Octavio Soler: “The important thing is to make mistakes to be able to avoid them later”
25 de February de 2020
25 de February de 2020
Are mistakes a sign of failure or steps towards success? Find out in the Innovation Meeting led by Octavio Soler and Alexander Phimister.
EAE Corporate Culture Innovation Series:
Octavio Soler and mistakes in the business world
What is a mistake? Is it a sign that we have taken the wrong path? Or, just the contrary, is it an essential step along the long road to success? Octavio Soler, the entrepreneur and founder of Instant Credit, believes that mistakes are crucial for growth and, without them, we would not be able to evolve. On Thursday 20th February, he came to Utopicus Gala in Barcelona, to lead a new version of the Innovation Meetings with Alexander Phimister, in a session that focused on developing startups and, most importantly, overcoming our mistakes.
“We hold these events to reflect on mistakes. In the world of business, it is important to learn fast, and this learning is based on trial and error”.
Alexander Phimister
Events organizer at Utopicus and lecturer at the Universidad de Navarra
What was your first mistake?
Phimister began the interview with this question. After a few seconds’ thought, Soler answered: “Not being diplomatic”. The audience, which included MBA students, entrepreneurs and lecturers, were keen for him to explain further. “In the beginning, when I was working in large companies, I wasn’t used to conducting relations in a political way and I just said whatever I was thinking. That was a mistake and I learned a great deal for it”.
Do you remember any other?
“I lost a lot of money on shares. I invested and invested without worrying about losing and, sometimes, I lost a lot of money”. After explaining that his first two mistakes had been a lack of diplomacy and losing a lot of money, Phimister wanted to explore further:
What did you do in response? How did you overcome these mistakes?
“The important thing is to make mistakes so you can then try again and avoid them”
Soler gave us an overview of his first experiences in the business world, including his time at the consultancy PwC and the company Enrol Capital & Trade. “I underestimated lots of things, such as how much things cost in terms of time, money, etc. I made lots of mistakes but, at the same time, this made me more critical. The important thing is to make mistakes so that you can then try again and avoid them.”.
At that point, the entrepreneur with one MBA from HEC Paris and another from London Business School, emphasized 3 factors that he considers critical for reducing business risks:
1. A management team
2. Funding = Money
3. A business plan
“It is easier to separate from your spouse than from a partner”
However, Soler admitted that he made several mistakes when it came to implementing these key factors. In the case of the management team, he emphasized that we should never hire family members just because they are family members, nor friends just because they are friend. “You have to hire the right people, particularly in the world of startups, where the teams are so small and everybody’s contribution is so critical”.
With respect to funding, he explained that “we have to take great care when choosing investors because, in some cases, it is like selling your soul to the devil. It is easier to separate from your spouse than from a partner”. He also advised the audience to review the partnership agreements very carefully and to get to know the employees and partners as well as you can before they join the company.
After an interesting hour of conversation, Alexander Phimister gave the audience the opportunity to ask questions.
What is Fintech? asked an MBA student.
Having already declared himself an enthusiast of this industry, Soler gave the following answer: “It is the application of technology to financial services. Everything related to, for example, lending, online payments, and consumption technologies, etc.”.
In terms of the Latin and Anglo-Saxon cultures, what differences have you found at a business level? Asked one of the attendees.
“The Anglo-Saxons are more systematic and organized. We are more unstructured here. Moreover, their market is bigger, more mature and there is more money invested”.
Lastly, Phimister asked Soler to bring the event to a close with a conclusion, to which he responded:
“The most important thing is your mindset. You need to have an optimistic mindset and not a defeatist one”.