> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://blog.worktugal.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Lightning Talks #4: you're not behind and you're not alone - URL: https://blog.worktugal.com/lightning-talks-4-recap/ - Published: 2026-10-03T16:35:45.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-05T12:43:15.000Z - Description: 34 of us on the Kübe patio, three honest talks on AI, time and career leaps, and a Q&A that ran longer than the talks. Photos, quotes and what's next. - Author: Van Vo - Tags: Life in Lisbon, Worktugal Updates Jessica brought a turtle, Pepe had us call out AI-sounding posts as six-fingered, and Jennifer asked the room to guess how many of her 60 applications got an answer. 34 of us squeezed onto the Kübe patio in Lisbon on Thursday night for Lightning Talks #4\. Three speakers, about 10 minutes each, then a Q&A that ran longer than the talks. The theme was "Nobody Handed Me This". The thread I heard in all three: nobody handed you the clarity, the pace or your own voice, so you build them on purpose. Here is what stuck with me. ![Van Vo hosting Lightning Talks #4 on the Kübe patio](https://blog.worktugal.com/content/images/2026/10/2026-10-01-lt4-victoria-026.jpg) I hosted the night with Pedro. Photo: [Victoria Rayu](https://www.instagram.com/victoriarayu/?ref=blog.worktugal.com). ## Pepe Leyton: how to keep your voice when everyone sounds the same ![Pepe Leyton presenting in front of the AI SUCKS slide](https://blog.worktugal.com/content/images/2026/10/2026-10-01-lt4-victoria-027.jpg) Pepe, mid-talk. Photo: [Victoria Rayu](https://www.instagram.com/victoriarayu/?ref=blog.worktugal.com). [Pepe](https://linkedin.com/in/pepeleyton?ref=blog.worktugal.com) is an independent creative director and brand strategist from Argentina, now based in Setúbal. He spent 13 years at Turner/Time Warner before going independent with LeytonLab. His talk was called "AI sucks. If you suck at AI." He read out real LinkedIn posts that all open with "Most people..." and asked us one question: who is speaking, you or the model? His difference between written by AI and written with AI landed. Written by AI is prompt, copy, paste. Written with AI means you give it context, argue with it, edit it, and put yourself back in. His trick for keeping your voice: "If you want to demand it to think outside the box, the best thing you can do is give it a box." Feed the model your purpose, your tone, your red lines. Then read the output as if a stranger wrote it, and do not fall in love with it. ## Jessica Labesehr: three things nobody handed me ![Jessica Labesehr presenting with her turtle co-presenter](https://blog.worktugal.com/content/images/2026/10/2026-10-01-lt4-victoria-028.jpg) Jessica and her turtle co-presenter. Photo: [Victoria Rayu](https://www.instagram.com/victoriarayu/?ref=blog.worktugal.com). [Jessica](https://linkedin.com/in/jessicalabesehr?ref=blog.worktugal.com) spent 15 years designing products and building brands, including at Booking.com, and co-founded [Alma Humans](https://www.almahumans.com/?ref=blog.worktugal.com), a botanical skincare company. She brought a small turtle as her co-presenter, which tells you the tone. Her three things were time, attention, and high-touch. She asked for a show of hands: who moved country in the last 3 to 5 years, who changed careers, who is still figuring out how to order coffee in Portuguese. Plenty of hands, and plenty stayed up when she asked who had dealt with more than one big life event. Then the line the room needed: "You're not behind and you're not alone." Big transitions can take around 5 years, she said, and we are slow by nature and human by design. Cut yourself some slack. ## Jennifer Boicic: the leap, and the 60 applications ![Jennifer Boicic speaking in front of her slide](https://blog.worktugal.com/content/images/2026/10/2026-10-01-lt4-jennifer-boicic-talk.jpg) Jennifer telling the room how the leap really went. [Jennifer](https://linkedin.com/in/jenniferboicic?ref=blog.worktugal.com) is a Global Strategy and Planning Leader at Cisco in Lisbon. Two years ago she had just moved to Portugal with no job. She called being invited back to speak a full-circle moment. She moved to Portugal on a job-seeker visa