Haroldo Jacobovicz

A reference in solutions applied to management systems, Haroldo Jacobovicz promotes the digital transformation of society ahead of management software and Desktop Virtualization businesses. He founded and consolidated several technology companies recognized for their quality and vanguard of services. The following interview provides an overview of e-Governe and Arlequim Technologies, along with the entrepreneurial spirit, the learnings, and the lifestyle of the entrepreneur and investor in Curitiba.

What is your typical day, and how do you make it productive?

I wake up at 6 am and do an hour of physical activity in the building’s gym with a personal trainer. I am disciplined, I follow the training logic, and the results achieved have positive reflexes in health and disposition. During breakfast, I access the news in different newspapers and magazines and go to the shower. I arrive at the office before 9 am and start to solve the day-to-day. I take advantage of lunchtime to talk to executives of my team one by one, interact with other entrepreneurs, or learn about potential investments and new projects. At the end of the day, I usually go straight home.

How did you come up with this idea? How did it all start?

Technology fascinates me for its transformative power. I studied at Colégio Militar and am a Civil Engineer from the Federal University of Paraná. Still, in college, I opened the computer company Microsystem in partnership with three friends from the field. In one year, we closed due to a lack of customers. In 1990, after going through a large multinational (Exxon Mobil) and a binational state-owned company (Itaipu), I resumed the project, this time with a focus on computerizing public agencies, which is the way e-Governe companies were born. More recently, during de Covid-19 pandemic, when 8 billion people were forced to stay confined in their homes, my team and I thought that we needed to come up with a solution to improve the machines and the connection people needed to keep in touch with the outside world of work, school, and daily activities. With that in mind, we start talking to key technology companies to work on something to help the population to have an ideal way of connecting. This resulted in the creation of the Virtual Computer Arlequim, offered by Arlequim Technologies, a company I started by the end of 2021.

What’s one trend that excites you?

In college, I read a thesis that pointed out the way of providing services with monthly fees as the most promising. The author said that selling meant having only one-on-one contact with the customer – the thing was to keep the link for as long as possible. I forgot the author’s name, but that intelligent vision marked me, and we must learn from intelligent people. Today I see technology giants with global reach moving towards the monthly fee model. I believe it is beneficial for those who provide the service and those who use it: the provider needs to maintain the quality of delivery, and the customer only continues to use the service as long as he is satisfied. Everyone wins.

What do you attribute the success of your business to?

We were able to identify real problems and create innovative solutions to solve them. In public management, we have created an unprecedented logic in software rental, maintenance, and operation services that provide security and tranquility to the customer during a four-year contract. He knows that his systems will be running and updated, computers with maintenance up to date, trained staff, and preserved history. In the case of Arlequim Technologies, we also address a real pain in the market: the lack of service able to turn any device into a supercomputer with processing, storage, and memory combined with ultra-speed internet after connecting with local data. Arlequim Virtual Computer is a desktop service that prolongs the useful life of personal computers, optimizes costs, and contributes to the environment (ESG). All of that with easy installation, a friendly way to operate, ultra-speed internet, and personalized customer service.

What advice would you give your younger self?

I would tell him to study more. When I left college, being the eldest of four brothers, I felt pressure to make money soon to start working. So, I prioritized this and stopped spending time to continue studying. Today I see that I could have done both and that ideas for business models would probably arise while working or inside a school.

Tell us something you believe almost nobody agrees with you on?

To be successful is it more important to have talent, sweat or luck?
You need all three. I don’t believe anyone who says that just working hard is enough. Without luck and talent it is not possible. Or be very talented and wait for things to happen effortlessly. And relying only on luck doesn’t work either. Success depends on a lot of dedication, well-defined talent and applied to the goals, and luck. I consider myself a superstitious guy and I try to understand what attracts good energies: objects, colors, words. And when I see that it works, I repeat. It is necessary to favor luck.

What advice would you give other people who want to be as successful as you are?

Study hard, get ready, and stay sharp before entering the market for real. The world today is very different than when I started – It has a lot more competition, things happen faster, and you can get run over. Even if you have a brilliant idea, if you don’t have the money to put it up, someone else will buy your idea and get you out of the picture. In addition to graduation, it is worth doing an MBA, studying abroad, and having at least English and one more language, perhaps one less obvious like Arabic.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

Very simple things like having a coffee at the mall and having family meals – with my wife, daughters, sons-in-law, brothers, and other close family members. I also love to travel, I go to Israel every year, and whenever possible, I go through New York and Paris. To keep our eyes open to the new, we put a different destination on the vacation itinerary every two years.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business or advance in your career?

