Founder of todotaladros.com at IE Business School

Entrepreneur session 6:

Alberto Torron

It is often argued that the life of an entrepreneur is a lonely life where you have to absolutely scarify everything and everyone and only have one thing in you mind, which is your venture! 

Is it really necessary to give up everything when deciding to becoming an entrepreneur? 

According to Alberto Torron the co-founder of todotaladros.com it is not necessary to even giving up your day job!

Alberto, is still working in a demanding job with great responsibilities at the same time of managing todotaladros among a few other ventures. How does he do it? By managing a small but stable growth. 

One of the reasons for their success has been the unique customer experience that they are able to provide. An interesting thing that he mentioned was that, if a customer has any concerns, he will be contacted by the owner of the 'store' personally to rectify the issue on spot. 

This is obviously not a service that is commonly provided within the e-commerce environment and indeed not one that can be sustained if the business was to have a rapid growth.

todotaladros.com is a online ecommerce where you can purchase tools such as Drills. Starting with 5-6 Drills and selling from home, they now have over £150k worth of inventory. 

Despite being a 'part time entrepreneur', Alberto has illustrated that it pays to be one. Without disclosing any confidential information, their revenue proves that a part time venture can still make more than a full time job. 

It also shows that there is absolutely no perfect profile for an entrepreneur and that everyone and with any life preference can turn an idea into profit. 

A great fact that he share with us was the importance of the ROI when investing in SEM.  

He mentioned that it takes 300 visits to the site to make one conversion, which in this particular case is to purchase a product that costs an average of 200 Euros. So as he nicely put it "unless you want to work for google, then it makes no sense to buy AdWords costing 2euros and hope to make a profit just because of an increased traffic. 

So...the advice is to calculate your ROI in all aspects of your business...even when it comes to marketing!

A final comment... I wonder how long Alberto is able to sustain his current lifestyle of being in a full time job and running a venture that is growing. My assumptions is that he would have to choose... It would be interesting to see what he would choose... 

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Founder of Idealista at IE Business School

Entrepreneur session 5: 

Jesus Encinar 

Session 5 in Managing Tech for Startups offered an insight to one of the most successful Spanish real estate websites idealista by the founder himself Jesus Encinar who's blog also offers some interesting posts... if you can read Spanish ;-) 

Regrettably, I was flying when we had this session which meant that I had to do my own research...

Idealista was founded 11 years ago in a business environment which was already very saturated. Despite aiming for international expansion, the business was initially only implemented in the Capital of Spain. 

Having only presence in Madrid allowed the company to focus and achieve great success in this vicinity but it made it challenging to raise finance as the scalability potential was not initially appreciated by the investors. 

Nevertheless, when there is a will, there is a way... 

After being rejected by 100s of investors, Idealista finally managed to raise $6.24M (€6M) in unattributed funding on 1/1/2003, which was achieved with help from Andersen Consulting. 

Idealista has since expanded into Portugal and Italy which seems that their strategy is to initially penetrate countries that share cultural and language similarities. 

The following tables show cultural similarities between Spain, Portugal and Italy. 

Hofstede explains these differences in the following 5 main elements which are very interesting and really worth exploring when considering an international expansion.

Power Distance Index (PDI) 

Individualism (IDV)  

Masculinity (MAS)  

Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) 

Long-Term Orientation (LTO) 

Going back to the actual website, I must admit that I personally do not find it particularly user-friendly, but the company apparently makes great efforts and uses technology to track user experience in order to constantly improve the site accordingly. 

I cannot comment on what technology Idealista uses for this purpose, but an eye track technology is an mazing tool which allows to track and actually analyse a user's behaviour on the website. The process would require a number of different users using the site while tracking their eye focus. The system is then able to analyse preferences according to age, sex or any other relevant demographic facts. 

Another useful tool is google's site overlay which provides information about where and how often the user has clicked on different buttons/links on the site and illustrates this in percentage. 

This tool is extremely easy to set up in google analytics and is a very useful when testing the design of a new site. 

Technology aside, the success of Idealista illustrates that it is not always necessary to be 'born global' and it is still possible to establish an international presence and in a pace appropriate to the business...

Only when the business is ready to explore new markets!

