How Can We Determine If It Is A Good Or Bad Moment For Entrepreneurship?
Lee la versión en español aquí.
Usually, markets get stagnant during unstable times, and entrepreneurs become paralyzed. At Wolox, we believe every startup can take advantage of this situation.
There is always an untapped or undiscovered market where you can start your project. The challenge lies in finding a niche, product, channel or distribution market that is still untapped and then to determine the best way to innovate in it. That is called entrepreneurship.
Last year, Argentina suffered a strong economic downturn. However, Wolox decided to walk this path, even when it seemed to be hostile. The results exceeded our expectations. Our third year, 2014, ended with over 50 employees and an annual revenue of seven million Argentine pesos.
Despite this, we remain a competitive country with regards to currency exchange. Plus, we have extraordinary human resources that are hard to find in other parts of the world.
This is certainly a year of opportunities. We must remain alert and be the first to take advantage of them. While the majority does not take chances, it is young startups like Wolox that must explore resources and face new challenges in unexplored markets.
When markets are shrinking, you have to take advantage of the situation to increase your presence. As the economy stabilizes and markets grow, a stronger growth is only achieved by maintaining your presence. This advantage is very hard for competitors to overcome once the market is restored.
We know that the Argentine economy, as well as the global one, are on standby, making the venture capital availability low. In such market conditions, startups are not supported and their growth decreases. In this case, it is best to work on organic growth.
I believe that, if we think about 2015 as a year of opportunities and not only as a year of changes, we will see the bigger picture. At this time of elections, the country will still be competitive and we will keep innovating within the domestic and the foreign market, whether the current political policies remain or change.
This is why we believe that, during periods of changeable market conditions, new entrepreneurs must have a solid foundation before exploring new business. An example of an groundbreaking company is Wolox: a small, new, Argentine company, with incredible human talent, being noticed for its growth against all the odds.
Posted by Santiago Bermúdez Baglietto (santiago.baglietto@wolox.com.ar)
