We discovered a new video series launched this summer that puts the spotlight on entrepreneurs in a fun and creative way. It’s a simple gig: 15 minute, real-time interviews that take place in a car while a chauffeur drives around a city. We asked Ivan Cardoso, a Luxembourg native and founder of Startup Chauffeur currently based in Rotterdam, to detail his roadbook and give us the full picture (no pun intended).
(Featured Image: Ivan Cardoso, the (real!) Startup Chauffeur / Image Credit © Startup Chauffeur)
How did you come up with the Startup Chauffeur idea?
A year and a half ago, I co-founded a travel startup called Anycity. After a considerable amount of effort, my team decided not to continue working because we didn’t have the right team to execute our ideas. It was a tough time, and I was honestly devastated.
It took a hot minute, but I was eventually able to take a step back, and I realized how far I had come. I met so many amazing people and learned so much from other founders. I was lucky to have had the right people around me at that time—people who supported me and who gave me important advice.
There are so many people who want to start their own business, with ideas ranging from clothing brands to podcasts, but who have something or someone holding them back. They have so many questions and usually don’t know where to start. In the end, many people don’t go after their dreams.
So, I thought it would be a good idea to give people the opportunity to ask founders questions and learn from them, just as I had learned after losing my first company. At the same time, the show gives the stage to inspiring startup founders so they can share their stories, which ultimately leads to increased exposure and a better online presence.
What did you do to make the Startup Chauffeur interview series different from other interview series?
The biggest difference is in the format of the interviews. People ask direct questions, and we made sure to avoid having an interviewer asking guiding questions. The interviews are only 15 minutes long, and every other week a new episode goes live. The concept is simple: viewers share their questions on social media using the hashtag #askfounders, and I pick out the founders who answer them in the next episode.
“My ultimate goal is to travel to multiple cities and interview the region’s most inspiring founders—not necessarily the most famous ones.”
What are your milestones for Startup Chauffeur? What entrepreneurs would you like to have on the show?
One of the big milestones for Startup Chauffeur is getting a special kind of partner on board, such as a car sharing company or an innovation hub. My main focus now is to reach as many people as possible so that they know it’s possible to be part of the Startup Chauffeur show. My ultimate goal is to travel to multiple cities and interview the region’s most inspiring founders—not necessarily the most famous ones. If I had to name a few founders that I would really like to have on the show, I would say Gary Vaynerchuck and Jay Shetty because they have been my biggest sources inspiration.
