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Business Athletes: André Duarte
Being Consistent In What You Do w/ André Duarte, founder of AirCourts
Hello and welcome to Business Athletes everyone!
Each week, we’ll explore the athlete-like habits behind a different business leader. In less than 5-minutes, we aim to provide you with practical tactics that you can quickly apply in your day-to-day.⚡️
In the 3rd edition of Business Athletes, we sat down with André Duarte, the founder of Portugal’s biggest sports booking app, AirCourts.
After 6 years of building AirCourts into a category leader, André and his team recently sold their company to Playtomic, the world’s largest racket sports community and management software for racket sports.
Read time: 4 minutes 10 seconds
Pre-Game Preparation
It All Begins The Night Before
Focusing on when I was the founder and CEO of my previous company, AirCourts, I would go to bed around 11 PM, which for Portuguese standards, I think is pretty early.
Before sleeping I usually like to wind down with some reading.
But I don’t do some heavy, dense reading. I usually leave those kinds of things to read during the day when I’m fully alert.
A Ritualistic Morning To Set The Tone
As for my morning routine, I’m not like early birds that wake up at 5-6 am. I’m usually up by 8 am-ish, but I like to take my time in the morning.
I always have breakfast at home with my wife, and make sure to prepare my coffee and fresh orange juice from scratch every day. I have become a coffee aficionado and I now brew my own coffee and got myself a semi-professional machine.
Overall I think that takes me around 45 minutes doing all of that, but it sets the day right for us.
Gameday
Preparing For Every Meeting The Same Way
Preparation is the same for super-important meetings and lighter conversations.
I always have a look at the meeting members’ LinkedIn profiles, and with the best understanding of the context behind the meeting, the person or people I’m meeting with and what each party wants to get out of it.
I don't like to go to meetings unprepared because I think that if we take time from our days to meet with someone, then the least that we can do is to prepare for it, right?
Always have a plan of action
We have to have a plan. Start by looking at what the person does, who they are, and what they care about.
Then think about the reason for the meeting. Where can you add value from the start?
That way, no matter the context of the situation, you’re better prepared to both offer and receive value because you care about the details that most don’t.
Gameplay
Dealing With Distractions
I get easily distracted during the day. I think it's how my mind works. Maybe because I'm lean more towards the creative type of brain, I'm super curious about stuff, and can sometimes get caught up in details and lose track of the big picture.
But at the same time, I feel I can easily get back to whatever I'm doing. Honestly, I don't know what's the formula for that. I'm just very aware that this happens to me a lot, and I feel that helps me get back to focus.
More practically, music helps me a lot as well! But not music with people singing cause that would easily distract me. I need just the melody, so I’m really into house music.
Post-Game
Rest That Fuels
On a daily basis, it’s working out. I try to work out every weekday and leave it to 6-7 pm. I envy people who can work out super early in the morning. I’ve tried it as well, and it doesn’t work for me.
After working out, I get another rush of energy and get to high-impact tasks - anything creative or needle-moving that I was stuck on during the day.
Dealing With Mistakes
One thing that really helps me is putting things in perspective. I don't want to be too philosophical about it - but the small things that we do don’t really matter, you know?
It's the consistency of who you are and what you do that truly matters.
I mean, everyone makes mistakes. And I’d say I'm pretty fine with the act of making mistakes - I'm not too harsh with myself. I feel this mindset has been critical to building my company.
Checking-In
What matters most about the mistakes we make is the plan we put in place to improve ourselves afterwards - just like athletes.
So, just take a minute to think about a recent mistake you made.
Grab a pen and paper or open a notepad on your laptop, and write down single-sentence answers to the following to get started on a plan of action:
// What went wrong exactly? Was it action or behaviour-related?
// What information did I have beforehand? What information do I now feel was missing at the time?
// What could I have done at the time? Is there anything to do now?
// If yes, then what? What’s stopping me from doing it? Let’s find a way. And if not, then what can I do so this doesn't happen again, or make up for it now?
Sometimes the best way to get over a mistake or defeat is to succeed in something else, something different. Try it, you’ll see.
The Business Athlete Mindset
What Being A “Business Athlete” Means To André
For me, it’s simple. The three things that are most important for me is:
1) If I'm doing creative work;
2) Surrounded by people who I love; and
3) If I'm taking care of my mental and physical health.
If I have these three things, then I feel successful.
Sports that inspire
For André, tennis is the sport that inspires him daily - and even the one that helped inspire him to found AirCourts.
He carries the lessons on mental toughness, intensity, resilience and stamina to his business. He thinks about the intensity that players go through, the struggle with constant distractions and mistakes that are inevitable, and having to re-centre themselves after every point.
The parallels between the life of an entrepreneur are clear. But thinking about this gives André the strength and focus to keep consistent in his goals.
About André Duarte
André Duarte, the founder of Portugal’s biggest sports booking app: AirCourts.
Founded in 2015 to give players easier access to sports, AirCourts grew to become the leading sports booking App in Portugal, with a focus on tennis and padel.
AirCourts empowers more than 350 clubs with reservation and club management software in combination with a marketplace to bring new customers through the door.
After 6 years of building AirCourts into a category leader, André and his team recently sold their company to Playtomic, the world’s largest racket sports community and management software for racket sports.
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