at 39, applied to 60 roles and got nothing back for about 6 months. The one job she did land after that was a contact-center role on Portuguese minimum wage. She lasted 6 weeks. What changed: she got clear on exactly what she wanted, stopped applying randomly, went back to companies she already knew, and used her network. A Cisco job alert led to a direct email to the hiring manager, and a connection of a connection led to the rest. She has now been at Cisco for a little over a year. ## What the Q&A added ![Jessica, Pepe and Jennifer on stage for the Q&A with audience questions on the screen](https://blog.worktugal.com/content/images/2026/10/2026-10-01-lt4-victoria-030.jpg) Jessica, Pepe and Jennifer taking questions. Photo: [Victoria Rayu](https://www.instagram.com/victoriarayu/?ref=blog.worktugal.com). A handful of people asked questions, plus a few long reflections that were really mini talks. Someone asked Jennifer her networking secret. She calls herself a social introvert, and said the secret is real curiosity: ask a lot of questions, because people love talking about themselves. Another person pointed out that critical thinking ran through all three talks, and that we are outsourcing a lot of it to AI. No one had a clean answer, and the room was fine with that. ## Try this week Give your AI a box before you ask it anything (Pepe). Guard where your attention goes (Jessica). Write down exactly what you want before you apply (Jennifer). ## What I took from the night It felt supportive and respectful from the first talk. The speakers did not pitch anyone. They talked to the room like peers, with real stories and a bit of vulnerability, and the room answered the same way. A few people shared their own reflections, and some asked about the next one before they left. It was my first time hosting on the patio, and I liked it more than I expected. It was packed and close, and nobody was stuck in an empty room. There were plenty of new faces, some old ones came back, and a small circle formed at the end to keep talking before everyone left. This is why I like this format. You do not have to force networking. If you want to stay and meet people, stay. If you only came for the talks, listen, ask a question and go home with something to think about. Once a month is enough for me. ## Thank you Thank you to [Kübe Coworking](https://www.instagram.com/kube.coworking/?ref=blog.worktugal.com) for hosting us on their patio, and to Jesús at Kübe for helping us set up. Thank you to [Pedro](https://www.instagram.com/pedro.ma.ayala/?ref=blog.worktugal.com), [Victoria](https://www.instagram.com/victoriarayu/?ref=blog.worktugal.com), [Josh](https://www.instagram.com/joshinlisbon/?ref=blog.worktugal.com) and [Gladys](https://www.instagram.com/thegladyspaulinus/?ref=blog.worktugal.com) for running the night, and to Victoria and Gladys for the photos. ## Links All the photos from the night are here, free to download and share: [Lightning Talks #4 photos](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iGrrPR0kDGdetMcP2JKUDX7p9pLPVnpZ?ref=blog.worktugal.com). Follow [@worktugalpass on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/worktugalpass/?ref=blog.worktugal.com). I do not have everyone's handle, so follow, send me yours, and I will tag you in the photos. Never miss a night: subscribe to our calendar at [luma.com/worktugal](https://luma.com/worktugal?ref=blog.worktugal.com). Lightning Talks #5 is planned for early November, and the ticket link goes up there first. Free membership, jobs scored for AI risk, and the Portugal setup check: [worktugal.com/signup](https://worktugal.com/signup?ref=blog.worktugal.com). Want to speak or help run a night? [worktugal.com/contribute/apply](https://worktugal.com/contribute/apply?ref=blog.worktugal.com). If you were in a photo and want it taken down, message us on Instagram and it is gone. **Article updates** This post gets updated when speakers send corrections or when more photos are added. 5 October 2026 (v1.4): Replaced the photo in Jennifer's section with one she prefers. 4 October 2026 (v1.3): Added a host note, a "Try this week" section and a thank you to Jesús at Kübe, and corrected a detail in Jennifer's section. 3 October 2026 (v1.0): First published.