I met Eduard a couple of years ago in Barcelona, at my first Digital Nomad event. I had just learned this term "digital nomad" a few months before through a website that organized events in various cities around the world. I saw there would be one in Barcelona, so I got excited to go meet some like minded world traveling digital entrepreneurs like me, for the first time.
When I got there, I sat next to this young man, in his early twenties, who gave me a class on how to register a business in Hong Kong. He had done it years before and had already lived in several countries. I could not stop talking and learning from him. And I am still learning. Since then we’ve become friends and are always exchanging ideas on different struggles we go through. I’m sure you, too, will enjoy meeting Eduard and keeping up with what he is constantly learning and sharing.
Some time after that, he invited me to join his Coworking, where we had the most amazing view of Barcelona to work from. That’s where we recorded this talk for you.
And a few months after we recorded, he published a great article called "What I Learned Starting Lumumba And Fucking It Up". It’s a must read after you listen to this conversation we had. Hope you enjoy!
We talk about:
1:53 How Eduard started his journey in China at 19 years old, and continued through 25 countries in Asia, Africa an America.
2:40 Why Hong Kong is the best place to incorporate, and difficulties to find an accountant that can understand our DN situation
3:30 How he started making money at 15
6:21 The power of randomness of coworking spaces to network, build community
7:35 Lumumba: Eduard's multicultural apparel startup. Strategies to build and sell via ecommerce, and challenges involving so many cultures and countries. Lumumba's business model and work ethic.
15:00 Why the Western world is a minority and is losing influence and how important it is to speak the language of new consumers.
17:02 his dreams: nomadism, having multiple productions centers, multiple offices.
20:50 How one can get involved with Lumumba project. Examples from Ghana, South Africa, India
23:13 How to get money from Venture Capitals and what is the true challenge. How partners, employees, contracts, and accelerators get involved.
34:13 How Eduard left the 9-to-5 job, moved from corporate to a nomad lifestyle today.
40:00 his performance tools and lifestyle.
Significant quotes:
"I had investments in the stock market in Spain when I was 15 and when the crash came in 2008 I've lost half of my savings. That was my motivation to travel" 4:39
"A startup must to be part of your lifestyle. If it doesn't fit, it doesn't make any sense [to start one]" 30:35