Posted at 12:00 p.m.
innovation
Offer accommodation for stays of 1 to 12 months abroad to professionals who wish to work from home, while offering an adapted school program for their children.
Who ?
In September 2021, four professionals from different backgrounds, all frequent travellers, came together to fill a need that seems to them crying out: to allow those who are called “digital nomads” to work anywhere on the planet, even they have school-age children. Mauro Repacci and Marcos Carvalho, entrepreneurs and investors, Rekha Magon, a bachelor in accounting from McGill University trained in education, and Elina Zois, holder of an MBA from Queen’s University, founded Boundless Life. At the beginning of last February, a first cohort of families in around thirty dwellings was welcomed for two months in Sintra, Portugal.
Boundless Life now has about forty employees in its offices in Montreal and working remotely.
The product
“We are developing the lifestyle of the future”, summarizes without false modesty Marcos Carvalho, co-founder and head of growth (head of demand generation) at Boundless Life.
PHOTOGRAPH BY EVANGELINE LANE, PROVIDED BY BOUNDLESS LIFE
Children under 12 whose parents telecommute abroad follow a school program developed by Boundless Life, inspired by the Finnish school system and focusing on project-based learning.
The heart of this offer is to allow families from all over to settle in small communities designed for telecommuting. The first example, Sintra, gives an overview of the concept: families are accommodated in individual houses or buildings and obviously have all the infrastructure for teleworking. Children under 12 follow a school program developed by Boundless Life, inspired by the Finnish school system and focusing on project-based learning.
“We have created our own education system, the first in the world capable of adapting to families who travel, explains Mr. Carvalho. Our structure will extend throughout the world to facilitate access to this lifestyle for those who have children. »
Sintra, a beautiful and peaceful historic town in southwestern Portugal, fits the profile of Boundless Life’s sought-after locations. “Historic villages, close to nature, where you can walk, with moderate temperatures, specifies Mr. Carvalho. We were inspired by the concept of Blue Zones, the places where people live the longest. We collected data to find where we could reproduce this lifestyle and have the ideal environment to raise our children. »
The first cohort of Boundless Life was a compendium of the United Nations, “with Canadians, Americans, Colombians, Poles, Indians”, he reports. These families are encouraged to socialize and establish links with the residents of Sintra.
The prices vary enormously according to the composition of the stay. Three months for a family of four starting in July: close to C$10,000. One month in August: about $6,000. “It may seem expensive, agrees Mr. Carvalho. But these are short term rental prices. At least 1,500 people are already on the waiting list, he says.
Challenges
Like any successful fledgling business, Boundless Life must balance growth with caution. For the first cohort, Mr. Carvalho made sure to test five homes himself – it was in Sintra that we reached him by phone for the interview.
PHOTOGRAPH BY EVANGELINE LANE, PROVIDED BY BOUNDLESS LIFE
Families are accommodated in individual houses or buildings.
There is no question of flooding the cities with a flood of tourists, here we favor the ” slow tourism where visitors actually live like locals. “We bring people who will really have a positive impact. »
Financing such an adventure is crucial, and Boundless Life had the chance to raise US$2 million in April during a round of financing in which Anges Québec, Sequoia and Lightspeed participated. “Our angels rarely invest in a company that is at the beginning of the adventure, explains Caroline Pelletier, vice-president, selection, at Anges Québec. What has generated excitement is their vision, where the company is going in relation to remote work, the search for work-life balance. »
The future
By summer, Boundless Life hopes to open accommodations in Spain, Greece and Italy. Morocco is in the line of sight in the short term. And this is just the beginning, promises Mr. Carvalho.
“The objective is to have 30 destinations in 3 years, 100 destinations in 5 years. »
It is also hoped to offer a school program for young people in secondary school. “Combining travel and education is really how we will succeed in building a better world,” says the co-founder. Discovering other cultures, developing one’s compassion, one’s empathy towards others, is what will help us to reduce polarization, one of the great problems of humanity. »