Female insights on Entrepreneurs Organization

Having lived in Portugal for several years, the Dutch writer Gerrit Komrij wrote in 1995 the short story“A Business Lunch in Sintra”, in which a group of Portuguese met around a lunch table, unsuccessfully trying to talk business. For several hours they kept distracted with the exquisite traditional cuisine, the remarkable winery variety and current affairs, without being able to get a glimpse of any conclusion in the business that led them there…

Almost thirty years later, this incisive, sarcastic portrait could not be further from the mindset of the party of businesswomen from the Entrepreneurs' Organization(EO) who got together for lunch, not to close any deal, but to share ideas about what it means to be an entrepreneur these days. The relaxed atmosphere of the restaurant provides the right context to a gathering that is all about focus. The exquisite appetizers set the pace as their stories started to unveil.

Despite having different professional careers that range from real estate, hospitality, pharmacy or architecture, they all share a common ground. They are empowered women that, at some point, decided to take control of their paths by becoming entrepreneurs and found in EO the supportive and collaborative environment where entrepreneurs can connect with other like-minded leaders in order to learn and grow.

In 2001, Chitra Stern, originally from Singapure, chose Portugal to live and to start her journey as an entrepreneur. She left behind a solid career as a chartered accountant for Price Waterhouse Coopers and set her mind into real estate and hospitality, developing the Martinhal brand, a concept of family hotels and resorts as well as luxury residences and is presently engaged in a new passion: an international school in Lisbon. Being a mother of four, we could expect her to be overwhelmed with the difficulties of managing her family and professional life. Nothing is further from the truth. She became the first female member of the Portuguese chapter of EO, later chair for two years and she is a strong supporter of the advantages women can have by taking part in a network of entrepreneurial leaders.“Women always cry out that there is not enough support, that they have to work hard to make it to the top. That is mostly true if you are alone”, she states. “I have always encouraged women to join EO, because here, we can find our path to leadership through network support, education for life-long learning and forums where we can share experiences and doubts or exchange best practices with like-minded people in a safe environment.”

In fact, one of the most interesting things about leadership culture within EO is that members meet, not to give or receive advice on how to act or think, but to share life experiences that anyone can absorb into his or her own reality. EOers are focused on learning, unleashing each one’s potential to become high achievers. It is all about changing your mindset and turning obstacles into opportunities, obstructions into stepping stones. And that can be achieved by connecting to a global network of experienced entrepreneurs and engaging in local chapters where closer relationships foster a collaborative environment. Peer-to-peer learning allows entrepreneurs to gain valuable insights that will produce visible effects in business practices.

It is precisely learning with peers what Thalita Van Ogtrop immediately highlights in EO.“Benchmarking all the things you are thinking or learning with other entrepreneurs and quickly get answers to questions you are figuring out, because that is what you do as an entrepreneur, you are learning from scratch”,she says calling upon her experience as an entrepreneur since 2010. At the time, Thalita was based in Amsterdam working for a sustainable design agency and then decided to start her own technology company. She found herself in a male oriented world, where she had to raise venture capital funding. “While taking my first steps into entrepreneurship, I met other female entrepreneurs that said the most life changing, transformative organization that they had ever joined and had the biggest impact on their lives was EO”, Thalita recalls, as she tells us how she joined the 250 members chapter of EO Amsterdam. Packed with some experience in entrepreneurship, she took a career change embracing a new project in a regenerative hospitality concept in Tuscany, while moving to Portugal barely two years ago. She then left the EO Amsterdam chapter to find her place in the EO Portuguese chapter. And that made all the difference.“I just landed in a whole new country where everything is different and EO was of the most importance, because having local entrepreneurs sharing their knowledge was super insightful and helpful”.

