Celebrity Engagement Businesses: Surfing A Giant Pandemic Wave!

Pedro Vizeu Pinheiro of Tamovip.com tells us how they use the digital platform to connect idols and fans.

First of all, how are you and your family doing in these COVID-19 times? 

Pedro Vizeu Pinheiro: In tough times like these, we feel thankful just for having the opportunity of being healthy with food on our tables and a shelter over our heads. I’m a Spanish guy living an ocean away from home, family and friends, so the thing that keeps me focused and away from concerns is always working. 

Tell us about you, your career, how you founded Tamovip.com.

Pedro Vizeu Pinheiro: Grew up in Spain, always had an interest in businesses and sports. Went to college in England. I played football for the university team and graduated in Finance with a first-class.

After working in investment banking and consultancy, I decided that I wanted to have a bigger impact on my life by working in fast-paced environments. Joined Yieldify (back there, when I was the 6th hired employee), where I led commercial efforts to develop an advertising technology firm in southern Europe and Latam. Grew the team to 200+ people and thousands of enterprise clients. We closed a series A led by Google and Softbank.

Then I decided that I wanted to lead my own business, but in Brazil, I got a much bigger adventure. Created triunfei.com, a fintech enabling Brazilians online access to financial products. Escale in 2 years to 5 million views per month and sold it to the Swedish Venture Webrock.

How I founded this company:

I was researching industries with the higher growth rates in the world and came up with this: celebrity engagement platforms. Video platform where fans connect with their idols through video. I thought it was amazing and could rocket in Brazil. So I prepared the suitcases for this new endeavor called Tamovip.com.

How does Tamovip.com innovate? 

Pedro Vizeu Pinheiro: There are no cliches when it comes to innovation: NEVER STOP INNOVATING! Innovation guides our modus operandi since day one. From our side, innovation starts at the front door: our product is amazingly disruptive, so our client’s reaction when one receives the personalized video. Then we also have the way we do our VIP Hunting and Farming, which is an outstanding blend between strategies of the most powerful and successful tech companies around the globe with a spicy pinch of a tech startup made by young geniuses. A great product walking side by the side of a neverending innovative strategy is the map to our treasure.

How does the coronavirus pandemic affect your business finances?

Pedro Vizeu Pinheiro: We try facing the half glass full. Although we have to battle against endless difficulties, we saw this pandemic situation coming kilometres away, so we planned an aggressive growth strategy during the lockdown months. With people locked at home, web traffic skyrocketed, and we saw an opportunity to boost our results in terms of revenue and also in terms of active users registered.

Did you have to make difficult choices regarding human resources, and what are the lessons learned?

Pedro Vizeu Pinheiro: Absolutely not. In terms of keeping talents around and managing staff, we did, and we keep doing everything we can, with or without the pandemic scenario. We sacked literally zero people because of covid-19, and we kept everyone at home working safely and with the best conditions, a professional can have.

How did your customer relationship management evolve? Do you use any specific tools to be efficient?

Pedro Vizeu Pinheiro: Amazingly good! We realized that celebrity engagement is the key to every goal we aim for. We do have the most state of artwork tools, but when it comes to corporate relationships, the good old eye-to-eye – wearing masks, of course – the gathering is the most powerful tool we can ever use. Celebrities are a key part of our business; thus, our concern about being part of their lives, being useful for them, being an extra work strategy that they can rely on and, most important, at the end of the day, we are not just business partners: we all became friends! 

Did you benefit from any government grants, and did that help keep your business afloat?

Pedro Vizeu Pinheiro: Not at all. The Brazilian government did try to keep a social program fighting poverty for a few months, but none of the entrepreneurship segments got any benefits or similar avails. Actually is the other way around: the lack of resources and information jeopardized countless businesses not only in Brazil but amongst all of the Latin American continent. 

Your final thoughts?

Pedro Vizeu Pinheiro: GO FOR IT! Get out, get active, try harder and run away from being average. Gather the best group of people you can have, dig into opportunities and investments and offer something with a real value to your community and your market. When it comes to businesses, startups, tech companies, .com’s and so on, there are no limits to dreaming! 

Your website?

tamovip.com