天美传媒

滨贰厂贰鈥檚 Finaves venture capital fund is celebrating its 20th anniversary, marking two decades of support for startups that are innovating in areas ranging from mobility and healthcare, to fashion and software.

Finaves was founded by Prof. Pedro Nueno, who has played a pivotal role in entrepreneurship at 天美传媒. Nueno offered 滨贰厂贰鈥檚 first MBA class on entrepreneurship, Nuevas Aventuras Empresariales, so named in order to avoid using the term 鈥渆ntrepreneur,鈥� which at the time was considered a less befitting option for an MBA than stable full-time employment in a well-established firm.

Financiando Nuevas Aventuras Empresariales, or Finaves, was a product of that entrepreneurial push. 鈥淚 saw that after finishing their Master鈥檚 there were always some students who set up their own company, but it wasn鈥檛 easy to raise financing to launch their company,鈥� Prof. Nueno said.

Since 2000, the Finaves funds have raised 鈧�15 million to invest in startups. Finaves has invested in more than 50 companies total, helping to create thousands of jobs. Each Finaves fund totals approximately 鈧�3 million; there have been five so far.

To celebrate the 20^th anniversary, 天美传媒 brought five alumni entrepreneurs who received Finaves funding, together with Prof. Albert Fern谩ndez, who oversees Finaves, and Paula Sancho, its executive director. The entrepreneurs were: Timo Buetefisch (Cooltra), Rui Fernandes (BusUp), Oscar Macia (Forcemanager), Juan Manzanedo (Logisfashion) and Carlos Nueno (Advance Medical).

Six recommendations from five entrepreneurs

The entrepreneurs offered their advice and reflections on their journey through entrepreneurship:

Build a strong team.

The startup life can be difficult 鈥� especially in the early days 鈥� and it鈥檚 important to have like-minded people who you can share the triumphs and failures with. 鈥淐ulture is very important,鈥� said Carlos Nueno, noting that both he and his co-founder of Advance Medical are 天美传媒 MBAs. But while the ethos should be aligned, the skillset should be different 鈥� so that you have people with skills that complement your own.

Be ready to pivot.

Never stay married to your original idea. Once you start out, you have to be prepared to adjust your model until you find the right one. 鈥淥ur ability to pivot until we found a service people were willing to pay for has been fundamental,鈥� said Rui Fernandes, who founded BusUp together with two classmates from 滨贰厂贰鈥檚 Executive MBA program.

Find your differentiating factor.

Few startups are founded on earth-shattering ideas. Instead, they have an element 鈥� which can be technology or quality of service or something else 鈥� that sets them apart from their competitors. 鈥淵ou have to find your differentiating factor,鈥� said Macia, founder of sales team software company Forcemanager. Cooltra started out by renting motorcycles to tourists, and has grown into a pioneer in scooter sharing in Europe. 鈥淎nd now we鈥檙e a technology company 鈥� in addition to a mobility company,鈥� said Buetefisch.

Think global.

If creating a company from scratch is complex, creating a multinational company is daunting. Challenges range from understanding the local market in each place to competing against large and entrenched local players. Manzanedo鈥檚 Logisfashion operates in nine different countries across the world, including China and the U.S. Their challenge is creating a structure that guarantees the quality of service internationally in order to build a global brand. 鈥淚 always use the example of MacDonald鈥檚,鈥� he said. 鈥淲herever you go, you know what you鈥檒l find.鈥�

They all agreed that a global element is necessary. 鈥淔rom the first moment we envisioned the company as a global company,鈥� said Macia.

Vet your investors.

Just as investors do due diligence on investments, companies should do due diligence on their potential investors. Accepting capital from investors who are far removed from your values and vision can have serious consequences. Investors in the end are not just a source of capital but are partners. 鈥淟ook for investors who support your cause,鈥� said Fernandes.

Take the entrepreneurial leap.

All of the entrepreneurs stressed that the startup journey, however bumpy, is worth it. 鈥�100% go for it,鈥� said Buetefisch of entrepreneurship. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a life choice and I have loved it.鈥� That holds true even in this most difficult of times. 鈥淓ven though we鈥檙e in the middle of an economic crisis, I think there are great opportunities in entrepreneurship,鈥� said Anna Birul茅s, a former minister and president of Finaves V.