I have been a business owner in Portugal for almost twenty years. I founded RUPEAL, InvoiceXpress, KWAN and Selfcare. Today I am Chairman of the group, and it is from RUPEAL that I help other established business owners see the blind spots in their businesses.
The business owners I meet almost always fall into two groups. Those who understand people and neglect the numbers. Those who understand the metrics and run people over. Each group is convinced the other is doing the job badly.
It took me a while to realise I did not have to choose. And that a business owner’s maturity begins exactly at the point where choosing stops being an option: when the numbers no longer explain on their own what is happening, and the culture stops working without someone watching the results. For the past two decades, RUPEAL has been my place to look at both sides at once.
Live on one side only, and you pay for it later.
Either you trade your soul for results. Or you push the numbers behind your conscience, and ruin yourself in its name.
For established business owners who want another perspective on their business. In community, or behind closed doors.
RUPEAL Academy Membership Program
A community of established business owners. One session a month with Rui. Content, frameworks, and meetings between peers.
"Incentive systems, recommendations on good practice and the mistakes to avoid."
— Luís Duarte, MORE Results
by RUPEAL
A table of 10 established business owners. Three in-person meetings a year, behind closed doors. Each company brings a real problem; the table answers with an honest read and an actionable proposal.
What RUPEAL builds and operates. Each one started from a real problem: mine, or one belonging to owners like me.
Founded in 2009
Electronic invoicing software for Portuguese SMEs and business owners. More than 12,000 customers. Acquired by Visma in 2024.
PART OF VISMA · invoicexpress.comFounded in 2016
IT consulting and staffing for Portuguese companies. A team specialised in software development and project management.
GROUP COMPANY · kwan.comformerly ClanHR, founded in 2014
AI-native HR management software for Portuguese SMEs. A complete rebuild of ClanHR, with a modern stack and a built-in assistant.
IN PROGRESS · selfcare.work
If you have read this far, it is because you already operate on one of the sides. The next question is whether you want to know the other.
Invite me to speak →