Last Thursday, October 9, a Top Entrepreneurs in the Vivero de Empresas of Vicálvaro. The Top Entrepreneurs are monthly meetings with a relevant successful entrepreneur, who shares his entrepreneurial experience with attendees.
On this occasion the guest has been Mark Alves, leading entrepreneur in the Internet sector. Marcos is co-founder of eltenedor.es [http://www.eltenedor.es], a leading company in the online restaurant reservation sector. Currently, eltenedor.es has more than 10 million reservations per year. In expansion, they are present in France, Spain and Switzerland, employ 200 workers and have an annual turnover of more than 10 million euros.
Who best knows what your client wants... is your client
Marcos Alves believes that “you must actively listen to your user, your client. He is the one who knows best what he wants. And he adds: "If I am not aware of what is happening in my market, I will lose focus on what needs to be done."
Marcos also considers that the commercial aspect of your company is essential: "You have to sell, sell, and keep selling."
Your team, your support
"You must rely on a powerful team, who you let make decisions, and who you let make mistakes," advises Marcos. Asked how to keep talent in your team, Marcos answers that "by making them happy, making them grow". "You have to set challenges, and always keep your promises."
Entrepreneurial mistakes
When asked what he considers to be the mistakes that entrepreneurs usually make, Marcos cites several: "Seeking the perfection of the product before launching, forgetting to sell, not thinking about the numbers." And also: «Sometimes we sin of short-term models: they allow us to take the first step, but then they make us stumble».
Another common mistake is related in Marcos' opinion to financing: «Before looking for financing, ask yourself if you really need it. And delay it as much as you can ».
Internationalization? not at any price
"Going international is good, but you must measure the need according to your sector: it means more investment and less focus," considers Marcos Alves. And he explains that “we went to Switzerland because we spoke the language, and because being a small country allowed us to test our model with less risk.
In this sense, Marcos recommends "growing in the Spanish market before going international."
What is success?
Asked about the formula for success, Marcos Alves answers that "the key to a company's success is adaptation to its environment." And he emphasizes that “everyone has their ambitions. Not everyone has to become Facebook. What is success? Success is covering expenses and paying your salaries.
Marcos does not consider that arriving before is essential: "It does not matter that you have not arrived first in your market, as long as you do things well." And he recommends: «Don't be obsessed with the competition. Have respect for her, but you must be focused on doing things with quality.
After talking for a while longer with those attending Top Entrepreneurs, Marcos Alves left a sentence written on a window of the Vicálvaro Nursery: "Success is learning to go from failure to failure without despair" Winston Churchill.
Here you have the presentation that Marcos Alves used in the Top Entrepreneurs: http://ow.ly/CQcD3
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