Building Something out of Nothing
@edolopezCo-founder @icalialabs
A story on starting a company without 99% of knowledge and resources.
Who am I?
● Technical background on the software industry.● Co-founder & CEO @icalialabs.● Co-founder & Advisor @codeandomexico.● Creator of the Socialware program.● Professor of CS at PrepaTEC CSC.● Worked at IBM, Infosys (India), startups, etc.
* 2+ years operating.* 15+ team members.* 30+ built products.* 50% of current portfolio are US clients.
...a story on starting a company without 99% of knowledge and resources:
● How to literally start? Why are we starting this?● How to achieve objectives and vision constantly?● How to build culture and share it between team
members?● How to do sales in a proper way?● How to retain clients?● How to expand internationally? Why do we want that?● How to grow without investment?● How to maintain quality + good time2market +
affordable prices for our clients?
Reality
“The common rule of thumb is that of 10 start-ups, only three or four fail completely. Another three or four return the original investment, and one or two
produce substantial returns.”
The Wall Street Journay. The Venture Capital Secret: 3 Out of 4 Start-Ups Failhttp://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443720204578004980476429190.html
● Starting with almost nothing means: No funding, no grants, no credits.
● You need to validate how and why you are adding value in this world.
● The way to sustain a company relies on value rather than funding.
● There’s no backup, so you will be trying to close new deals, partnerships, and growing based on real demands from the market.
● Remember: Sacrifice.
● Not all people founding a company are able to grow it.
● Be close to the team, guide with the example.
● You are everything but the boss. ● Focus in only one project. Putting efforts in
multiple projects doesn’t work.
● Our first clients were people trusting us: Old jobs, friends, friends of friends.
● Word of mouth could be your biggest distribution channel.
● The more activities in your field you are involved outside your daily work, the more passion it is recognized.
3 things
1. Accounting.2. Legal.3. Finances.
Recognize the value of their services. Recognize the value of operate legally.
● Attitude is one of the main reasons you can advance. For instance, US clients.
● Getting into new frontiers and achieving objectives is more about attitude than anything.
● You need to seek the opportunities.
● The biggest asset in a technology (services) company is the people.
● Continuous Recruitment is a must: you need to find the best people always.
● Have a behavioral and core values interview. ● Periodically assessments & interviews, both
technical and cultural. ● It is better to have a strict procedure for
hiring rather than firing people. ● Retention relies on the culture you have.
You need to build a company once or be part of a small and risky project to really understand the path of
entrepreneurship.
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