Archivo de marzo/2015

On Wednesday March 11, took place the first edition of Google Startup Launch in collaboration with IE.

Google Startup Launch provides startups in all stages with the platform, resources, online content, mentorship and training they need to succeed. From first idea to successful implementation and growth, Google Developer’s mission is to help startups worldwide become successful on the Google Developers platformand open-source technologies.

20 startups coming from IE community got free technological mentorship from Google’s experts, members of Google Developer Groups. The diverse entrepreneurs that participated were a mix of non-technical founders, business-oriented and some with technical experience. The participants got 45-60 minutes exclusive support to their startup on the subjects of web, mobile or cloud technologies. The results and feedback were extremely positive which will lead to future collaborations.

Google Startup Launch allows its participants to learn (in case they still don’t know) all the weak points of their startup and ‘require’ solving them. It doesn’t matter if their startup is in the ideation stage, validation stage or in pivoting stage… The participation gives a deep and intense experience if one is taking the best out of the mentors and the other entrepreneurs.

The successful event was organized and managed by IMBA November2013 IE Alumni, Nir Hindi. If you are interested in future events stay tuned by contacting him at info@nirhindi.com or follow him on twitter @nirhindi. 

As usual, the Harvard Business Review keeps talking about interesting matters concerning entrepreneurship and business as a whole. The magazine has introduced several doubts and concerns towards the idea of the elevator pitch, being able to create an interesting debate concerning the case.

Elevator Pitches are well known in the entrepreneurial industry, business classes and articles often include the benefits and problems it creates but recently its activity and efficiency have been doubted from distinct positions.

Would you be able to summarize who you are, what, why and how you represent it in a conversation of two minutes? Would you be able to do so concerning someone who does not share the level of information and care towards your company? A whole century in addition to the industries of advertising, marketing and communications has been able to demonstrate how difficult it is.

Do words cover an essence better than an image? Which would last the most? Deborah Mill-Scofield and Liza Donnelly introduced five reasons why cartoons should be tested and considered in order to link with a targeted audience and transmit your idea in a more efficient way.

In a world, which is constantly bombed by information, entertainment and noise, the power of images is daily showed and the influence of audiovisual messages has taught us how determinant they are. Could images be more direct and easier to remember than words? Several studies have demonstrated how images are 60,000 times faster to remember than words and here we have 5 more reasons to consider it:

1. A main shared goal by companies consists in the clear and direct transmission of what they are and more important, what they represent and how they are seen. The essence of a company is the message different channels want to spread towards a selected audience. Hours of work and preparation in order to create a value proposition which cannot be explained properly to an audience? Try to communicate it with an image! Cartoons hide ideas as much as objects do. Use the power of images to connect with your audience in a more direct way, let them create the words once the emotion is installed.
2. Lines, colors and dimensions influence the viewer. Use drama and comedy to be able to connect with your audience in the purest possible way. The subconscious of your client is a coveted prize and images can connect with it faster than anything.
3. Images make easier for companies to test value proposition; emotions and reactions do not lie. By testing, listening and learning to what the potential clients say, the ´´A/B test´´ will be more efficient.
4. As introduced before the influence of images is wider than the one of words. Due the capability of transmission they involve, it will be 60,000 faster for an image to stay in your memory. Colors determine the patterns, which organize our way of thinking, being able to get to that process must be one of the keys!
5. Images concern language and symbols and have been used in several historical turning points, as the Harvard Business Magazine points out; a clear example will be propaganda and how images have been used for different purposes. The filter, the context of the cartoon and its impact in the audience will determine if it is influential or not.

Cartoons pitch should not come to destroy other systems or processes to expand a product or an image, they can perfectly work in order to establish the first link with a targeted audience. Cartoons pitch can become the first step of a potential relationship with customers, now it is the time to think how you are going to build that bridge and how you are going to build your corporative image.

This week, the London Stock Exchange Group has presented its ELITE program at IE; a program focused on small and mid-sized companies. ELITE provides a platform that connects the involved enterprises with investors throughout Europe and a training program to foster the competitiveness, visibility and attractiveness of the participants.

The programme is structured in three phases, starting with training sessions and workshops for a later implementation of the acquired knowledge:

1. Get ready: this first part will provide the participants with the required tools for improving their organisational structure in economic and human capital terms. This aim will be achieved through an educational program commanded by the FT-IE Corporate Learning Alliance, featuring collaborations of a broad set of entrepreneurs, industry experts and advisers from all sectors.
2. Get fit: the second stage consists on workshops designed to reflect on company-specific issues and progressively adopt new practices to increase competitiveness and get access to long-term funding opportunities. In order to do that, companies will receive assistance in the elaboration of an improved business plan and an “equity story”, as well as improving their corporate communication and optimizing its governance.
3. Get value: building on the experience acquired during the first two phases, ELITE finally helps its participants to capitalise what they have learnt for exploiting new business opportunities and accessing to new funding options.

During the presentation speech, Barbara Lunghi, the director of the program, highlighted the important benefits that Spanish companies can get by adhering to ELITE’s dynamic platform. With reference to their expectations from the participants she assured that «This program is aimed at companies who want to grow and internationalize, helping SMEs to create a system and prepare to raise capital in order to meet the international challenges.”

ELITE has been successfully implemented in Italy in 2012 and the UK in 2014 and currently comprises more than 200 companies, covering all sectors, as well as more than 150 assessors and more than 70 investors.

