Embracing the Imperfections of Your So-Called "Perfect" Plan
Hi, everyone! 👋🏿👋👋🏽 Today’s Generation Si! focuses on how Alex Irigoyen Azcona recognized a problem in the market and came up with a solution with his co-founders, Ignacio Gassó and Francisco “Fran” Espino.
In this issue, you’ll learn the following:
🌴 The importance of identifying and, possibly, adjusting to serve the right target market
🌴The need to prioritize tasks
🌴The kind of problems you should get used to as a new small business owner
🌴 I now present to you, Alex Irigoyen Azcona, CEO and co-founder of Cofi"…
“When you start, you think your business plan is the best ever.”
Alex Irigoyen Azcona says that when you first launch your company, you think you’ve figured it all out. You think, in two years, your startup is sure to go public as an IPO (initial public offering).
Then, reality hits.
A plan on paper can look quite different than the same plan executed in real life.
The CEO and co-founder of Cofi started the software company for financial planning and analysis with two guys he worked with at a debt fund in Barcelona, Spain.
All three noticed a problem they kept seeing time and again. It involved the clients’ documents they were working with while employed at the company where they met: the financial reporting and planning info was all done in Excel or spreadsheets.
Irigoyen says it was a mess because it was unclear which version of the spreadsheets they were working with and which were the updates. It was unwieldy.
Irigoyen says there are a lot of software solutions and automation tools available in accounting.
But that’s not the case in finance.
So he and his partners decided to come up with one: Cofi.
THE TIP JAR (Tips provided courtesy of Alex Irigoyen Azcona)
STARTING OUT: “Connect with people who have already done what [you] want to do… and learn from them.”
PRACTICAL EXAMPLE: Irigoyen uses his type of company as an example (SaaS: Software as a Solution).
Take a look at your circle of contacts and ask, who has created a successful SaaS company?
“Those are [the] people [you] want to learn from, and get advice from, as much as possible. Because they’ve been through the process that you want to go through…”
He says the “return on that investment is very good, if you can avoid [their] mistakes” by learning from them.
STEEPED IN SKILLS (mid-career): “We can leverage all the experiences that we have, but that doesn’t have to define what we are going to do next in our lives.”
PRACTICAL EXAMPLE: If you were an engineer, Irigoyen says that shouldn’t block you from becoming a great professional, let’s say, in marketing.
“Or your background as [an] athlete doesn’t mean you cannot be a successful businessperson or actor or actress.”
STARTING OVER: “I think those more senior generations… can partner with younger ones. And the output… can be great.”
PRACTICAL EXAMPLE: He uses the example of a lawyer who’s been working 20 or 30 years in the legal field and wants to own a business in a different industry.
“They probably have some money saved, and they can help other startups or other entrepreneurs [with] that legal side, right? So I think there is so much value when you work together with different generations.”
I’LL NEVER DO THAT AGAIN: Irigoyen says, in the past, he didn’t prioritize some tasks and projects correctly.
The lesson he learned and wants to pass along to you is to “order your different tasks in terms of how critical they are.”
Irigoyen says to “order the tasks from “more critical to less.” And then he recommends you “focus on 1, 2 and 3, the more critical tasks.”
BEST ADVICE FROM “LA CASA”/BEST “HOUSE” ADVICE: Irigoyen’s offering up this gem from his father: “Be self-aware [of] how you’re behaving in any situation.”
In other words, “Keep calm and be in control of the situation. Don’t [be] creating a worse situation with your behavior.”
START - AND THEN REFINE YOUR FOCUS
“We started with a solution for cash flow for… small and mid-size companies.”
The trouble is, Irigoyen and his partners couldn’t really find the right market fit for their product.
So the three co-founders moved to a broader solution.
They focus on mid-sized companies. It still includes cash flow.
“But it’s in the category of financial planning and analysis.”
And that’s a big lesson Irigoyen offers about what you may think entrepreneurship is about vs. what it really involves when you’re in the thick of things.
YOU’LL NOT JUST FACE PROBLEMS - BUT “NEW” PROBLEMS CONSTANTLY
“I think what they really don’t see is, like, the hard times. Especially, like, all the problems that you have to carry with you. And… thinking too much about those problems.”
He says, in many cases, there’s no frame of reference because “it’s not like I’ve seen this problem in the past that I know how to solve it. No, it’s a new problem. So it’s like a constant challenge of problem-solving. So you have to be comfortable with that.”
