Published on November 29th, 2023 | by Bibhuranjan

From the Portuguese Riviera, Richard Burry Leads Worldwide High-Tech Ventures

The founder of Smartvu Ltd. doesn’t spend the day in an executive suite high above the concrete landscapes of New York or the City of London. He doesn’t have a chauffeur to whisk him through downtown traffic, or calendars filled with power lunches at the Russian Tea Room.
Instead, Richard Burry spends his days managing global operations and sealing deals from a golden praia on the Portuguese Riviera.

A kinetic international entrepreneur, Burry is also CEO of Smartvu Ltd., an investment company that specializes in online e-commerce businesses worldwide. As a leading Internet innovator, he was an early adopter of the remote managerial lifestyle, moving millions in dollars, euros and yen as he relaxes with a morning coffee or evening mai tai.

“My day begins with an appreciation of the beauty around me,” he says. “I look out on the ocean and organize my thoughts. Most people that I deal with live in America, which allows me quiet time to read in the morning and then do calls and meetings in the afternoon. I network with industry peers, research new opportunities and track the trends that will be shaping e-commerce in the near- and long-term.”

With three decades of experience across a range of high-tech industries, Richard Burry today focuses on discovering and profiting from investment opportunities in online e-commerce businesses.

Before founding Smartvu, he established Web Krew S.A., an online development company that applied advanced technology to a variety of Internet services, including SEO, online directories, web hosting, webcams, emails and website design and development. His resume includes work for Shaw Communications, CUC Broadcasting Ltd., William Neilson Limited (Neilson/Cadbury), John Forsyth Trading and Peridigm.

When it comes to online commerce, many of the old rules no longer apply, Burry observes. The triple advantages of location, location and location are no longer at the top of the list of essential ingredients for success, as with real estate or brick-and-mortar retail.

Consumers can buy anywhere, merchants can sell from anywhere and investors can explore opportunities from a deck chair, roaming the world on an iPhone.

Although digital pioneers like Richard Burry have long known this, employers and employees alike began to understand the potential of this new business model during the early stages of the pandemic.

Online technologies make possible a whole new level of freedom and flexibility. But with all of this freedom come new challenges, including the need for personal discipline. Unmoored from office calendars, agendas and conference room scheduling, professionals need to find new ways to stay on track, and stay productive.

Ironically for a top-tier investor in high-tech, Richard Burry often relies on pen-and-paper technology to do this. He uses simple lists to pace his day, literally checking the boxes as he completes necessary tasks.

“If you don’t know what you need to do, you won’t do it; especially when the temptations to play hard trump the professional responsibility to work hard,” he says, as lambent waves crest in the far distance.

Burry creates lists on envelopes, matchbooks, napkins — whatever is within reach. That goes for the stream-of-consciousness ideas that occur throughout the day. “Don’t wait for your mobile to power up,” he advises. “Some of the greatest ideas in the history of the world have been scribbled on scraps of paper or parchment. Most of them, in my view.”

This freewheeling style mirrors his approach to business, and feeds the creativity that is key to imagining extraordinary new ideas.

“I love to improvise,” he says. “I believe in trying out a lot of things to see what happens. I often look at what others are doing, and try to figure out why they do things in a certain way. Then I imagine new ways of achieving the same result, and see how people in the marketplace react to the changes. Most ideas will fail, but there’s always the chance I will once again capture lightning in a bottle.”

Cover Image by Freepik

Tags: entreprenuer, Richard Burry, tech

About the Author

Bibhuranjan Editorial Officer, technofaq.org I'm an avid tech enthusiast at heart. I like to mug up on new and exciting developments on science and tech and have a deep love for PC gaming. Other hobbies include writing blog posts, music and DIY projects.