On the 6th of February at Restaurante Clara Jardim in Lisbon, we had nearly 40 alumni for lunch with António Carrapatoso. In his talk, António explained his professional life journey, highlighting his early involvement in the launch of what would be the second mobile communication company operating in Portugal, Telecel, later on acquired by Vodafone. After ending his mandate as Chairman in Vodafone Portugal in 2014, he started the first online-born media project in Portugal: Jornal Observador.
The talk focused on the discussion of the market opportunity and the barriers to entry posed by the incumbents, the timing of the general public adoption of social media and of the political moment in Portugal that ensured early traction for such a project, and the challenge posed by the operation, to ensure cost efficiency in an environment where dispute for ad revenues is high and where subscription fees do not have enough critical mass.
The talk then moved on to the current political panorama in Portugal, with a comment on the current parliamentary solution and main options in public policy and investment. It was a lively debate, as political spirits fired up in the audience! We’re very happy to create these opportunities for debate within the community.
