Meet Your Hosts
Karl Schieneman
Karl Schieneman in the United States was an attorney by trade and a dual degree graduate with an MBA and Law degree from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh. He created three successful legal staffing businesses in electronic discovery and real estate which were frequently on the Inc 5000 List of fastest growing companies and won an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2003. He created a very successful niche podcast aimed at E-discovery from 2009-2012 called ESIBytes with over 500,000 downloads.
He also failed 7 times with his other startup businesses with no regrets and lots great memories from the journey. He observed that his entrepreneurial experiences in the US were fulfilling for many years, but making money at a certain stage in life diminishes in importance. It was not sustainable and he yearned for more.
Our AirBnb has also been rapidly recognized as a Super Host location in Rio de Janeiro 3 months after opening, and at time of writing this biography, it has received 20 perfect reviews from past guests. He also started the eco tourism website GreenBuzios in 2021 by joining with other businesses in Buzios to share their environmental impact data reporting their results and impact publicly.
His primary roles today fall outside of these businesses which he supports his wife Rita in running and focus on making sure his 6 dogs and 2 cats happily co-exist with each other, enjoying the natural beauty of Brazil, staying healthy and fit, learning how to speak Portuguese and more about Brazil, building a happy and environmentally sustainable life with Rita, and podcasting about the expat experience he and Felix have encountered in Brazil. He also has two daughters and two grandchildren who live in the United States and Croatia.
FELIX BRODEN
Felix Broden is originally from Stockholm, Sweden. He started working with hospitality at a young age following his mother footsteps at a large hotel in Stockholm. At the age of 19, Felix also started exploring the world when he spent a few years living in London and then Australia. When he returned to Sweden and began thinking about finding his career of choice, he met his future wife Petra who brought him to Brazil for work as volunteers. They stayed in Rio de Janeiro for 3 months before traveling around Brazil and South America. During this time, they felt a special connection to Brazilians’ and they started working on a plan to move back permanently and start their life together in Brazil.
Upon returning to Brazil in 2012, they found a house in Buzios and decided then and there to start a small pousada called Villa Balthazar and build their life there. In 2017, Felix expanded his business foot print by opening up a sourdough bakery called Balthazar bakery. He did this because he missed the café experience in Europe and saw an opportunity to create the same thing in Buzios. After successfully opening up that business, Felix now operated one of the leading small pousada’s in Brazil based on favorable reviews and a popular café. In 2018, this drew the attention of the owners of a larger and more established pousada called Abracadabra which houses a high-quality restaurant called Mistico. Felix was asked by the owner to come in and help turn around the operation following a change in family ownership. As the General Manager, Felix brought European training in larger hotel management and a successful track record starting and operating smaller businesses in Brazil. By combining these set of experiences, Felix was quickly able to stabilize Abracadabra and Mistico and today they are both rated highly in both hotel and restaurant lists promoting Buzios to tourists.
In addition to their busy professional schedules, Felix and Petra also started a family in Buzios. It has been important to them to be able to go back to Sweden for two months each year to maintain their children’s connection to their Swedish heritage and to maintain an active connection with family and friends. To date, they have managed to succeed professionally in Brazil and maintaining their important relationships in Sweden.
WHERE ADVENTURE MEETS CREATIVITY
