How Capoeira Inspires TrialX’s Business Development

Capoeira is my inspiration for business development in the healthcare industry, and particularly in the clinical trials ecosystem.

To those of you who are not familiar with capoeira take a look at this magnificent video:

Capoeira is about playing with your partner and not against an opponent. Basically, Collaboration!!.  The goal of the two fighters (or players) is to get the best performance from the other fighter. They do so by challenging and supporting the other players movement. The Joga bonito (the beautiful game) counts.

Capoeira holds elements that are vital for startups:

• Listen to the rhythm of the Berinbau (the leading instrument which sets the tone). Understand the culture and rhythm of the business.
• Measure your opponent – whether it is a collaborator or a competitor, estimate its capabilities and adjust to them.
• Read your opponent and maintain eye contact – eye contact will keep you relevant. Otherwise, you are out of the game. Be agile to the changes and moves your opponent does and will do.

A quick background on Capoeira:

Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian martial art. It is the official Brazilian martial art – no matter where you will practice, the count, the names of the movements, and the songs are in Portuguese. Capoeira was created by the African slaves that were brought to Brazil. The slaves were neither allowed to practice, nor to own weapons. So, they disguised their martial art in a dance. The slaves used to practice infront of the church in their best clothes, which is one of the reasons for the players to wear white and not touch the ground. In contradiction to other martial arts, in Capoeira, if you hit your opponent (or partner in the game) you are not good. There is a lot of work on collaboration and the grace of the movement.

Gilad Shai