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Founder of CHICISIMO at IE Business School

Entrepreneur session 4: 

Gabriel Aldamiz

An afternoon with Gabriel Aldamiz right here at IE Business School... 

 "How many of you are planning to start your own venture" was the opening speech by Gabriel Aldamiz...and wow!!!....almost all hands were raised. This was the MBA spirit at our Tech For Start up Class ! :-)   

Gabriel Aldamiz is behind a series of successful ventures and today he shared his entrepreneurial experience with us. Although he started by saying that it was his first time that he ever had to give such a long speech, once he began, he was unstoppable... in a very nice way of course! 

Full of energy and so much to tell that it was actually hard to keep up with him. His stories were very interesting and really made you think …  but before I had a chance to think it through, he was already sharing another interesting concept!

I am guessing that this might be how Gabriel Aldamiz is in business as well. He is probably one of those people who can create a business out of nothing. Starting a new venture, and ideas keep popping into his head and tempting him to pursue the next idea... maybe wished he could be more than one person and in more than one place at a time...

Chicisimo is a good example of making business out of something, which could have been seen as nothing by many. 

He spotted a behaviour that might be seen as ‘strange” and turned this into a successful platform that is not even close to have reached its full potential:

Girls who took photos of themselves wearing different fashion items and sharing these on Flickr. 

He provided the platform where these photos could be shared easily. Simple! 

        

Now, the potential for generating money from this platform is simply phenomenal. The most obvious one is that this could be turned into an ideal place for shopping. The numbers as seen above, provides a link that shows all other items tagged with the same brand. 

However, the link could in fact allow the user to purchase the product which obviously would require integration with the store and of course an updated catalogue. 

In the meantime, Chicisimo could also offer a link to the store website next to the pictures that show the particular brand and simply generate advertising money through the clicks. 

Now to increase the items posted, a simple phone application could allow the users to take pictures even in the changing room and post this into the site. 

These are of course the most obvious ones and there is scope for a lot more creative and innovative ideas which could serve this platform and increase its revenue potential. A social game as an example... 

Going back to the entrepreneur... despite the diversity in Gabriel's ventures, he shared a valuable tip with the class, which was to "stay in FOCUS while keeping a diversity". 

He mentioned the mistake that he had made in the beginning of his venture, which was to diversify too soon and into too many things such as sport, financial services, fashion etc. 

He also suggested that in the beginning of a business, having little money is not always a disadvantage but could in fact work to your advantage as it ensures focus and concentration.

There is no doubt that limited finance would ensure great focus, You truly think everything through several times, you try not to do too many things but only the most important…but there could be another side of this story. 

Sometimes, limited resources might make you desperate and could result in you taking the wrong decisions and giving into situations that end up distracting your initial focus. It could also limit your growth to the extent that no matter how great your idea is, it never reaches its real potential.

There is no ‘right’ recipe and everything truly depends on the situation, timing, preference, attitude, execution and perhaps a little bit of luck!  

However, one of the very important takeaways from this session for me, which is not going to change is the importance of bloggers and how to motivate them to write about your product. 

It is important to know your blogger's interests and as obvious as it sounds, you must read past posts to really get to know the blogger's style and likings. 

Also, when suggesting your product, find something that might relate to a recent post/article that the writer has written or perhaps some issue which is currently in debate.This increases the chance that the writer would get interested in your 'topic' and write something that could turn your business upside down... depending on what he/she writes and who the readers are... so if you want to get free PR, do your research well! 

Not all publicity is good publicity! 

Founder of coches.com at IE Business School

Entrepreneur session 3:

Arrola 

A young successful entrepreneur who's wife and family as his true passion have given him the strength and drive to grow his passion for cars and achieve a successful enterprise and a balanced life.

I believe, Arrola's comment about appreciating the important people in your life and never putting them second is possibly the most valuable take away from this session.  

Despite my remote class attendance, I was truly touched by his comments.

I was able to follow the class thanks to my fellow class mate Radek, who kindly invited me to the class through his skype. (Picture below is a screen shot from my laptop) as  despite being away, I was in no way gonna miss this class ;-)

 In fact, without losing thread of this blog post completely, I really feel that I need to mention something about the experience of this experimental class... 

