In this episode of Independent Minds, we sit down with João Calvete, CEO of Vendo, a former Sotheby's insider who is "recoding" the traditional real estate model. João explains why the industry is trapped in a 1990s mindset, relying on high commissions and unnecessary bureaucracy and how his startup is scaling to 1,000 listings by cutting costs by 80%.

João takes us from the high-prestige world of Sotheby’s to a sweltering warehouse in Portugal, where he and his co-founders began making sales calls at 35°C with nothing but a fan and a vision. We discuss the "fear mindset" that big agencies use to protect their fees and why the future of property belongs to those who prioritize the client over the commission.

This conversation explores:

• The 5% Efficiency Gap: Why technology like Idealista has made traditional agency fees obsolete.

• The Portuguese Riviera: An inside look at the supply shortage and the influx of foreign capital.

• Corporate Fear vs. Startup Pragmatism: How big firms create "attrition" to justify their presence.

• The Pilot Mindset: Why João’s unconventional background allowed him to see the market differently.

Essential watching for property investors, tech founders, and anyone interested in how "outsider" logic can disrupt a stagnant multi-billion dollar industry.

⏱ TIMESTAMPS 0

0:00 • Introducing João Calvete and Vendo 01:30 • The Warehouse Grind: Sales calls at 35°C

04:00 • The Real Estate Explosion: Geopolitics and the Riviera Bubble

06:00 • Sotheby’s vs. Vendo: Breaking the "Fear Mindset"

07:45 • How the Land Registry works: The truth about Portuguese law

10:15 • Why the best talent is "disillusioned" with 90s agency tactics

12:00 • Rent-to-Income: The highest disparity in the developed world

15:00 • Maximizing the Algorithm: How to sell a house in 2026

17:30 • Scaling to 1,000 properties: Porto vs. Lisbon

19:40 • International Expansion: Dubai, Spain, and Brazil

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• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@IndependentMinds

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/independent-minds-podcast

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🔗 FOLLOW VENDO & JOÃO CALVETE

• Website: https://www.vendo.pt

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joaocalvete

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vendo.pt

After 12 months of conversations with founders, a few patterns kept repeating.

In this special anniversary episode of Independent Minds by Pictet, we reflect on a year of unscripted conversations and distil the most important lessons into a single Founder’s Review.

From early-stage entrepreneurs to seasoned leaders, this episode brings together the ideas that defined our first year. We revisit defining moments across the series, from the rise of AI literacy to the psychological realities of leadership, and explore what actually matters when building, scaling, and eventually stepping away from a business.

This is a synthesis of the patterns, tensions, and decisions that shape founders over time.

What you will learn

• Why the real risk of AI is not replacement, but falling behind
• How AI literacy is becoming the new competitive advantage
• Why loyalty is becoming the most powerful and measurable marketing tool
• The difference between solving a need and trying to create one
• Why changing consumer behaviour is one of the hardest challenges in business
• The Solomon Parable and how founder ego can limit a company’s potential
• Why great founders eventually learn to step aside
• How confidence is built through risk, failure, and repetition
• Why strong teams and culture outperform individual brilliance
• What it really means to build a business that can survive without you

Timestamps

00:00 One Year of Independent Minds: The Anniversary Format
01:10 Ideja on AI: Literacy, tools, and the calculator moment
03:00 Matthew (Squid): Why loyalty is the most powerful data tool
05:40 Ed McDermott: Why solving a real need matters
08:10 Dame Anne Glover: The Solomon Parable and founder ego
09:50 Confidence as a muscle: Learning without a manual
13:10 Dominic: Why a real business must run without you
16:40 Key Takeaway 1: The power of figuring it out
18:20 Key Takeaway 2: Letting go and trusting others
19:50 Key Takeaway 3: Building culture and strong teams
21:40 Key Takeaway 4: Growth through experience and adaptation
22:10 Key Takeaway 5: Redefining success and long-term impact

Follow Independent Minds by Pictet

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@IndependentMinds
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/independent-minds-podcast
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/independentmindspodcast

Subscribe for new episodes every two weeks.

Private jet brokers can quietly add 30 to 40 percent to a flight before the client ever sees the invoice.

At 17, Charles Robinson was inside that system.

By 24, he decided to rebuild it.

In this episode of Independent Minds by Pictet, we sit down with Charles, founder of Interjet, a technology platform connecting private flyers directly with vetted aircraft operators.

Charles began brokering flights from the back of a classroom using Instagram and publicly available “empty leg” flight data. What started as a teenage side hustle exposed him to a largely unregulated industry built on opaque pricing, floating commissions, and information asymmetry between brokers and clients.

Rather than simply benefit from it, he chose to engineer something different.

In this conversation, Charles explains how traditional private aviation brokerage works, why commission structures can distort pricing by up to 40 percent, and how Enterjet's fixed-fee model aims to introduce transparency into a market that has historically avoided it.

We explore the operational realities of scaling a high-ticket service business, the hidden complexity of payment processing in travel, and why aircraft operators are the true “product” behind the platform.

We also discuss the generational shift reshaping private aviation. The era of champagne and white linen is fading. A new customer, average age 33, values speed, efficiency, and clarity over spectacle. Interjet’s rapid growth among female members and younger flyers reflects a broader wealth transfer already underway.

This conversation is not just about jets.

It is about what happens when a young founder sees inside a broken system early, understands its incentives, and decides to redesign it around trust instead of margin.

This episode is essential listening for founders, operators, and anyone interested in how technology can modernise legacy industries from the inside.

• How Charles brokered his first private jet deal at 17
• Why private aviation brokerage remains largely unregulated
• How hidden commissions distort pricing in luxury travel
• Why a fixed transaction fee changes customer behaviour
• The operational risks of processing high-ticket travel payments
• Why aircraft operators, not brokers, are the true backbone of the industry
• How Enterjet grew a younger, more female customer base
• Why Gen Z views private aviation as efficiency, not status
• The strategic importance of specialisation in luxury markets
• How to build trust in industries historically built on opacity

00:00 Introduction to Charles Robinson and Enterjet
00:14 What Enterjet is and how it removes traditional brokers
00:34 Brokering private jets from a classroom at 17
01:27 The unregulated reality of early aviation brokerage
02:41 How brokers structure deals and where margins hide
03:56 Why Enterjet refuses to become a luxury generalist
05:18 The shift toward specialisation in premium markets
06:22 Launching Enterjet post-Covid and timing the market
08:23 Why operators are the real product
09:51 Building a lean team from solo founder to structured company
11:10 Marketing as the primary growth engine
12:41 B2B strategy in a small, relationship-driven market
15:18 Why Instagram remains critical for premium positioning
16:27 Expanding female membership in a male-led industry
18:16 Why the average flyer age has dropped to 33
19:38 The end of champagne-era aviation
21:30 Beyond luxury: medical and insurance-driven private flights
22:45 Entering new markets including the US and Brazil
23:45 The origins of brokerage commissions
25:21 How 30 to 40 percent markups happen
26:53 What “self-regulation” means in practice
28:04 Aircraft inspections and enforcing aesthetic standards
29:38 Why younger customers demand full transparency
31:15 Final reflections on the future of Enterjet

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Instagram: @independentminds.pod
LinkedIn: The Pictet Group

Follow Enterjet
LinkedIn: Enterjet
Website: https://www.enterjet.co