Three experts offer CUNEF Universidad's students a closer look at entrepreneurship

Last Monday, 9 March, the community of CUNEF Universidad’s School of Business, Economics and Law filled the two tiers of the Auditorium to capacity to listen to the insights and advice of three entrepreneurship experts: José Manuel Gasalla, Managing Director of Nzyme, a Private Equity fund, Agustina Milanini, Innovation Director at Tetuan Valley, a start-up accelerator, and Álvaro Sánchez, founder and CEO of White Vega, a tech company specialising in real estate and banking management software.

The session, chaired by Vice-Dean Eva Aguilar, was organised by the School of Business, Economics and Law to inspire and guide students with their sights set on grounding their own entrepreneurial ideas on solid and realistic foundations.

From ideas to reality

Álvaro Sánchez highlighted the potential impact of certain assumptions: “I thought that, as an entrepreneur, I wouldn’t have a boss, and found instead that I had two: cash flow and customers. Understanding trends and the market is just as important as having rock-solid financial foundations.”

Agustina Milanini relied on her international experience to talk about the challenges posed by each country’s culture and idiosyncrasy. She pointed out that in Spain “ there is a very powerful entrepreneurial support ecosystem, but fear of failure is greater than in other countries”, stressing that “the best lessons are learned from failure, not success”, and highlighting the role of organisations like Tetuan Valley, “where working to support a community of over 1,000 entrepreneurs is very enriching both personally and professionally”.

José Manuel Gasalla focused on role of investment funds. He insisted that, to be funded, “a project must be based on a compelling idea with long-term market potential, driven by a high-performing, complementary, honest team”.

10 in 1,000

Case in point, Gasalla said that, out of the 1,000+ projects that they analyse every year, they only choose ten: the ones that understand the market, have found the resources, and are well structured and honest. At this point, Álvaro Sánchez contributed his vision as an entrepreneur, stressing that “a good match with the fund is critical: you are ceding a degree of authority, so alignment becomes essential”.

As for metrics, the three experts agreed that there are many indicators, but highlighted the importance of knowing how to monetise the idea, building engagement with the product/service, and creating a solid business plan that includes solutions to potential inconsistencies.

With regard to scaling an idea into a company, José Manuel highlighted the importance of moving forward step by step, from one level of validation to the next, to ascertain whether the company will finally be successful.

When asked about useful soft skills for entrepreneurs, Álvaro said that in his company “everyone sells”, illustrating the whole team’s commitment, and Agustina highlighted the importance of willingness to take risks and humility, to adapt to any necessary changes. José Manuel added resilience and insisted on humility.

Finally, on ownership dynamics, José Manuel recommended drafting a Shareholders’ Agreement that establishes a clear the path for the future, to ensure the survival of the company.

All of them concluded that age is not a determining factor if the idea is sound and has a future. Entrepreneurship is not limited to specific age groups.