It has absolutely been amazing so far. The class is extremely interactive but not only inside the class... but on the net through  participants twits. The picture on the right is a screen shot from my laptop while I was following this session.

As you can see, twits were being posted in real time, as the class was ongoing. You could read what was being said in the class, shared thoughts, opinions and ideas. It was truly interactive.

I have had other MBA students asking questions about the class who have simply come to know about it through our twits. I think this was such a creative idea which was started by our professor Enrique Dans who also suggested the the #ietechstartup  where you can read all our twits related to these classes. 

Beside the great fun of being able to use social media in such a simple but creative way to share your class experience in real time, you meet great entrepreneurs and see them as ordinary people who you can associate to. 

You hear them talk about their success and failure and about their personal life and how entrepreneurship has effected their lives. You hear how they made their dream  become reality... because they dared to dream!

It is such an encouragement to see that these brave individuals have made it against all odds. To hear them talk and actually realize that they are just like you and I.

We often have this illusion of successful entrepreneurs as being ruthless, selfish and money driven individuals. It is possible that there are people like that, but this doesn't have to mean that this is the character of a successful entrepreneur. 

The one thing I have really seen in common among the entrepreneurs who have share their experience is that they have all dared to dream...  

Arrola dared to dream about coches.com and here is his reality:

 

Fundraising expert at IE Business School

Entrepreneur session 2:

 

Jorge Mota

  Most would agree that one of the very important elements in any business is $$$!

Unless you are loaded with cash and can spend it as you are pleased, at one point or another, the thought of raising capital to start or to grow your business may become necessary.

Is it a daunting idea?...not necessarily. But it is an options which should be given some serious thoughts. 

Jorge Mota who were our guest here at IE Business School and a very successful entrepreneur who has continuously managed to raise substantial amount of capital gave the class some valuable insights.

Surprisingly, he made a comment that the dollar is green everywhere, or in other words, make no preference to your investors!! 

Unless I have misunderstood this comment, I am to some extend confused. We have over and over been told that it is utmost important to choose the right investors for your business and it is not simply the cash that adds value to the business but the experience and the network the investor brings. But the person who has been extremely successful in raising capital has a different view?

As I mentioned, I could have misunderstood this comments as my information has been gathered reading the class blogs and the real time twits that were shared during the class. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the class... as ironic as it was, I was busy with a big European grant application for my own start up which had to be filed by today and after filling out god knows how many forms and preparing 100s of documents, we found some small prints related to UK companies which resulted in delaying this application until September...that is another story however!!

Jorge's other view was that business angles should be treated as part of the family, since their capital is primarily invested in you and not necessarily in your idea! He suggested to ensure great return for the business angels as they deserve this more than anyone in the business.

Another important tip he offered was to never give away more than 35% equity in the early stages of your business.

He also emphasized on the importance of the key management and their commitment in the business as this would be the absolute first thing any investor would consider. 

I would personally add to this... I think choosing your partners right from the very early start is one of the most important things to consider. There are many different views of how to choose the right partner, but I would say it is a combination of everything. 

First you must feel right about your partner and really feel that you can work well together. (sounds obvious but more than often ignored) 

Second, his/her skills should be complimenting yours and you should never just choose a person because of friendship.

Third, regardless of how much you trust one another, business is business and so it should be treated this way (an advice that I often oversee myself btw) 

Fourth, treat your partner as you wish to be treated yourself. Motivation is key in any business and credit should always be given to achievements. Its not about showing off to your partner who did what. Its about keeping each other motivated to accomplish the goal! 

One last advice... As 'wrong' as this may sound, it is a very good idea to examine your partner's personal life. Most people are effected by this to such an extend that it will influence their professional performance... so this part should be considered carefully! 

As important as capital is for the operation of an enterprise, people running the operation still remain the most important!

...so before raising the big capital, ask yourself... am I in this for the money...for friendship...for  passion...for ego...for love?

....or perhaps a healthy combination of the above!

