Spotlight:

Richard Brennan

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I think I’m a typical entrepreneurial type, but I got started later in life than most as my college years dragged on too long. I dropped out of UCD Science halfway through repeating second year, and then started over in first year of Kevin Street College of Technology after two wasted years drifting from job to job.

My brother and I founded a tech startup developing telephone computer services in the corporate sector. We built the world’s first telephone-based flight information system for Aer Lingus and drove the airport screens for baggage handlers and backroom staff in Dublin, Cork, Shannon, Heathrow and JFK New York. Our client list included the top ten industrial credit unions in Ireland with Europe’s first telebanking service, and we worked with banks to provide ATM services for the credit unions in Ireland.

In the end, we realised the money was in B2C and we turned our skills to creating phone- based entertainment services such as chatlines, dating services, lotteries, competitions, psychic services, at which point business took off. For ten years during the late 90s and early 2000’s, we were Ireland’s largest buyer of TV advertising.

From there I got involved with starting my current businesses which provides psychic services in North America, Ireland, and the UK, and more recently I founded FlexiDrive with a business partner to disrupt the driver education industry in Ireland and the UK. Today I’m in Brazil trying to establish FlexiDrive Brazil, though surfing and beach life take up a lot my time now.

How has the reality of living in Brazil compared with your expectations before the move?

It’s difficult to remember what my expectations were before the move. I already had visited Brazil several times, so it didn’t all come as a surprise. Society is different here; there is a lot of wealth inequality, and it takes a lot of getting used to. The people are extremely friendly, the weather is fantastic, the ocean is warm, and I live in a semi-gated beach community which insulates me from a lot of the harsher realities of Brazil. I over estimated my ability to learn languages. It’s taking much longer than expected to get to the fluency that I desire.

You didn’t take the typical route of settling in a major city like São Paulo. What drew you to life by the beach instead?

Ireland is an Island and I knew before leaving I couldn’t live far from the Ocean so we purposefully searched online for small towns along the coast within two hours of Sao Paulo. Using Google maps and Street View its possible to explore the towns and get a good sense of where we liked. In the end we found the perfect spot and we couldn’t be happier.

What have been the biggest challenges of running an Ireland-based business while living in Brazil?

Luckily enough before we left Ireland the business had switched to 100% remote which meant there was almost no barriers in the transition. I was already working on a laptop from home and in cafes. I miss physical meetings and get-togethers with colleagues, but other than that it has been smooth sailing.

There are no direct flights to Dublin which turns travel into a 30-hour marathon door to door. For that reason, I’ve only been home once in four years.

What are some practical ‘watch-outs’ for anyone considering running a business in Ireland while based in Brazil?

Transferring money can be difficult and costly if you don’t use the right service. The most important thing is to get registered in Brazil with a working permanent residency visa. Once you get that done you can switch to a PJ which is effectively their version of a sole trader or personal company, where the tax benefits are substantial. Start the process of applying for residency straight away. It takes time. You can only use your Irish drivers license for six months, for example, and then you need a Brazilian license which requires a proper Visa.

What surprised you most about life in Brazil so far?

What misconceptions do people back home in Ireland tend to have about Brazil?

I sense that Irish people imagine Ireland to be a first-world, sophisticated country, and Brazil is second-world. In fact, it’s much more sophisticated than people imagine. There is a lot of poverty, but the people are friendly, hard-working, well educated, and sophisticated.

How have you found adapting to Brazilian culture?

Culturally it’s not so different. There’s more drinking here than I expected and people are just as friendly as back home, so I didn’t experience any cultural barriers to fitting in other than the language barrier. Without Portuguese it can be very difficult, especially at social events. Navigating day-to-day activities when you don’t have good Portuguese can be daunting; renting a car, getting your bike repaired, talking to your accountant, ordering food etc. I struggled badly in the first year or so, and even today after four years living here there are some jobs I still ask my wife to help me out with.

If you could bring one Irish cultural trait to Brazil, what would it be and why?

Chinese and Indian takeaways. They don’t have many of them and I miss them terribly. Nowadays it’s fair to say these are Irish traits right?

And the other way around – what’s one aspect of Brazilian culture you’d love to bring back to Ireland?

What advice would you give to someone in Ireland seriously considering making the move to Brazil?

I would strongly recommend keeping your job in Ireland, working remotely, and getting paid in Euros, if possible. The exchange rate is very favourable and salaries here in Brazil are low.

About the Author

Richard Brennan, CEO of Psytech Digital and FlexiDrive Brasil
Richard is an entrepreneurial CEO and founder with over 25 years’ experience building and scaling ventures across telecoms, digital media, and mobile technology in Europe and the Americas. He founded Modeva Group, Ireland’s first alternative telecom provider post-deregulation, growing it to over €15M in annual revenue. He currently leads Psytech Digital, delivering mobile entertainment and engagement products across the US, UK, and Ireland, and is also Chairman and Co-Founder of FlexiDrive, a fast-growing learner-driver marketplace app.