What is the scoreline? It’s the first question that pops in our mind when a person misses a soccer match and then wants an update. How many goals did the team score? What is the margin of the win or defeat? These are things that shroud our minds. Most people do not even bother to remember the game. They just recall the goals to be a part of a conversation.
Yes, it is the goal that matters — both scoring and saving.
But not many would recall how a goalkeeper saved a last-minute shot to prevent his team from facing defeat, or worse, relegation in a league or cup. They are the unsung heroes. They are the one to hold the fort till it crumbles under the barrage of the opponent’s ruthless attack. And if they err, it can cost a team a match. On them depends the fate of a team.
Carlos Lima has a soft corner for these underrated players. It is probably because he used to play in that position. That is why he ventured out to produce something that would enrich a goalkeeper’s experience. Using his first-hand knowledge of what goalkeepers would like to have and how their gears can be improved, he set the mood of his company and launched NGA Soccer. It primarily deals with keeper’s gloves and now boasts a global presence.
The Shaping Of NGA Soccer
The full form of NGA Soccer is NO GOALS AGAINST Soccer. It is a company that has proven its expertise in manufacturing goalkeeper gloves. Carlos goes out to his office every day to check the quality of the finished product. He brings his passion and experience to judge the works and launches them at an affordable price. He believes that soccer should not be constrained but enjoyed by people from different strata.
However, reaching here was not an easy task. Carlos had to go through many ups and downs before he found a foothold to start. He is a son of immigrant parents from Portugal and had to fly to and fro between Portugal and Canada in his childhood. Then at the age of 25, he decided to shift base to Canada permanently.
Carlos started working as an entrepreneur at the age of 19 and he soon found success. He had two soccer-specific stores in Portugal but then changes happened. A new currency was launched in Portugal and Carlos, along with his country, witnessed some drastic setbacks. This and his errors in judgment forced Carlos Lima to go bankrupt.
When he decided to move back to Canada, he had huge debts. To clear that, he worked at a construction company from 2005-2007 to save some money. Then, in 2007, he started his own company. In 2012, he steered back to his first love, soccer, and founded NGA Soccer. For a brief period, he continued working for both and then in 2016, he decided to devote all his time to NGA Soccer. It was not an easy one as a journey, but now he has reached a platform from where he can branch out to other soccer gears like soccer balls, cleats, and shin guards.
NGA Soccer International operates from its head office in Canada. Carlos Lima follows an excellent method to make sure his company attains growth through collaboration. He has distributors across various countries, but each of them acts like an individual entity. This encourages them to work better and increase the reach of NGA Soccer. However, it is Carlos and his company that makes the final decisions.
The Forthcoming Years
Carlos has charted his course to make growth and his company synonymous. In fact, in the early months of 2020, the company was in a state to see a quadruple leap in sales from where they closed in 2019. However, then came the pandemic and it transformed a lot of things for the market.
But Carlos is not a person to lose his heart. He believes in persevering. No matter what. He also believes that as an entrepreneur one should never be afraid of failing. Such things are a by-product of any business. It is the steadfast approach that matters and gets one back on track. Although the pandemic triggered unprecedented changes, Carlos took it as a pause. He is preparing for things to get normal again, so that he can roar back into the market.
What Drives Him?
Soccer has a massive impact on the life of Carlos Lima. That is why he never doubted his decisions to make it the premise for his bread. His love for the game gets reflected in the way he is transforming his business. Moreover, it has also helped him evolve as a person.
He learned a lot about competition from the game and it has nurtured the fierce competitor in him that knows not to back down. His younger days in the field have taught him how to stay calm and composed under severe challenges and to take risks to gain big. This helps him to evolve as a leader.
As an entrepreneur, he puts his trust in dynamic approaches. Unidirectional approaches can lead to untimely perish. But when the same person relaxes his mind and welcomes diverse approaches, he discovers new growth methods.
Carlos adds a pinch of salt and pepper on this idea. He brings in the concept of plurality. It stems from his belief that growth cannot be a singular thing and it makes him see things never just for himself. His future plans have rooms for all his employees because he believes in progressing as a team as that provides more strength to the core. His playing days for a team instilled this understanding in him.
He listens more, respects others’ opinions, and relies on insights derived from them before leaping ahead or deciding a course of action. Diverse opinions enrich the perspective; it adds viewpoints that provide Carlos Lima with an ability to find loopholes in his company’s structures, which he can then plug in to ensure a sustainable future. As an entrepreneur, he knows failures are inevitable but it is essential to learn lessons from them, and if there is a great team who can absorb the impact, then the going gets more comfortable.
