A Bit of Brazil in our Doughnut
How does a Brazilian mobile expert end up at a Digital Doughnut networking event in a Hoxton Square bar?
How does a Brazilian mobile expert end up at a Digital Doughnut networking event in a Hoxton Square bar?
That was the question I found myself asking when I met Stefanie Reis at the last Doughnut meet-up (held on the last Tuesday of every month). She first heard about Digital Doughnut back in her native Brazil and wanted to pay us a visit now she has relocated to London.
DD – So Stefanie, how did you find Digital Doughnut?
SR - Two years ago I started to explore digital marketing groups on LinkedIn and I found an active community within the “Digital Marketing” group. I really rated the quality of the articles shared there and enjoyed receiving the latest news about digital marketing, which is really easy to get via the LinkedIn group. After a while, I was invited to join a new community called Digital Doughnut. I quite liked the name and, knowing that it was endorsed by the Digital Marketing linkedin group, I readily accepted. Since then, it has been great to be part of such a big, important, cool and funny community.
DD – Tell me more about you. What did you use to do back in Brazil?
I used to live in Rio de Janeiro and I have been working with technology for almost three years. My degree was in PR and my passion for technology led me to work developing new services for mobility within a mobile operator in Brazil. I always found it very exciting to find a good idea and develop it. I just love the process of meeting different people like developers, programmers, media professionals, lawyers and putting together a team to establish a new service. Also, it is wonderful to see a solution you helped to develop eventually being used by lots of people, as the mobile learning services that I worked on went to the market in the middle of 2012.
DD – What is digital marketing like in Brazil?
SR – Digital marketing is growing very fast in Brazil! It really is a good idea for startups and established companies to consider expanding their businesses into Brazil and South America as a whole. There have been a multitude of positive research papers and newspaper articles, I really think the potential of the market is enormous. The growing acquisition of power by the “new middle class” is bringing a lot of demand for such services and a big portion of these people are still entering into online and mobile services. Also, new opportunities, like tourism and educational digital services, are arising in the context of the big events that will happen in Brazil in coming years, like the World Cup and the Olympics.
DD – So what are you doing here?
SR – As I love London and I have friends here, I always wanted to spend some time in the UK to study, meet people and work on new projects. There are lots of interesting ventures going on, given that digital marketing market is quite developed over here. I have been updating myself through Digital Doughnut and other communities. That is why I was so anxious to come.
DD – What did you think about the meeting?
SR – The meeting was really fruitful. Graham Ruddick is an excellent speaker and gave a very enlightening presentation about the concept of digital community and how to build one. The networking time was great fun and everyone was very welcoming and kind to me. They spared no effort in bringing me closer to the group. I can’t wait for the next meeting!
DD - Thanks so much for sharing your story Stefanie and look forward to seeing you at our next Digital Doughnut meet up on Tuesday 26th March at Zigreds Underbelly in Hoxton Square.