The Car Enthusiast Who Wanted It All:
The Husband, The Baby and to Start Her Own Car-Buying Business
👋 Glad to have you joining us this Tuesday. Hope you enjoyed Part One of our Generation Si! profile of Alex Esteve. If you did, be sure to subscribe to never miss an issue and share your favorites (share button is at the top).
If it's your first time here, check out the welcome post.
In Part One, you learned about Esteve's motivation for starting a car-buying business.
Now, in Part Two, we share the struggles and challenges she had to overcome as an entrepreneur. In today's Tip Jar section, Esteve will hand out tips on co-working spaces and the "talk" you have to have with your partner at home. She also has some thoughts for those of you looking to escape a job you hate.
THE "GLAMOROUS" LIFE
There’s a certain glamour that goes along with saying you’re an entrepreneur.
What’s involved, though, can be anything but glamorous.
Ask Alexandra “Alex” Esteve. She’s the founder and CEO of CarBuckets, a company centered around leveraging group-buying to help get the customer the lowest price on a car.
Esteve actually started out working in another field that appears glamorous on the surface, but that’s not-so-glamorous in the trenches – fashion.
At a fitting for Esteban Cortazar's runway show (Alex previously worked in the fashion industry)
Esteve understands the allure of entrepreneurship.
ALL-TIME FAVORITE CAR: BMW Isetta
Esteve's reaction when she saw the BMW Isetta in real life in Munich: "It was like this 'aha' moment where it was like, one day, I will have you."
WHAT SCHOOL DOESN’T TEACH YOU ABOUT STARTING YOUR OWN BUSINESS: “I think school doesn’t teach you how to build a team… an idea is an abstract thing. But a company is really its people. And if you don’t have great people and a great team, you’re not going to have a great product.”
“I think business school is so focused on teaching you the pro forma and the pitch and the PowerPoint presentation and the business plan… and how to do your market research, but they’re not teaching you the people skills.”
BEST ADVICE TO AN ENTREPRENEUR WHO HAS TO RAISE CAPITAL: “Approach it humbly. Get ready to get rejected. It’s not easy to raise capital. It’s not a pitch competition where you get praise after[wards].”
“It’s not... the glamorous life of VC (venture capital) spending. Sometimes, you may find people in your industry that understand your problems better than any VC would and believe in you and what you’re capable of doing - and they’ll invest.”
“Just don’t give up. Be ready to tweak your pitch deck for every different investor you speak to. Make sure that you’re talking to them in the voice and the tone that’s going to resonate best with them.”
Meeting time - Alex with her brother, who shares her love of cars
WHAT VACATION?
“When you hear someone’s an entrepreneur, the first thing that comes to mind is, ‘Oh wow, they have control over their time.' You know, they can kind of do whatever they want all day long. Take vacations. They’re the boss. Nobody is telling them what to do.”
The reality? Esteve’s last vacation was three years ago when she was on her honeymoon. And as you read in Part One, she was working the phones while on her honeymoon.
WHAT'S IN A NAME
I had to ask her about being a woman in a male-dominated industry.
“Early on in my career, it always felt like a boys’ club.”
She gives an interesting example involving her name, Alexandra.
“I go by Alex. So I sign my signature, ‘Alex’… You sign your email as Alex, and people talk to you a certain way. Then, you meet them in person and they realize ‘Alex’ is short for ‘Alexandra’. I’ve had so many people tell me, ‘Oh, you’re a girl. I didn’t realize you’re a girl. I thought you were a boy…. And that’s always struck me. You know, why does that matter? What difference does that make? Are you going to treat me differently now because I’m a girl?”
BATTLING BIAS
She says it’s always been an uphill battle working in the automotive industry as a businesswoman. But she also recognized there was a big opportunity there. And it involved something we don’t really hear too much about - biases when buying products and services. In this case, it was cars.
“Because I’m a woman, I can relate to how women feel buying a car - and that it is an intimidating process. I’m not saying, it’s not intimidating for men, as well.”
But she says male associates don’t quite “get the way you want to buy a car.” She knew she could use that to her advantage when launching her car-buying platform and took into account other biases.
She said the way she structured her company, because you’re buying online as part of a group, the process is bias free, “… regardless of your gender, your age, your race…”.
FUNDRAISING: THE FLORIDA WAY
What she also brings to light is how differently business is done in New York and California compared to Florida when it comes to raising capital.
In New York and California, she says she was talking to more venture capitalists and institutional investors. In Florida, she was speaking with automotive dealers and people in the automotive industry.
Esteve says the tone of the conversations was more casual in Florida.
In New York and California, “It was more about the pitch deck and the pitch technique to look perfect. And we need to hit it in this order…”
Ready for a fundraising pitch in New York City
In the Sunshine State, “That world is kind of irrelevant… That world of IPO (initial public offering) didn’t happen in Florida.”
Instead, she says the automotive guys in Florida would ask questions like these:
“Where do you see the traction?”
“How much revenue do you think you can make?”
She says, in Florida, the people she was dealing with were not thinking about a possible deal from an exit strategy. They were approaching CarBuckets with questions from a day-to-day operations point of view.
A LONG TIME COMING
After countless conversations with potential investors, a lot of money invested in overhauling the tech aspect of her platform in 2019 and a newborn son that figures into the mix, Alex Esteve has re-launched CarBuckets.
The idea that started in 2012 has evolved. Esteve says it’s helped her grow as a leader. And now she’s at a place that seemed a long time coming.
