Becoming a Part of Portugal | Jim Wayner
Sometimes, the best discoveries in life happen when you’re not looking for anything at all. That was certainly…
Sometimes, the best discoveries in life happen when you’re not looking for anything at all. That was certainly the case for Jim Wayner when it came to the south of Portugal.
“I was in the Algarve, planning to move to Valencia, actually. I like Valencia, Spain, quite a bit, but I fell in love with the Algarve,” the American entrepreneur recalls fondly when asked about his personal history with the western European nation.
“I had not planned on moving to Portugal, but once in this country, I’ve pretty much fallen in love with it, and it’s a great place to live. And so, I’ve sold a house back in the States, and we’re here now pretty much full-time.”
Discovering the Portugal HQA® Program
Having decided that Portugal would be an ideal location for the next phase of life, Wayner began to investigate the different options available to him and his wife in terms of relocation. A thorough researcher, Wayner looked beyond the wave of Golden Visa advertisements and dove head-first into the various programs Portugal offers to determine which would be the best fit.
“I was researching Portuguese visas and came across the HQA® Program,” recalls Wayner, who liked what he saw and acted immediately to get more information about the program. “I sent an email into the website, and I got a response very quickly. That led to engagement, and the engagement made this happen.”
The HQA® Program appealed to Wayner both personally and professionally. The program’s very efficient residency process – residency is often granted within four months of applying – satisfied his desire to begin transitioning his life to Portugal without having to wait years to do so. However, it was the HQA® Program’s foundation, built on innovation, startups, and collaboration with universities, that really piqued Wayner’s interest.
“I didn’t know the startup community existed in Portugal,” admits Wayner, who has a lengthy history of involvement in technology startups. “I find it optimistic. It seems like it’s ascending, and there’s a lot of energy here, and I think that’s really great. I’ve found a lot of like-minded people who want to get involved here and do startups.”
Empowered Startups Exceeds Expectations
A proud resident of the state of Wisconsin for most of his life, Wayner enjoyed a highly successful career in his home country. After graduating with a degree in electrical engineering, he worked in key roles for several major technology companies including Sun Microsystems and Oracle. An innovator by nature, Wayner also co-founded three technology startups in the USA and participated in two large corporate product launches while becoming a highly regarded expert in the field of cybersecurity. Armed with that impressive background and an inherent appetite for invention, Wayner saw the HQA® Program as a perfect opportunity to immerse himself in Portugal’s innovation sector while furthering acclimating to the country’s culture.
“In terms of the program that Empowered Startups has run, it has in most ways exceeded my expectations. I have been very happy with the level of assistance,” reveals Wayner in discussing the relationship he has developed with the team in Portugal since joining the HQA® Program.
“The overall community that has been facilitated by Empowered Startups and Paulo (Martins) and Filipe (Galego) has really helped me out. They have facilitated introductions to a startup community; that has been very valuable to me. The team actually has been a huge help, especially Paulo and his connections in the university in Leiria. The experience has been very good, actually.”
Collaborating to Combat Challenges Created by Artificial Intelligence
With Artificial Intelligence (AI) rapidly evolving and introducing a plethora of new cybersecurity challenges, Wayner decided to use his decades of experience to pursue solutions for everyday citizens. He founded his HQA® project on that premise and entrusted Empowered Startups to find the right environment and researchers to partner with. Through their deep connections to the academic and research communities in Portugal, Empowered’s team identified the ideal university and research team to pair him with and facilitated the connection.
“I’m working with the Polytechnic in Leiria, and the project is a cybersecurity project to take and enhance home security, and the Internet of Things, as we call it, which are all the devices that you’ve got in your home network. I’m very much in the research stage of research and development of a product,” Wayner explains. “Working with the university gives me a higher level of technological expertise to talk about current state-of-the-art in my cybersecurity realm… what do they think? Having very technologically literate people to bounce ideas off of and to brainstorm with has been a huge help.”
Acclimating to All Aspects of Portugal
Since launching his project, Wayner has taken advantage of Empowered’s vast network in Portugal to immerse himself in the country’s research and startup communities. He has regularly attended events like the annual SIM Conference in Porto to further expose himself to new innovation and investment opportunities and is becoming more recognized for his expertise and insight. In February, he took part in a compelling public discussion on AI as part of a highly qualified panel at the “International Talent for Innovation” conference in Coimbra.
“When we look at what’s going on just in terms of overall cybersecurity, AI is probably the biggest topic. Not only on the defensive side, which allows us to take and better understand what’s going on in an organization and how we’re being attacked and how to prevent it, there’s also the offensive side of things, where AI can be used to take and attempt to breach companies in a very, very efficient way, not only at the top level, but also doing things like targeted phishing attacks that can cover millions of people,” Wayner conveyed to his fellow panelists and the audience.
“AI gives leverage to the bad guys just as well as it gives intelligence and leverage to the good guys, so we’re looking at two sides of it. One thing is for certain, if you’re not on board with this and if you’re not taking advantage of these tools, the bad guys are going to have the advantage over you.
And so that’s a very concerning topic because when we look at the distribution of cybersecurity expertise, small to mid-sized businesses, and for that matter, home users, which is where my project is based, are at a serious disadvantage.”
Improving Portugal Through the HQA® Program
Though the solutions he aims to deliver through his project are very complex to create, the motivation behind them is simple: to help other people. Being of service to others is another component of the HQA® Program that was attractive to Wayner, who learned that part of the ethos behind the program is a commitment to improving outcomes for Portuguese people and their communities. That principle is in alignment with Wayner’s own values, and he is delighted to create opportunities that enable knowledge exchange and technology transfer in the country he now calls home.
“I’ve got an engagement from a professor who is exactly in the place that I need to be in terms of technology. I’m working with a graduate student who is both earnest and talented, and I’m very happy to have him engaged. I’m also happy to help him along in his journey to get his master’s degree,” expresses Wayner.
“I think that we all have similar goals that aim us in the same direction, and I think that makes a big difference. It’s very symbiotic. It works out, I think, beneficially for everybody.”
Learn more about the HQA® Program and your opportunity to move and live in Portugal.
