I have started my professional life as a junior researcher at the research lab where the Internet "started" in Portugal. Not unsurprisingly, after a team work that launched Portugal's first web site in 1993 (and probably the first web-based intranet), I co-founded Portugal's first commercial Internet Service Provider two years later.The next step was launching an Application Service Provider in 2000 — another buzzword at the time, but that everybody knows as Software-as-a-Service today: the deployment of web-based applications running on a central server, accessed through browsers on low-end desktop computers. During that time, and in a period of about one year, I co-designed three different data centres to support tens of thousands of users, participated in the process of designing software and overseeing teams of developers (in-house and outsourced), as well as managing all related issues of a company in my new role as vice-president of the executive board.I developed (and deployed) business plans, organised the marketing, provided overseeing on the F&A, and helped with sales, as well as deployed the necessary ICT infrastructure. I launched another two (non-ICT-related) small start-ups as well, acting as a business angel.After the dot-com crash, I returned to IT management and consulting with several small companies as an independent freelancer and/or doing some contract work. In 2007, I co-launched another start-up to develop 3D presences on the Internet for companies and organisations, using virtual worlds, a company for which I still freelance as ICT consultant.I'm currently doing a PhD as a grant student of the Portuguese Fundation for Science and Technology, researching virtual worlds, artificial intelligence and programming tools.Specialties: Since I owned several small companies, I've ranged almost all positions, from technical support, project management, marketing, sales, financial, and administration. My strongest points, however, still are Linux system administration and problem solving, both requiring extensive research (mostly online these days) and developing working prototypes as proof-of-concepts. I capitalised on my proximity with the research & academic community which provided me with delightful new challenges in interesting areas for which I supplied a working solution.