Igor Gavazzi Vazzoler celebrates 20 years dedicated to technology, 10 of them with his own software development company for video processing. And he's only 34 years old.
Richard Santa
At just 12 years old, Brazilian Igor Gavazzi Vazzoler dreamed of owning a technology company. That dream began to materialize at age 15, when he sold the first software developed by him, it was a very rudimentary type of CRM for the newspaper "O Mogiano", popular in Jardinópolis, the city where he grew up in the interior of the state of São Paulo.
"At the age of 18 I came to live in Florianópolis, at the beginning of 2001, at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the Federal University of Santa Catarina. I chose this region, because when I was a teenager I knew about the good reputation of this university in the areas of technology, and the city is a center of technology companies. Since then I have been chasing my dream and going down this path. Progic is the result," he said.
Maintaining his long-standing interest in technology, he began working professionally with audio and video equipment in 2003, at the age of 19, when he joined as an engineer at Floripa Technology, a company known for the development of solutions for television stations. Together with two colleagues they developed the first Brazilian SDI master control table, which is still used today for dozens of over-the-air signal television channels in Brazil.
Materializing your dream
In 2007, Igor Gavazzi Vazzoler left the company together with another engineer to embark on a much more difficult path, to create his company. Both knew they wanted a tech company but weren't clear on which market segment they were going to focus on.
He explained that "since we didn't know exactly what we would attack from the market, we created a business plan including 5 product and business possibilities, all related to our knowledge in video processing electronics. During the first 3 years of activity, we tried and failed 4/1."
After three years of trial/error, at the end of 2010 they decided to take a set of video processing technologies that they had developed in the previous 3 years and created a product for the digital signage market, which was the fifth and final item on the list that appeared in their business plan. "These technologies have demonstrated significant competitive advantages, and the result was so positive that we decided then to devote 100% of our energy in this market."
Unconditional support
His family has also been an important part of the company and his dream. He recalled that his parents and siblings have always supported him. His brother Eric has been part of the company since its inception and his wife Daniane, with whom he has been together for 12 years, came to support growth from the financial area.
"I come from a family that has always believed in my dreams. Eric is practically co-founder. He joined as an electrical engineering apprentice in 2008, went through software and hardware development, structured the electronic production line and today remains a leader in the digital marketing sector. And my wife stood by my side when I left a steady job to embark on this risky adventure in 2007. She took the house for several months when the Progic did not generate enough to pay," he said.
She added that "Daniane quit a steady job as an engineer to embark on Progic when growth began to appear in 2012. He organized the house when he came in, took out processes, implemented ISO9000, submitted to various sectors and is currently in charge of finances. And on top of that, she's pregnant with our first child."
Dynamic markets
The day of our Professional of the Month begins every day at 9 am, when he arrives at the company to fulfill his strategic management function, which includes routine orientation meetings with each of the area leaders. It also does the management of the commercial team, the only area that manages directly. Other areas, such as finance, R&D, support, marketing and production, have experienced and reliable leaders.
Asked about the challenges faced by a leader in a technology company, Igor Gavazzi Vazzoler pointed out that the biggest challenge for technology companies is the constant race against obsolescence.
"Technology markets are all very dynamic and this makes it essential that companies have a great capacity to constantly reinvent themselves. This has an additional effect and that is that the management of people is even more strategic. Technology companies must attract and retain the best professionals in their fields, which is not an easy task, since, by their very nature, these are very demanding people."
On the immediate future and the possibilities of expansion of its sector in the region, he stressed that from the company they firmly believe in the power of digital visual communication.
"If you look at the communications market as a whole, you will see that visual communication, especially digital, is an area 'immune' to the turbulence of the internet. Although it benefits from the evolution and universalization of the internet, it has characteristics that make it unique, such as the way of presenting information, outside of the computer and smartphones, but in environments where people move and work, "he said.
Higher quality, lower cost
From the point of view of our guest, the most important evolution that has occurred in the AV industry in his country since he started working on it is a higher visual quality with the popularity of HD formats, and a great reduction in the cost of transmitting and presenting the video. "This is thanks to universal high-speed internet and economies of scale in producing high-quality monitors."
To conclude, Igor Gavazzi Vazzoler highlighted what are the objectives of a manager in an AV company, more specifically in the field of digital signage, in which he works. For him, companies that provide digital signage solutions – or digital visual communication displays – should take into account, mainly, that DS networks should be treated as "independent" network devices.
"It sounds simple and basic, but this is the mindset that distinguishes good and bad companies in providing technology for DS. The cost of operating a DS network is directly proportional to the number of times someone has to "get their hands on" the devices near the display points, for whatever reason. The satisfaction of the end customer and the possibility of success of the project is, rather, inversely proportional to that proportion.
