by Sara Vicente Barreto
This summer, I slowed down — on purpose. But with the quiet came chaos. In this post, I reflect on the summer slowdown mindset: what happens when you trade structure for spontaneity and stillness for scattered thoughts.
As entrepreneurs or leaders of small teams, we often push through. But what if doing less — even for a while — could help us focus, restore energy, and grow better?
I didn’t slow down after corporate life—I reshaped how I move. This is a story of frenzy, portfolio living, and discovering a new kind of intentional momentum.
From Senhora do Bonfim bracelets to coins at Trevi, we’ve built rituals around wishing. But maybe serendipity isn’t just luck—it’s the goals we dare to set and the tiny pushes we give our dreams.
Anais Cisneros, co-founder of Amela, joins me to talk about growing from a book-loving girl in Peru to a global businesswoman building networks that help founders thrive. We explore how preparation, purpose, and resilience guide her—and why no amount of preparation makes you challenge-proof.
In a world of instant opinions and constant noise, critical thinking feels like a lost art. This piece explores the mindset behind curiosity, open-mindedness, and logic—and how to hold on to it.
In this episode of Try AI for Growth, Sara Vicente Barreto explores Notebook LLM—a tool designed to turn documents into audio content. After uploading a detailed NGO report, Sara was blown away to receive a conversational podcast so realistic that her team thought she’d produced it herself. With minimal input, the tool delivered something human, engaging, and ready to share. Sara reflects on how Notebook LLM can revolutionize the way we use reports, turning dense content into powerful, accessible formats. She also experiments with FAQs and mind maps, showing how even the most traditional documents can gain new life with AI.
Between juggling advisory roles, charity leadership, and life in a portfolio career, I lost touch with one of my favourite ways of working—deep work. Here’s what I’m doing to bring it back.
From neuroscience student to edtech founder, Dora Palfi’s journey is reshaping how we teach coding and AI literacy. In this inspiring episode, we discuss building Imagi, leading with purpose, and breaking self-imposed boundaries.
This weekend I did nothing for an hour. No podcast. No phone. No agenda. Just stillness—and a surprising amount of resistance. Why is boredom so hard to access?
In this episode of Try AI for Growth, host Sara Vicente Barreto shares her hands-on experience improving AI image generation using DALL·E. After many failed attempts in the past, she finally cracked the code—by defining her style upfront, using the select tool, and iterating on visual prompts to achieve a cohesive set of cartoon-style illustrations for a critical thinking workshop. She walks listeners through each step, including some comic experiments and key takeaways that anyone experimenting with AI visuals can apply.
In a world that demands fast decisions, Blink by Malcolm Gladwell offers a compelling look at intuition — and its pitfalls. In this post, I explore the psychology of snap judgments, share where they shine and when they deceive us, and reflect on what leaders can learn about the balance between gut instinct and critical thinking. If you’ve ever asked yourself whether you should listen to your gut — this one’s for you.
In this episode of Try AI for Growth, host Sara Vicente Barreto shares how she tackled a daunting but essential task for any founder—building internal policies. With the help of AI, she created clear, contextual, and practical policies for her advisory business, Inside the Business Mind. From data protection to risk management, Sara reveals how AI helped her overcome procrastination, get started, and refine her documents in a way that saved time, enhanced understanding, and built confidence. Whether you lead a small or medium sized business or you are just getting started, this episode shows how governance doesn’t have to be bureaucratic—it just needs to be clear – and to exist.
Libsyn Tags: AI tools, small business, internal policies, governance, productivity, data protection, risk management, compliance, solopreneur
Joana Trigueiros, CEO of Maray, reveals what it means to be a “Chief Everything Officer”—balancing vision, grit, and human leadership to grow a brand from the heart.
We often think change is for the young. But what if the ability to grow is something we carry with us all our lives? From parenting lessons to neuroscience and long Duolingo streaks, I explore why grown-ups can grow—if they want to.