Irigoyen says it could be anything related to customers, investors or employees. Or the product not working how it’s supposed to or investments not going as you want.
DON’T BE AFRAID TO PURSUE DIFFERENT TYPES OF FUNDING
Speaking of investments, Irigoyen and his partners bootstrapped everything, meaning they came up with the initial startup money without seeking outside help until they had a clearer idea of where the market for the product was.
Then, they tapped equity rounds “with different CFOs, angel investors [and] some convertible notes.” He says they also received some funding from the Spanish government, as well as from the Basque government in Spain.
They started the global company in their native Spain, but Cofi has been based out of Austin, Texas since May.
POSITIVITY HELPS YOU START, RESILIENCE HELPS YOU STAY THE COURSE
And talk about perspective.
Remember how Irigoyen said he went in, like many entrepreneurs, thinking he and his partners had come up with a super clear vision of how their idea and business plan spelled out everything?
He’s grateful his outlook was so bright.
“Being that optimistic… is also what it takes to be an entrepreneur.” He says, otherwise, if you know exactly how many twists and turns you’ll have to take, you may think twice about going through with your business venture.
“The journey is going to be much harder.”
But “you get the resilience while you build”. And he and his partners continue to build, refine and improve on that “perfect” plan.
INDUSTRY: Financial planning and management software (SaaS)
STARTED BUSINESS: 2020
HISPANIC CONNECTION:
Born in Spain
Both parents were also born in Spain
EDUCATION:
La Salle BCN (Barcelona, Spain) – Master’s degree in Data Science
Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona, Spain) – Bachelor’s degree in Economics
DREAM JOB AS A KID: Irigoyen says that, when he was young, he wanted to be a soccer player. But once he realized that wasn’t going to happen, he decided he wanted to start his own firm.
BIGGEST GOAL YET: “Creating Cofi as a big company that can deliver a lot of value” to customers.
NO NEED TO GO IT ALONE
HELP ON THE OUTSIDE...because we can all use a helping hand:
Market Research Simplified
So you know you have to conduct market research to start a business. But do you know what that really means? Here’s a great read from SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) that simplifies primary and secondary market research and what you’re trying to answer. More importantly, it will guide you in finding your target customer. Have a look:
https://www.score.org/resource/how-do-market-research
WORKING ON THE INSIDE...because we know our culture has a hard time asking for help:
Get Ready for 2023
We’re approaching that time of year when we’re reflecting on the highs and lows of the year and thinking about our goals for next year. This FREE SBA (Small Business Administration) event gives you a chance to craft your vision with focus.
SBA (Small Business Administration)
“Simple Exercises to Reflect on 2022 and Prepare for 2023”
Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022
6:00p.m. PST/9p.m. EST – 7:00 p.m. PST/10:00 p.m. EST
Online Webinar
FREE
https://www.sba.gov/event/6743
INSPIRATION FOR THIS ISSUE:
For many entrepreneurs, your company is like your baby.
You breathe life into it and nourish it with all you’ve got.
You think it’s perfect.
But, as we know, nothing is perfect.
A lot of times, depending on what we’re talking about, imperfections are actually what make something, or someone, memorable.
In the business sense, it can be hard to admit when you realize your perfect creation has some material imperfections.
What I appreciate about Alex Irigoyen Azcona’s interview is how he reminded us that a “perfect” plan quickly reveals its “imperfections”, once put to the test. But that doesn’t mean you give up.
The general manager at one of the TV stations I worked at once said, while discussing with the newsroom what needed to be fixed with the news product, “Nobody wants to be told they have an ugly baby.”
Ask yourself, how willing are you to admit when you’re wrong or when your grand idea has flaws?
How willing are you to adapt, fix or just scrap it?
How, and how long, you persist, despite the stumbles and speed bumps, determines whether the cracks will turn into craters or become a smoothed-over version of your plan that, ultimately, improves your product or service.
Alex and his partners didn’t just give up when they realized their product didn’t have the right market fit. They adapted and actually expanded the offering to include a broader and better fit.
Change is never easy. But the sooner you get used to it and embrace what it can bring, not deny it, the sooner you can figure out if what you’re working on is a go or a no-go. And that’s really what you want - to get to the best version of your product or service. #theskyisNOTthelimit 😺