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Founder of Weblogs SL at IE Business School

Entrepreneur session 1:

Julio Alonso

A calm, relaxed and an extreme humble personality Julio Alonso....he increased his interest in blogs after completing his MBA in 2004 where he found himself spending more and more time exploring and reading blogs including the blog of our professor Enrique Dans. He explained that blogs were not so wide spread in Spain at the time and the only people who really appreciated blogs were actually those who blogged themselves.  It was also during this time that he started his own blog but most importantly, this was when he recognized a great commercial opportunity in his passion.

On July 20^th2004, Juan Afonso decided to take blogging to a higher level!

Juan decided to find people who were passionate about gadgets and technology to start a blog writing about anything related to this topic. Out of the 20 people who were initially very enthusiastic, 4 remained and this was the beginning of WeblogsSL.

Today Weblogs SL has over 200 bloggers who officially work for Weblogs SL providing enriched content to around 40 different blog topics including xataka, blog de cine,  notasdefutbol, poprosa and many more... 

One thing all writers have in common however is that they are all very passionate about the topics they are blogging about. 

I guess this is the first and most important component of a successful blog!

Real passion! Now making a living from what you enjoy so deeply can only be a bonus!

Today there are 16M unique visitors on a platform that was simply a page containing nothing but information combined with excitement and passion written by Juan in his apartment here in Spain.

Julio Alonso gave up his 10 year old career in consulting to start a blog! His colleagues thought he had gone mad! His passion however kept him determined and immune against any criticism. While others saw his vision as unrealistic, he made it real!

After a successful career in consulting, the first money earned from his new passion was nothing more than 100 euros in the first month of business operation, which was generated through adscene advertising.

Nevertheless, he kept going and he started around 10 new blog topics in the years that followed. He explained his excitement about when they started a new blog about anroid and had 600.000 hits in the first month!

The most important thing he mentioned and really emphasized on was the importance of data gathering and data analysis.

The second most important issue for him was to keep a track of user behaviour in terms of ROI. His operations are worldwide and there is more than one site he needs to track. 

For this he uses a simple yet very sophisticated tool. An online preprogrammed google doc spreadsheet, which uses google analytics and plots all the information on one document in real time.

Here he can determine the ‘quality’ of the visits; Meaning the ratio, the frequency and of course the duration.

Since his business model is based on advertising, he explained some interesting concepts and illustrated some different numbers. 

Julio explained that only 7% of the visitors contribute to 79% of all the clicks.

What does this mean in terms of revenue from advertising?

This clearly illustrates that considering a CPC option must be the last option if there are any others. This view was actually shared by a professor of ours in another class who is also the founder of Busuu (a cool and fun platform to learn a language online)

In the discussion about RSS feeds, the drawback mentioned was the fact that the RSS subscribers are missing to see the advertising. My own technical knowledge with regards to RSS feeds are limited but the questions and comments are: 

1. Why can the advertising not also be fed through with the blog post?!
2. Julio mentioned that the name choice was very important and that people often misspell the xataka blog. My comment would be to obtain domain names with different types of spellings and different possibilities that people might type and simply link these to the actual site. This is what I did from the beginning when I registered my own domain name. 
3. I would be interested in knowing when would be the best time to approach companies to advertise on your site. I mean how many users would you have to illustrate in order to have a chance for a good advertising deal. And what is the best way to approach this? 
4. Would you employ a salesforce experienced in this or would you do this yourself being experienced in your business? 

Managing Tech For Start Ups at IE Business School

As time as passed, me, alongside with the the rest of The International Class of MBA 2011 at IE Business School are now in our 5th and final term. Everyone have different plans of what they will be doing after their MBA, but there are a large group of people who have either started or planning to start their own venture.

One of the electives I have chosen in this term is called Managing Tech for Start ups. It is the first time this elective is being taught at IE but given the experience I had with Enrique Dans's class in my first term, I cannot wait to see what this experimental class would offer us.

I have had two previous start up experience and am now in the process of a new venture, which might be considered a 'Tech Start Up". I have a facebook page which you are welcome to join. 

The class will be about bringing a community of successful entrepreneurs to the class to share with us their experience, challenges they have faced and generally have an interactive open discussion about any related issues.

As you may guess, I am therefore extremely curious to explore what this this class will offer us and how we can use the experience of other successful entrepreneurs in our ventures and also learn from their mistakes to reduce the risk of failure. 

I will share the experience in this blog...