My family always owned local businesses (stationery shop, jewellers, insurance agency) and I would help in the Summer and Holidays. 

However, my parents wanted me to go to University, so I was the first “one” in my family to go to Uni.
After university in 2004, I moved to UK with my Girlfriend at the time (and now my beautiful wife) to feel and be more independent, looking for a new adventure.

I’ve worked in crazy big multinationals and started a few businesses. But after the initial buzz of the first 6-12 months albeit successful, I would get bored and felt that something was missing in me to feel fulfilled.

In 2011, we moved to Ireland to open our Local Marketing Specialist Agency and we added our specialised Google My Business’ services in 2014 (when it was launched by Google). Ireland and UK were our main markets, but we carried out work and consultancy around the world for businesses of various sizes, from micro-enterprises to multinationals until we sold it at the end of 2019, even before covid-19 pandemic.

During my journey, I discovered that I am a teacher and a Polymath. I love learning a variety of subjects in Marketing and Business. From Finance to Advanced Digital Marketing, as a matter of a fact, one of my favourite areas is behavioural economy as it applies in both business and marketing. Because I love teaching I was given the nickname Professor M and the name “stuck”, as my name is really Portuguese, Gonçalo Mateus, so it was much easier for people to call me by my nickname 🙂 

However, 2 events in my life made me rethink my “path”. First, I found that people with the same genetic condition (Polycystic kidney disease) as me have an average survival age of 54 years old. And I am almost 40… Yet, I believe that I will live many more years than that. Then the second event, my brother died at 39 yrs of age…

So I started thinking about my mortality, what would be my mark on this world, my legacy?
Also, what good is it to have a big house in a great place, an expensive car… if I am not trying to make a difference in people’s lives.
“Ok, I want to make a difference, helping make a “better world”. How?…
So my Passions are Marketing and Business, who then I can help?…”

Only one option! The underdog of the business world, the small local business. They are the heart of our communities, at the core of thriving neighbourhoods. But “attacked” by the bigger competition and “ostracized” by the Digital World.

They should and must be the future of the economies if we want a fairer, environmentally friendly and equal society. As compelling evidence shows that communities with thriving local businesses have lower rates of crime and poverty and higher rates of giving, volunteering, and voting.

Even though I helped many small local businesses with their marketing requirements through our agency, it was not enough as the impact is restricted to a small number of businesses we could take at a time.

Last year before Covid-19, I realised that I had to do something about it! So I sold my profitable local marketing agency. A dumb thing to do? Financially, probably. But personally, it’s the best thing I ever did.

Now with COVID-19, my mission is even more important as we’re on the verge of losing literally millions of these businesses. I cannot stay aside whilst I am watching small local businesses getting trashed by the pandemic, so I am more determined than ever.

My mission is to give Small Local Businesses a fighting chance against the “Golias” and unethical competitors.
I hope to make a difference to small local businesses, by educating them on how to use Marketing, even with a small budget, to get ahead of larger competitors.