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Paulo Rosado

Founder & Chairman of the Board, OutSystems

Search every verified Paulo Rosado interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Paulo Rosado, co-founder and former CEO of OutSystems, has been discussing the company's evolution and the impact of generative AI on software development. In a January 2026 interview, Rosado stated that he removed the word "founder" from all business cards at OutSystems, arguing that people in a company should wear only one hat at a time and must be the best at that role or be replaced. He also described a piece of advice he received — that Portuguese companies should internationalize by going to Spain — as "one of the worst" he ever received, saying it led to premature dispersion. Rosado has said that the introduction of AI creates a compounding effect of about 3x on development speed, and that low-code platforms as previously understood were "stepping stones" toward full automation platforms. He has predicted that "what's going to disappear is code," and that future platforms will look like no-code or low-code platforms. Rosado has also commented on Portugal's tech ecosystem, stating that the country has more unicorns than Spain, Italy, and Greece combined. He attributed this to factors including English proficiency, a small domestic market that pushed talent abroad, and government programs such as PME Investimentos and university partnerships. He noted that the Web Summit brought investors to Portugal and that the ecosystem is now "almost self-sustaining." In a separate discussion, Rosado described a pricing change at OutSystems as "probably one of the worst mistakes I made in my life," saying it created an unfair contract dynamic for customers. He remains Chairman of the Board of Directors at OutSystems.

Recent appearances

Notable quotes

“Companies like SAP and Microsoft, because they possess and control vast amounts of data, have a real advantage when implementing AI; incumbents can reinvent themselves on top of a massive customer base, so there's a risk we won't see as many new entrants.”

“I removed the word "founder" from all business cards at OutSystems — I don't want to hear about founders here. People wear three possible hats: shareholder, CEO, or someone helping in a specific area, and you can only wear one at a time; if you work in the company you must be the best at that role, otherwise you must be replaced.”

“If it's B2B, go abroad as fast as possible to a large market; my rule of thumb is that with your offering you should be able to reach at least €40 million in that sector in the market you enter.”

“That was one of the worst pieces of advice I ever received: that Portuguese companies should internationalize by going to Spain. He didn't understand what he was saying and had communal blind spots, and following that advice led us to premature dispersion across many countries.”

“I believe in a market economy and I think the role of entrepreneurs and companies is fundamental: they create dynamism, opportunities and act as a kind of social elevator that enables people to progress.”

“I don't think Portuguese people are inherently averse to risk — the problem is contextual: there is a lack of examples, practical support and there are legal and regulatory frictions that make it harder to launch and scale companies.”

The summary and quote tags on this profile are produced with AI assistance from verified, first-person interview transcripts, then checked by our team to confirm the speaker's identity and the accuracy of every quote. See how we verify →