Real people. Real stories.
Built at Survana
They came to Ericeira as remote workers, founders, and dreamers. They left with companies, communities, and stories worth telling. Some never left at all.
Click a name to read their story
“I lived in a van for two years. Every portable solution out there was a hospital jug or a modified detergent bottle.”
Henry spent two years living out of a van with his dog Bella — full freedom, open road, zero rent. But one problem never got easier: every portable urination solution on the market was either medical-grade ugly, leaked, or smelled. So he sketched something better. PeeSport launched lean — no outside investors, no Amazon, just a website with humor-driven marketing. Within a year it hit $500K in revenue with a $3 unit cost and $40 retail price.
- Secured a deal with Kevin O’Leary on Shark Tank Season 17
- $500K revenue in first year, bootstrapped
- Featured in GearJunkie, Outside Magazine, and WSVN Miami
- Expanded to PeeSport 3.0 and a female variant
“Crypto is especially powerful for Latin Americans supplementing income with freelancing and remote work.”
Erick grew up between Costa Rica and Ecuador before landing at MIT, where he studied Management with a concentration in Entrepreneurship. He became President of the MIT Bitcoin Club, then a researcher at the MIT Media Lab’s Digital Currency Initiative. He went on to lead the Blockchain Education Network, scaling it to 160+ chapters across 35 countries with 50,000+ members. Alumni of that network created IOTA, Augur, and other major protocols.
- MIT graduate, researcher at MIT Media Lab Digital Currency Initiative
- Scaled Blockchain Education Network to 50,000+ members globally
- Led $15M+ developer grants program at Nibiru Chain
- Featured in Cointelegraph, VentureBeat, and Authority Magazine
“Sometimes you need to quit a job even though it doesn’t feel smart, because it will lead to things more aligned with who you truly are.”
Michelle grew up in the Dutch foster care system after a childhood marked by hardship. She waitressed for 15 years, worked in schools and prisons helping at-risk students, then at 30 left everything — relationship, house, career — to backpack solo through Australia. She taught herself digital marketing on the road, built a sustainable furniture brand in Suriname, and in 2019 founded The Nomad Escape.
- Created Nomad Island Fest in Madeira — now in its 5th year
- Built a community of 1,000+ location-independent professionals
- 35+ events across 4 continents, participants from 50+ countries
- Partnered with Apple, Microsoft, Nike, KPMG, and J.P. Morgan
“I went from corporate consulting and social anxiety to hosting a podcast and coaching facilitators worldwide.”
Shani spent years in corporate consulting and project management in the UK before a deeper calling pulled him toward coaching. In 2019 he left the corporate world, trained as a certified Breathwork and Ice Bath Facilitator, and co-founded Conscious CoCreators — a mentorship platform helping holistic practitioners build soul-aligned personal brands. The company runs immersive bootcamps, a podcast on Spotify, and a growing community. He still lives in Ericeira.
- Co-founded Conscious CoCreators with a 2-tutors-to-1-client model
- Hosts the Conscious CoCreators Podcast on Spotify
- Runs immersive 5-day branding bootcamps for practitioners
- Certified Breathwork & Ice Bath Facilitator based in Ericeira
“High performance isn’t about grinding harder. It’s about removing the subconscious blocks keeping you from what you’re capable of.”
Anthony leads the team behind Marczell Klein, one of the top performance coaching companies in the world. The company fuses clinical hypnotherapy with sales psychology to unlock breakthroughs for ultra-high-achieving founders and executives. Marczell Klein has hypnotized over 10,000 people and was named one of the Top 10 Entrepreneurs by Yahoo Finance. Anthony runs the operation from Ericeira while the company scales globally.
- Leads operations for a company that’s coached 10,000+ high performers
- Part of a team recognized by Yahoo Finance and Disrupt Magazine
- Manages high-ticket coaching programs for founders and executives
- Runs a globally distributed team from Ericeira
Where they came from
All roads lead to Ericeira
Your chapter starts here
Every person on this page was once exactly where you are — looking for the right environment to build something meaningful. Survana is that place.