An uncle for
the life you’ve been postponing.

One-on-one mentorship for capable people who’ve succeeded by conventional standards and quietly know they want something else.

Whatever journey you’re avoiding: a different career, a business of your own, a redesigned way of living. You don’t need to make it alone, and you don’t need a perfect plan before you begin. The destination looks different for every person I work with. What’s constant is having someone in your corner who has been through it, tells you the truth, and helps you finally move.

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Your greatest achievement
is now your biggest obstacle.

You’ve built something real. A career, a reputation, a life that looks right from the outside. And somewhere along the way, it stopped being enough.

You can see the next peak. You know that’s where you need to go. The problem is what stands between here and there: a valley. And reaching the next peak means descending into it first.

That’s where most people stop.

Not because they lack ability. You’ve already proven you have that. What stops them is the weight of everything they’ve built. Stepping back feels like betrayal. So they wait for the perfect moment. The months pass. The view stays exactly the same.

The fears underneath this are specific: the fear of failing after having already succeeded, which feels worse than never having tried. The fear of what others will say. And perhaps the most paralyzing: the fear that the version of you who made it this far might not be enough to make it somewhere new.

Fear that precise doesn’t vanish. It just turns into productivity. Another book. Another plan. Another reason the timing isn’t quite right yet.

The reading. The thinking. The drafts. The half-conversations with people who half-listen. You’ve been preparing for the change you know is coming: a different business, a different career, a different shape of life. For months. Maybe years.

All of it has been useful. None of it is the same as moving.

Meanwhile, the actual cost is compounding quietly: another year of partial work, another year of half-attention to the thing you’re already doing, another year of the same private conversation with yourself.

The reason this stays internal is not that you lack courage. It’s that the people around you are too entangled with the life you’ve already built. Your spouse has a stake in the outcome. Your colleagues know the old version of you. Your friends will either applaud or worry. None of them can stand outside the whole picture and help you cross.

What I’ve learned in twenty years working with people in exactly this stage: almost no one moved alone. Not because they weren’t capable. They were. But because the gravity of preparation is stronger than the gravity of motion. Without someone outside the loop, someone who has made the crossing and can walk with you across yours, the most likely outcome is another year of getting ready.

Who is Uncle Vinny

I’m Vinícius Teles.

Vinícius Manhães Teles

When I was becoming an adult, some of the most valuable guidance I received didn’t come from my father. It came from older men I worked alongside — people who could see my potential and were genuinely glad to share what they knew. They weren’t my real uncles. But that’s exactly the role they played.

A good uncle occupies a rare position. He cares deeply, genuinely and not professionally, but carries none of the weight that parents carry. There’s no baggage, no fear. A nephew will say things to an uncle he’d never say to his father. And the uncle can be honest in ways a parent sometimes can’t: he can support the crazy idea, say the uncomfortable thing, and help you think it through instead of helping you abandon it. Most people don’t have that role in their lives anymore. That’s what I want to offer — whole-life guidance from someone who genuinely cares, and the authority that only comes from having made the crossings yourself.

I’ve made several.

After a degree and a master’s in Computer Science from a prestigious university, I became one of the early specialists in Agile software development in Brazil back in 2002. Published book, university position, speaking circuit, a reputation in the field. I walked away from all of it without knowing what I’d build next. A year later, I launched a SaaS from scratch. It ran for eight years, and the other side of that valley was fifteen years of living and working from anywhere in the world. Then I descended into a failed business experiment, and from there into another unknown. This time finding the next thing not by planning, but by paying attention to what I was already living. Each time, I didn’t know the destination. I only knew I had to move.

The hardest valley had nothing to do with work. During COVID, my health deteriorated and my marriage reached a breaking point. My wife gave me an ultimatum: fix this, or she would leave. Other serious family crises arrived at the same time. What got me through was the hardest thing I’d ever done: I stopped trusting my own judgment and started following someone else’s. I hired a dietician, a trainer, a coach. I followed their guidance completely. I slowed the business down and put health, sleep, and family first. It took years. My marriage survived and is stronger than it has ever been. I’ve kept my health in check ever since.

I crossed that valley by doing exactly what I now offer: bringing someone in from outside the loop, and committing to follow their lead.