I am very intuitive – there are things that catch my attention without much rational explanation, I just see potential. When that happens, I look for people in the business to understand better, contribute ideas, and get involved. These are projects related to technology and civil construction, which I know best. My unique move was at the first Hard Rock Café in Brazil. In 2013, I was approached by a group of entrepreneurs and accepted because I love the atmosphere, the food, and the experience of this American restaurant chain. I called another friend to invest, and we were just going to put money in, but the original group went out of business due to external issues. The involvement got bigger, I hired a manager and started to follow the daily routine closely. I stayed from 2015, at the inauguration, until 2018, when we sold to an investment group. At the time, I used to go there when I left the office and watched the people, the attendance at the tables, and the reaction of the customers. It was a nice experience. Paying attention to the environment of your business and your relationship with your customers is a great way to have insights.

What is the most valuable lesson you learned during your career?

I consider all experiences valid. I believe that nothing in life is by chance, and successes and failures are important lessons. For example, I closed the first company I founded after a year, but the relationship with customers and partners, the survey of the market, contact with suppliers – everything was essential to be approved in the selection process of Exxon Mobil. There, in a year, I went from a reserve salesperson to a market analyst in the South Region and became a specialist in commercial tactics and new business at the headquarters in Rio de Janeiro. I also had a decisive experience of four years as an advisor to the Technical Directorate at the Itaipu Hydroelectric Power Plant because there I could see the difficulty the public sector had to computerize. So, I can say that the most important thing is to identify the lessons disguised in the simplest episodes of your life. This will make you progress gradually. Like climbing a ladder, step by step, each situation leads to the next step.

What is the importance of the workspace for your daily well-being?

Most people spend more time at work than at home. The professional environment needs to be organized, functional, beautiful and pleasant. This reflects on the organizational climate and is a way of caring for people. I like that the employees of my companies feel good and that’s why we invest in landscaping, gardening, decoration and conservation of offices.

Talk about your companies.

The e-Governe Group is formed by Minauro Informatics, Sisteplan Software and Equipment, and Consult Consultancy in Informatics. Our mission is to meet all the needs of the public sector in Education, Health, Tax, and Administrative-Financial with integrated, complete solutions and the best technical support. We have city halls all over Brazil using our services. Also, we launched Arlequim Technologies at the end of 2021, to offer desktop as a service as a response to the digital transformation needs after the Coronavirus pandemic. The solution of virtual computers addresses presential, hybrid and remote work necessities delivering simplicity, flexibility, security, mobility, and first-class customer experience. Arlequim virtual computers are available to Public Sector in which can promote digital and social inclusion when adopted by the scholar community, besides enhancing productivity and alignment to ESG values in all government areas. Companies of all sizes and fields of actuation are potential clients of Arlequim as well.

Do you have a favorite book or podcast you’ve gotten a ton of value from and why?

I am more of the current news of the moment. I often read several international and Brazilian magazines daily, such as Veja and Exame, Harvard Business Review, and Forbes, as well as a mix of national and international newspapers like The Economist, Financial Times, Valor Econômico, InfoMoney, O Globo, Folha de São Paulo, in addition to my local newspaper, Gazeta do Povo.

What legacy do you wish to leave for your descendants?

Creating new ideas, making them become something concrete, and developing projects are what motivates me the most. I see that much of what I have done has helped in the daily lives of people, companies, and public agencies. I am in the business of technology, which is the basis for the transformation of the world, and I want to do more. Leaving a better world as a legacy.

What is your family background, how many siblings?

My parents are from Paraná, a state in southern Brazil, and I was born in Curitiba. Like most southern families, the origin is European, with Polish and German ancestry. I am the eldest of four male brothers.

Why did you choose to study civil engineering?

My father is a Civil Engineer; he worked in the construction area and was a university professor. My mother was the seventh woman to become a Civil Engineer in Paraná. In addition, I studied at Colégio Militar for seven years, where the emphasis is on Exact Sciences. I have always had an affinity for numbers and technology and am very curious. So, it was a natural choice.

How important is family for you?

Family, for me, is, above all, it is the most precious asset and the reason behind all of our actions. I honor my parents a lot – Alfredo and Sarita –, and I dedicate everything I do to my wife, who is also called Sarita, and to our two daughters – Karina and Valéria.

How did you become interested in art pieces?

Since childhood, I traveled abroad a lot with my family, and we have visited many museums. My father used to paint and although I don’t have an artistic gift, I have something inherent in aesthetics – I like what is beautiful and want to buy some pieces. So, I started receiving catalogs from art galleries and learning more about it. Today I am a connoisseur.

Key learnings:

• Staying up to date on the most current journals, newspapers, and magazines is an essential way to inspire innovation, follow the trends that are shaping the world, and spark creative solutions to problems that are affecting people and businesses around the globe.
• It takes a combination of hard work, talent, and luck to succeed. Luck can’t be created out of thin air, but it can be encouraged by putting yourself in the right place at the right time.
• Perseverance is an essential skill in business and life. Those that succeed are the ones who are willing to keep trying after others give up.