My Second Home Lisboa: Anna Arany
Co-Founder, Levoo
Levoo’s takeaway app is disrupting the Portuguese food service industry in a similar fashion to Deliveroo. “I want to change the way people think about ordering food nowadays; not to even think about a queue, money, or paper, but immediately of Levoo,” says its founder and new Second Home Lisboa member, Anna Arany. “I want us to be in the minds of every person making a transaction at a shopping mall and fast food restaurant.”
What is the best thing about working at Levoo?
It’s very challenging when you create a technology company. Every day is a new day. You can have a business one day and not have it the other day. It’s like a rollercoaster, but that’s the part I like the most – you have to surpass something you’re not counting on the day before. And when you do it, you feel stronger. Each day you’ll have a stronger business from the challenges you solved the day before. Plus, it’s a fast business, so you need to be fast in this industry.
What recent project are you the most proud of and why?
Well, I think I’m very proud of all my projects, because it takes so much from you. Really, from the moment you have an idea and you put it into existence, it’s a huge process. I guess the one I’m the most proud of is probably the one I came to Lisbon to do, which is the sushi business I’ve created. I was super young and had no idea about absolutely anything. It was literally my first job, and I was an entrepreneur from day one. I created a sushi chain, called Noori, which has now 10 stores in Portugal, and another one in Madrid. But I’m also super proud about Levoo, because it was very complicated right from the beginning.
What do you want your company to achieve within the next year?
I want Levoo to be in every single restaurant in this country. Literally! I want every restaurant that has a take-away option to have its clients using Levoo to order their food. I would like for every restaurant to have the option of ordering from Levoo, and that each client, when thinking of ordering, wouldn’t think of a queue, but of Levoo.
What advice would you give somebody thinking about starting their own company?
You have to be determined and persistent. In business it comes down to Darwin’s Law, that is, the survival of the fittest. It’s honestly the people that insist the most that survive. It’s super easy to give up. The amount of problems and difficulties you have at the beginning… I think there are two steps. The first step is before you open the business, which I consider to be the magic phase. When you haven’t opened or launched yet; when you’re still gathering ideas and thinking about suppliers, that is the resting phase. People say it’s difficult, but it’s not. The difficulty comes when you really launch. It’s then that you really know the challenges you’re going to face, and that’s the part when people, normally, give up. So, my advice is to persevere!
“The difficulty comes when you launch. That when you really know the challenges you’re going to face, and that’s the part when people, normally, give up. Persevere!”
How has being at Second Home Lisboa helped your work?
I come from the restaurant business, so I knew people from that area. But since I’ve entered the Second Home family, in each way, either as a member or helping them setup here, I literally met a different world, which has helped me with Levoo in many different ways. Either people that I knew, or businesses that inspired me… Just the colours of this place really inspire me. Coming here every day made me think differently about the way we work. Plus, all my employees are very motivated. I see them more motivated after they came to Second Home. They want to be in the business in part because they want to work at Second Home. It has changed my life!
What is your favourite design feature about Second Home Lisbon?
I was talking with a person today, he’s a member in London, and I think here we have a different type of space, which is more open. This openness about the space makes it more intimate and cosy, and gives people the sense that they are together. You don’t see people all the time because of the plants, but you know they are there. It’s easier to get to the people, to members, even if they’re more high profile members. The other day I came up to this guy which works for Web Summit, and I felt comfortable talking to him and asking him questions. Probably, if I was in a place with four floors, I wouldn’t go knock on his door and ask to speak to him. So, I think, the openness of the space makes these interactions possible.
What company at Second Home Lisboa fascinates you the most?
Hmmm … I don’t know all the companies that are here, but when I was helping Second Home setting up, I got in touch with Full Fabric. I think they do software for education, and I thought the work they were doing was really nice. And Remote Year. The idea of Remote Year is amazing!
We ask everyone to select a book that will inspire others and become part of Libreria’s permanent collection. Which book would you choose?
Lionel Shriver, The Post-Birthday World. It’s about choices. And how every choice you make leads you to a specific path. Nothing is worth regretting. If you made a choice at a certain time, it was the best choice you could have made then.
Outside of work, what place in Lisbon stimulates your imagination the most and why?
I think everywhere in Lisbon, because it is a beautiful place. And I think beauty stimulates imagination and creativity. Sometimes, when I want to get creative, I go close to the beach, or close to nature (and we have a lot of nature here), because I think nature is what inspires me the most, and it’s where I normally go when I want to try to see clearer.
Second Home is a creative workspace and cultural venue based in London and Lisboa. We bring together diverse industries, disciplines and social businesses. Find out more about joining us here: secondhome.io
