Top Entrepreneur Rafael Ausejo, co-founder of Ruralka

Last Thursday, November 11, a Top Entrepreneurs in the Vivero de Empresas Bridge Vallecas. The Top Entrepreneurs are monthly meetings with a relevant successful entrepreneur, who shares his entrepreneurial experience with attendees.

On this occasion he intervened Rafael Ausejo, leading entrepreneur in the Internet sector. Rafael is co-founder of Ruralka [http://www.ruralka.com], a leading company in the online reservation sector for quality rural houses and hotels. Always in continuous expansion, they are present in Portugal, Mexico and Colombia, already reaching 850,000 annual users and an annual turnover of one million euros. In addition, Rafael participates in new startups such as The Country Chef and Ruralka on Road.

Get underway

Rafael Ausejo says that there came a time when he and his partner José María Belaúnde asked themselves: "What if we put into action what we have been talking about all our lives?" And they began their entrepreneurial journey. "We wanted to be owners of our time."

Asked if there were any entrepreneurs in his house, Rafael responded that “no one. Our family told us to study and work” (referring to paid employment).

However, "our grandmother was the first patron of the company": their first location was a house that she left them.

Keys to success

Rafael considers that a key to success in the first years is that they were very focused on the commercial task. In his opinion, "an entrepreneur does not have to be behind an Excel, he has to be behind a client."

«We have been self-taught, we were guided by the intuition. He The most important thermometer is being on the street," says Rafael Ausejo. And he explains that «at the beginning we set very low prices. "It was essential to be able to get the first clients."

«We were very strong in marketing and communication. "What we sold to the hotels were different values from what they already offered."

Asked about the question of the growth of his company, Rafael Ausejo explains that "our philosophy has always been 'happy life, small business'."

Attentive to the customer and market changes

When they were successful, they were often told, "You've already succeeded, now you're on the watchtower, right?" But they were clear: "No, we will always be on top of the client."

Rafael Ausejo says that «we have created a gastronomic spin off: The Country Chef. "His philosophy is to return to the pot in the digital age." "Ruralka on the Road is another spin off, for people who like to travel by motorcycle."

"We come up with new business models because the clients themselves are demanding it, it is natural if you are attentive," says Rafael. And he adds: "Our greatest virtue, not only as entrepreneurs but as people, has been closeness to people."

To end the Top Entrepreneurs, Rafael Ausejo left a phrase written in a window of the Vivero de Empresas in Puente de Vallecas: «Believe, Create, Move Forward!».