Interested in joining? The program offers a limited number of vacancies, which will be assigned by considering the historical growth and future potential, the credibility of the expansion project and the management team, as well as the cultural fit to promote the changes within the organisation. Good luck!

For more information about ELITE: www.elite-growth.com
For more information about ELITE in Spain: www.elite-growth.es

Yesterday, March 4th, World Bank and IE Business School launched the WE’ Resilient Cities Competition, a start-up competition to transform ideas related to risk management into ventures. The event took place at Area 31, IE Business School. Enclosed you can find the details of the competition and the calendar:

  Do you want to start or expand your own venture? Do you want your project to help in making your city safer, more resilient and more competitive?

The World Bank Group in partnership with IE Business School is launching a start-­up competition to transform your ideas into opportunities www.weresilient.org

IE Africa Day allows current students to network with African professionals and those with business experience on the continent and to learn about business and career opportunities from the speakers and other attendees. This year, IE Africa Day will showcase the latest developments and share how people can succeed in business in Africa. An accomplished set of thought leaders from across Africa and Europe will be coming to speak and to share their insights and inspiring stories. The speakers represent key industries such as agriculture, information technology, multimedia, financial services, tourism, and education, among others.  Here is a list of our diverse and exciting speakers.

Nuradin Osman – Managing Director, Middle East & Africa, AGCO Corporation

Rafael Gomez- Jordana Moya – Director African Unit, Santander Bank

Ambassador Smuts Ngonyama – Head of Mission, South African Embassy (Madrid, Spain)

Grace Obado – Director, Africa 2.0 Madrid; Director of International Affairs, Hidrolution (Kenya)

Jonathan Tawiah – Founder & CEO, Ostec Limited (Ghana)

Isaac Oboth – Founder & CEO, Media256 (Uganda)

Luis Folhadela – Private Equity Professional (Former Director, KPMG Angola; Former, Business Development Director, BFA Angola)

Stuart Minnaar – Founder & CEO, Studentology & Yappo (South Africa)

Gonzalo Garland – VP of External Relations, IE Business School

Isaac Kwaku Fokuo Jr. – CEO, African Leadership Network; Founder, Sino-Africa Centre for Excellence; Principal, Botho Limited

Join us for an insightful afternoon addressing the dynamic culture and growing opportunities that exist in Africa!

• Venue: Aula Magna, (Calle Maria de Molina, 11)
• Date: 12 March 2015
• Time: 16:00 – 21:00

Tickets: online at IE Africa online ticket sales or Wed 4th – Fri 6th at Launch Pad MM31 – general tickets are €15

HeyPlease, la startup lanzada por Matthieu Heusch, antiguo alumno de IE, ha sido elegida App oficial de restauración del 4YFN-Mobile World Congress. Matt pasó como emprendedor por el programa de aceleración de startups IE Venture Lab y luego, tras su graduación, participó en la Incubadora de IE en Área 31.

• La app, invertida por el Banco Sabadell, está disponible en Android y web mobile.
• HeyPlease está colaborando con Mahou San Miguel, líder del sector cervecero en España, en un piloto para implementar su solución móvil en 100 locales donde la compañía tiene presencia en Madrid
• La aplicación ofrece soluciones tanto a usuarios, como a marcas y locales de restauración

HeyPlease, será la aplicación oficial de restauración en el marco del Mobile World Congress de Barcelona que se celebrará del 2 al 5 de marzo en la capital condal. La solución de pago móvil, elegida por 4FNY, permite a los usuarios pedir, pagar y canjear promociones a través de su móvil de forma rápida y sin esperas en bares, restaurantes y discotecas de forma gratuita para los usuarios. 4YFN es un evento internacional de startups y emprendedores mobile organizado por Mobile World Capital Barcelona y GSMA.

Asimismo, HeyPlease, permite conocer los hábitos de consumo de sus clientes a los locales de hostelería y marcas de bebidas con el objetivo de desarrollar promociones ad hoc y aumentar la segmentación y fidelización de los mismos. Matthieu Heusch, CEO y fundador de HeyPlease, asegura que “pretendemos mejorar la experiencia de los usuarios en restauración a través de nuestra tecnología móvil, que permite pedir y pagar más rápido, sin esperas, además de acceder a promociones exclusivas tanto del propio establecimiento como de marcas de bebidas”.

HeyPlease ofrece a las marcas y establecimientos datos de consumo de sus clientes, aumentando exponencialmente las posibilidades de fidelización y la realización de promociones personalizadas para cada tipo de consumidor. La solución móvil de HeyPlease no contempla una inversión o desembolso inicial por parte del local ya que su tecnología se integra en el propio software de gestión del local.

Jorge Bodas, director tecnológico de la firma, explica que “se puede pedir o pagar también sin la necesidad de descargarse la app, accediendo a su web vía móvil o conectándose a la wi-fi del establecimiento, ya que todos los puntos de venta donde opera HeyPlease ofrecen al cliente conexión de wi-fi gratuita”. Actualmente, HeyPlease está colaborando con Mahou San Miguel, líder del sector cervecero en España, en un piloto para implementar su solución en 100 locales donde la compañía tiene presencia en Madrid.

Con más del90% de capital español, la aplicación ha sido reconocida con diferentes galardones y ha sido ganadora del BStartUp10 entre más de 400 startups en 2014 así como del Seedrocket Bertelsmann en 2013. Además fue elegida mejor app internacional de restauración en los Mobile Premier Awards 2014. Entre sus inversores se encuentran el Banco Sabadell, el fondo de capital riesgo Civeta, así como varios ‘business angels’.