Portugal. She wants people to hear her voice, and through that, also be inspired to find their own voice. She has become a player with a diverse background because she believes that is where her advantage lies. Rita is a strong believer in diverse teams and believes time will demonstrate the results.

Rita's List
Advice: You can't please everyone. Make space for: Learning Get rid of: all the people wanting to "pick your brains" Quote: "Work hard, play harder" AND "If I want to go faster, I will go alone, if I want to go far, I will go with others" Word: Achievement
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Coming back to the podcast after a long pause has been refreshing and inspiring. The next guest is already in the oven. Send feedback and enjoy!