Last Wednesday, January 11, entrepreneurs met at a Coffee Break at the Vivero de Empresas in Moratalaz. On this occasion we had Alfonso Merry del Val (@amv00), founding partner of companies in the restaurant sector, among which Semola stands out. Sandwiches & Salads, El Callejón de Serrano or Club 74. He is also a partner in the international trade agency Vecordia, a member of the Investment Committee of the venture capital company Vitamina K and co-founder of A-Venture. In addition, Alfonso is a business angel and investor in Doctordoctor.es and Belbex.com as well as a member of the Board of Directors of Groupon.
An advice
Alfonso believes that “you have to cheer up. If you think about things a lot, in the end you won't get around to doing them," but he also highlights the need to know how to give up in time: "if something hasn't worked in three years, it's difficult for it to work later."
The importance of the team
“If in a team people are not 100%, projects will hardly come together.” The first version of the Semola project was carried out solely together with its partners, without external financing, and that is why he believes that the human team is essential: “There is no guarantee of recovering the investment. “That is why the people in the project are so important.”
What an investor looks at
When deciding to invest in a project, Alfonso states: “I have to like the project, but I have to love the team.” One of the attendees commented in this regard that the creators of Yahoo found an investor for their project after 117 attempts, which reveals the importance of perseverance. Alfonso believes that “an investor is not going to let you play with his money. You have to make him fall in love with you and your project."
Do not undertake alone
Alfonso prefers to go “hand in hand with someone. “If you find good partners, you learn a lot from them.” Furthermore, he affirms that the best thing about the projects in which he has invested has been the people with whom he has undertaken and that the network of contacts is not only important, but basic for any entrepreneur: “There is investment in all sectors, but there is to look for it. Hence the importance of networking.”
After chatting with the attendees, Alfonso Merry del Val wrote a phrase on the window of Vivero de Empresas in Moratalaz: “Good luck!!”.
You can see the video of this Coffee Break in http://www.froozetv.com/alacarta/?p=485
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