Having a successful career in a large bank deceived me into believing I was on the right path.

I had been working for a big corporation for ten years, I was getting promotions and I was making good money – one could say I had it all.

However, I wanted even more success and to improve my skills for a top executive position, I´ve enrolled on the OneMBA Global Executive program. The programme creates true global leaders equipped to do business anywhere in the world by sending executives to interact with local business in seven countries, on four different continents.

Regardless of my previous ambitions and achievements, the course opened my mind in a way that I started to question the meaning of success altogether. I realized that to me, success for was not represented by money or the status of a good position anymore, but the passion for doing something I believed in.

When I finished the course in 2011, I had the knowledge, the experience, the network and the confidence to believe that I could make a difference in another way. It was then when I decided to quit my job and become an entrepreneur. I wanted to build something on my own, based on my values, and impact others in a positive way.

My first attempt at becoming an entrepreneur was not the best – the start-up that I had set up, failed. But I did not give up; I have carried on and set up another business, Qreservas, in 2013, which is where I work today. Qreservas empowers small and medium hospitality enterprises in Brazil, through the use of technology.

Moving from the corporate life to managing my own business has not been easy. Running a small business is completely different than working in a big company. I need creativity and resilience to overcome everyday difficulties and not to give up. I now work harder, make less money, and don´t have a prestigious position.

 Some people may think I failed.  But as the OneMBA programme has changed my perception of success, it has also changed my perception of failure. I used to see failure in others’ perspective – failure was people looking and judging my mistakes. Today I see it in my own perspective – failure is just an opportunity from which I have to learn and rise victorious.

I owe part of my current mindset to the things I‘ve learnt, and the people I met during my year on the OneMBA programme. This experience took me out of my comfort zone and gave me the tools to realise my dreams.

I can’t say what will happen to my startup – It can become a billionaire company, or it can fail. I also can’t say what will happen to me – I can be a successful entrepreneur, or go back to working for a corporation. Be it as it may, the end doesn´t matter to me. As long as I’m having fun and believing in what I´m doing, I´ll consider myself successful.