I don’t have assistants. I don’t have coaches managing my students. When you work with me, you get me: 25 years of experience, direct and personal. You don’t have to want my life. What I’m offering is the freedom to design your own.

25
Years as an entrepreneur
74
Countries visited
20
Years mentoring 1-to-1
2
Books written

How the crossing works

You don’t need a clear idea
to start.

Most people who come to me don’t yet know exactly where they’re going. That’s not a problem. It’s almost always the starting point.

The trouble with thinking your way to clarity in isolation is that it doesn’t work. You’ve probably tried. The loop closes when there’s finally someone else in the room — someone who listens carefully, reflects back what they hear honestly, asks the question you’ve been avoiding, and has enough lived experience to help you see what you couldn’t see alone. That’s the work we do together. We find the destination by moving, not by planning.

When I crossed my own valleys, I did it with the tools available to me at the time. What’s available now is different — and it changes what I can hand over to you.

Part of what you get when we begin is access to the AI systems I’ve spent years building and learning to use: tools trained to think with you, carry your context, and be available for the work between our calls. A strategist for decisions. A thinking partner for the moments when you need to process something before our next conversation. A writer when that’s what the work requires. I teach you how to use them properly — which is itself a skill most people haven’t developed.

You aren’t starting a relationship with a mentor alone. You’re joining a working team. The people who crossed their valleys in the past did so without that. You don’t have to.

Is this for you?

You recognize yourself
in any of these.

People who took the leap

Real people.
Real crossings.

Not everyone who works with me builds a business. Some change careers. Some redesign how they live. These two stories show different kinds of crossings, both from people who arrived without a clear path forward, and both turned on having someone outside the loop they were stuck in.

The lawyer who finally said it out loud
Law → Her own business, on her own terms

What changed first wasn’t the plan. It was finally having someone she could say the plan to.

She was a successful lawyer. Good income, respected profession, clients who trusted her. And a growing sense that the life she’d built wasn’t the life she wanted. She could see what she wanted: travel, freedom, work she chose. But leaving law felt like abandoning everything she’d earned. The valley was real: years of investment, a professional identity, the unspoken judgment of colleagues and clients.

Together, we identified her edge: she had done what thousands of women desperately wanted to do but were too afraid to try. We built a program around that: teaching women to overcome the fear of traveling the world alone.

She sold that program repeatedly, helping many women see the world for the first time. She did all of this while traveling overland herself, from the southern tip of South America all the way north to Alaska. She eventually left law entirely and works full-time in her own business.

Quit law Full-time in her own business Patagonia → Alaska
The developers who needed someone to see what they couldn’t
Two years of zero results → A path, and then traction

They didn’t need more skill. They needed someone outside the loop to point at the gap they’d been standing next to for two years.

Two experienced developers decided to build an online business together. They tried for two years. Zero sales. When they came to me, the problem wasn’t their competence. They were technically excellent. The problem was identity: they were engineers, not salespeople. Selling felt like crossing into foreign territory, and every attempt felt like playing a role that didn’t fit.

We worked to identify the gap they were uniquely positioned to fill: a specific audience they could genuinely help, in a domain where their expertise gave them real authority. We built a structured program around it, developed a system for selling it online, and on their very first attempt, they sold to 13 people.

Over two years, they reached more than 1,200 students and generated nearly $400,000 USD in revenue.

1,200+
Students enrolled
~$400K
In online sales
0 → 13
On their first launch

Why most mentorship fails

What I do
differently.

You get me. Not an assistant.
Many accomplished mentors have hundreds of students. The math doesn’t work. They can’t know you, so they hire assistants to manage you. When you work with me, every message, every call, every response comes from me directly. The relationship is the product.
I come to know you deeply.
In most programs, you’re one of many faces in a group. Nobody ever comes to really know your specific situation, your history, or your particular way of getting stuck. I carry your context. That depth is what makes guidance precise instead of generic.
The medium matches the message.
Most programs offer one communication channel, usually text. Simple questions get a text back. When something needs nuance, I’ll send a voice message. When I need to show you something, I’ll record a short video. I use whatever gets the idea across most clearly.
We talk about the whole life.
Almost every mentorship I’ve attended was one-dimensional: make more money, full stop. Nobody asked how much is enough, or what the money is actually for, or what you’re giving up to get it. A business built on a shaky life eventually shows it. We’ll talk about all of it.
Depth, not speed.
I don’t respond instantly. What I do is read your message carefully, think about it, and give you a response that’s actually worth reading: precise, considered, and tailored to what you’re facing. Usually within a day or two. If you’d rather wait a day for an answer that actually moves you forward, we’ll get along well.
Not a course.
A $300 course gives you information. What I give you is someone who knows your specific situation, holds you to account, and won’t let you off the hook. The difference isn’t price. It’s the kind of change that actually happens.