“It seemed like a massive endeavor at the time in 2019. But we really believed in what we were doing… So here we are in 2021. Two years later… But we built it, and we figured it out. It’s been a lot of hard work, heavy investment. But we feel that we built sort of this technology in a platform that is finally going to make it fun and easy to buy a car.”
And that’s a big deal for the woman who hopes others will love every aspect of cars as much as she always has.
Alex Esteve - CEO and Founder of CarBuckets
THE TIP JAR (tips passed out courtesy of Alex Esteve)
Note: In Part Two of our profile of Alex Esteve, we bring you her extra tips:
STARTING OUT: “Get out there and talk. You know, talk to people.”
One trend to accomplish that is to join a co-working space. But, she explains why it may not be a fit for some people.
"I think you have so many people joining a co-working space because it’s a cool environment to work in. I have to say, I fell for that… I’m pretty shy by nature. So I would go in. I would sit down. I wouldn’t talk to anyone. I would leave.”
Here’s how she suggests you go about it:
“Working in co-working spaces are great, as long as you talk to people. Make it a point to get to know the people around you and what their skill set is. And if you really want to make it, start finding those team members [for your business]. And I would have to say, that’s the hardest thing. That really is the hardest thing [finding your team members].
STEEPED IN SKILLS (mid career): Esteve addresses the challenge for those who are mid-career with her best advice for those who are working parents:
“My husband and I are both mid-career… But it’s understanding the stress that we’re both under and just the sheer workload. You have to be on the same page, and you have to make sure that you support each other and that you help each other. In our case, it’s raising a 3-month-old. And alternating who feeds the baby at 5:30 in the morning. You know, who changes the diapers? When? Coordinating your schedule[s]…. ‘I have a call at this time, so you need to be on baby watch.’ And you can make it work. But if you’re married, it’s a lot easier - if you’re both on the same page to support each other.”
Coordinating work schedules with the baby's schedule
STARTING OVER: “Entrepreneurship is not going to solve your problems. It’s going to add a lot more problems to your plate. So make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons. And you’re doing it because of your love and sort of obsession over this product and how it’s going to solve people’s problems or enhance their lives. Don’t do it just because you hate your job and you want to be your own boss. Because being your own boss is a lot harder. And it’s a lot more work than a regular 9 to 5 job.”
NO NEED TO GO IT ALONE
HELP ON THE OUTSIDE...because we can all use a helping hand:
WOMEN HELPING WOMEN
If you’re a woman entrepreneur, there are some helpful tips to keep in mind. And they’re coming from your sideline cheerleaders, fellow women entrepreneurs. This SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) blog post from Brett Farmiloe outlines 13 helpful hints with a brief description to give you that extra boost of confidence and know-how when starting your business. And, men, even though the tips are geared towards issues that women face, there’s some advice here that would be just as helpful to you as you get ready to launch your business. Take a look:
https://www.score.org/blog/13-tips-start-small-business-women-entrepreneurs
WORKING ON THE INSIDE...because we know our culture has a hard time asking for help:
GOAL-SETTING: DON’T WAIT FOR THE NEW YEAR
It’s that time of year when we’re thinking about accomplishments, goals we didn’t quite achieve and plans we’re determined to set into motion in 2022. How do you do an honest assessment and plan ahead for the future? This FREE virtual webinar from the National Entrepreneurship Center is designed to help you empower yourself and to make sure you cultivate an environment and relationships that support your goals – today! And let’s be honest. Most of us encounter resistance to those goals soon after that milestone date, January 1st. The discussion will also address how to face those challenges. Here’s more info about the event:
NATIONAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP CENTER (in partnership with SCORE – Service Corps of Retired Executives)
Thursday, December 16, 2021
8 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. EST
FREE
https://nationalec.org/event/cultivating-alignment-and-flow/
INSPIRATION FOR THIS ISSUE:
I don’t know who came up with the phrase “overnight success”, but they didn’t do anybody any favors. Success, whether it’s in athletics, entertainment or business just doesn’t materialize overnight. Not even close.
With so many people becoming entrepreneurs these days, burying the true extent of the hard work necessary, the failures, the rejection and the heartaches that go along with it, seems disingenuous.
Even when people are aware of what goes along with entrepreneurship, it’s still a struggle.
Alex and I discussed how understanding her husband, Simen Ruge, has been about her unrelenting commitment to seeing her idea to fruition.
She talked about how sensitive and, frankly, tolerant, her husband was, even on their honeymoon, with her work-related calls.
I told Alex about a female filmmaker whom I interviewed at the Tribeca Film Festival several years ago. The filmmaker had graduated from an Ivy League university. She'd also chalked up a lot of accomplishments.
Still, that woman said she had to reluctantly admit her parents were right when they told her, the most important decision a person will make is the partner they choose to marry. The filmmaker said she could not have pursued her film career without her husband’s emotional support as a partner and father. She was clear in her belief that she just couldn’t have made it work.
With the pandemic wreaking havoc on the labor force participation rate for women and the danger of women permanently dropping out of the workforce, it’s come to light how employers will have to be more flexible to retain the talents of women at work.
But having a partner at home who is supportive is also super important. It’s even more critical for female founders who have to take on even more work. We need their contributions, not just for the economy and innovation, but as role models to children.
That’s why I wanted to highlight women, like Esteve, who are addressing the need for frank, candid and clear communication with their partners about the support they’ll need with child-rearing and schedules.
Again, no one achieves their dreams without help. Being honest about what kind of help and understanding is needed from a partner, if you choose to marry, has to be in the equation, especially for an entrepreneur.
All in the family: Axel (baby), Alex, Simen (husband) and Biggie (there's no way we'd forget the dog)
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