Business owners often report that their journey can be at times very lonely and that finding others that share the same worries or difficulties is not always possible. With EO you can connect to a global network of 18.000 successful entrepreneurs in 78 countries that are more likely to understand your problems and decision making, learn from their experiences, share challenges, and build valuable relationships. This is a worldwide community of like-minded individuals who can offer support, encouragement, and hold you accountable for your goals.“It is very comforting to listen to other peer experiences, people that have faced the same problems and know how to overcome them. It is comfortable to understand that everything is possible and we are not alone, that others have faced the same challenges”, says Madalena Botelho, a Portuguese architect that leads a design and construction company specialized in reconstruction and restoration. As a woman working directly in construction sites she has faced challenges and had to find strategies to gain the respect of the workers. But according to her, this was not by far the biggest challenge she met. In fact, she started the company while raising three children and reconciling professional and family life was the ultimate challenge.

As the main courses arrive to the table, one question remains to be clarified: What are the main tools that EO offers to overcome the challenges that everyone seems to face? Eunice Reis Barata, owner of a successful network of pharmacies gladly offers to answer. She relies on the forums that EO provides. “I met EO from Executiva Magazine and what I was really expecting was the sharing of experiences and I find really special that this is a safe place to share that offers possibilities of keeping learning. And also, it is very inspiring listening to others. It challenges you to move forward, to think how you can enforce those good solutions in your own company”.

These forums are small, confidential groups with members from non-competing industries. They provide open and honest discussions about business challenges without worrying about competition. Forums typically meet once a month to discuss business and personal issues. The format can vary, but it often involves a member presenting a specific challenge they are facing, followed by open discussion and brainstorming from the other members. The goal is to leverage the collective experience and knowledge of the peers. Members can share their wins, get feedback on ideas, and work through difficult decisions with a trusted and experienced group of advisors. Over time, forum members develop strong personal and professional bonds. This sense of companionship and trust allows for even more open communication and creates a valuable support network for entrepreneurs.

Another big supporter of forums is Thalita Van Ogtrop that recalls the pandemic to illustrate the importance of these online monthly meetings.“During Covid this also helped me a lot in staying sane. The whole world was changing, the way of working was changing, team dynamics were going crazy, nobody knew how to protect their businesses, and having the monthly forum where we could just share our doubts, our worries, our insecurities, know how the others were dealing with it, created a huge comfort zone in those crazy times. We were very lucky to have EO”.

A quick glance at the lunch table shows several different delicate dishes that, according to the menu, is a fusion of oriental and Mediterranean cuisine. This is an accurate metaphor for what is being discussed at the table. How can these different women in separate areas of business find answers to their needs in scaling up and developing their skills as entrepreneurs? As Eunice Reis Barata mentions a EO learning programme about strategy she attended in Harvard, Chitra Stern stresses the topic of“special tailored programmes”that EO provides in partnership with business schools and other relevant institutions as a must do.

Scaling up is a core value for EOers, so to achieve that, EO provides access to educational resources, workshops, and high-level programmes designed to help grow businesses. These may range from topics like leadership training, scaling venture or achieving work-life balance. Ultimately these tools are designed to foster a culture of innovation and provide resources to bring new ideas to life and to cause a positive impact on the communities. Sara Bettencourt is the perfect example of how this collaborative learning culture can be inspirational. Presently acting as chapter manager for EO Portugal, she took the initiative of starting a forum with other chapter managers.“We are now experiencing the same as members do, things like accountability, cooperation and support.”Being also an artist in film productions, she is transferring the inputs she gets from this forum to that line of work.“Forums act as a mirror in which you reflect your values and roles both in your professional and personal life”.

As lunch comes to an end, it is time for dessert and the sweetest thought is that Portugal is now very far from the business lunch experienced by Gerrit Komrej. Chitra Stern sums up what everyone believes is the present situation.“As the EO Portugal chapter is growing, there is a growing awareness for EO and more women are getting on board, which is a fantastic thing. Portugal being attractive for investment and for foreign people is great, because we are a small country. So, having this movement is fantastic. People like Thalita, more recently, recognising that Portugal is a great place to move to and conduct a business from, and place her children for safe and security, education and all those fantastic reasons is also a way to grow.”