The process

How we work together

01

You take the readiness assessment

A reflective set of questions designed to give both of us a clearer picture of where you are. Not a personality quiz. A genuine diagnostic. At the end, you receive a result that mirrors your situation back to you honestly. If the result suggests you’re ready for this kind of work, you’ll have the option to apply.

02

You apply

A short written application where you describe your situation in more concrete terms. I read every application personally. If I believe I can genuinely help, I’ll reach out with an invitation to talk. If it’s not the right fit, I’ll say so directly.

03

We talk

A real one-hour conversation: no sales pitch, no pressure. I want to understand your specific situation, and you should understand exactly how I work before committing to anything.

04

The probation month

The first month is a trial period, openly and honestly. You pay $1,000 and we work together properly: real calls, real challenges, real guidance. By the end of the month, you’ll know whether this relationship is giving you what you need. If either of us decides not to continue, the $1,000 is returned in full. No questions asked.

05

We commit and go deep

If we both choose to continue, you choose how to pay: monthly or annual. I commit to working with you for a full year. Not conditionally. A real commitment. You remain free to leave at any point. The commitment runs one way: from me to you.

06

You work and get results

I teach you what you need. You apply it. When it doesn’t work perfectly, which it won’t, we adjust. Results come through repetition and refinement, and I stay with you through that entire arc.

The offer

What you get

  • One dedicated 1-to-1 video call per week
  • Unlimited messaging between sessions: text, voice, or video, depending on what the moment needs
  • A diagnosis of your specific gaps and a clear path forward
  • Guidance that covers the whole picture: business, life, priorities, and what actually matters to you
  • A 12-month engagement with the freedom to cancel anytime
  • Direct access to 25 years of experience building, failing, pivoting, and living deliberately, across business, life, and everything in between

This isn’t a course or a group program. No modules, no cohorts, no one-size-fits-all frameworks. It’s me, working closely with you, focused entirely on your situation, your gaps, and your goals, as a professional and as a person.

Investment & commitment

Start with one month.
Then decide.

The probation month. Fully refundable if either of us decides not to continue.

Always first

$1,000/ first month

The first month is a probation period for both of us. If either of us decides not to continue, I return the full $1,000. No questions asked.

If we continue, your choice

Monthly

$1,000/ month

Continue month by month. Cancel anytime. Price locked for one year.

Best value

Annual

$10,000/ year

Covers a full year, the equivalent of two months free. Unused months refunded if you cancel.

Once the probation month ends and we both choose to continue, I make a real commitment in return: I will work with you for the full year. Not conditionally. I won’t step away because something better came along or because the work gets harder. You remain free to leave at any point. The commitment runs one way: from me to you.

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Applications are reviewed personally. If accepted, you’ll receive an invitation to a one-hour conversation before any commitment is made.

A real relationship

What if we’re not
a good fit after we start?

The one-hour interview before we begin is thorough, but it isn’t magic. That’s exactly why the first month exists as a real trial for both of us. By the end of it, you’ll have a genuine sense of whether this relationship is right for you, and I’ll know whether I’m the right mentor for where you’re going. If it isn’t working, we end it cleanly: full refund, no complications.

What I ask throughout is honesty. If something isn’t working, whether my approach, the pace, or the direction, tell me. Most fit problems are actually communication problems, and those are solvable. Silence isn’t.

It’s just a conversation,
to start.

No pitch, no pressure. A real call, and an honest read of whether I’m the right person to walk this with you. If I’m not, I’ll say so. If I am, the next step is small.

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