FEDE DURÁN
Wednesday, January 29, 2020 - 02:04
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The radar turns on soon. After two minutes of conversation it is clear that Pep Gómez (Castellón, 1992) is an advanced spirit for his millennial time. It is not only because its service sheet with just 27 years makes pale the curriculum of more than one veteran. It is for the whole: the loquacity, the speed, the wise humility with which the world of entrepreneurship breaks up leave in the air notes of an effective and at the same time dreamy intelligence. An adjective leads to the following: the effectiveness of Gomez is to make your dreams come true. The main one was to learn, soak up, surround yourself with bright people who marked the way. This early vocation prompted him to create 15-year-old Initiator, whose mission was to organize events on technology in his hometown. A little context: at that time (2007) there were still five years left before María Benjumea and the Instituto de Empresa founded the South Summit. Google's Singularity University was still a year after its debut. Recruiting gurus to fill an auditorium talking about things that did not yet exist was too exotic.
But Gomez was tenacious. Hundreds of mails flew from their outbox to recipients who sometimes answered and sometimes not. Among those who did it was Bernardo Hernández, the founder of Idealista, who would later work for Google and Yahoo (via Flickr, the photographic social network). He, who was already a star of the startup, had a coffee with the very young Pep, heard him speak and could not avoid a start when he saw that the imberbe had gathered 2,000 people in a city that was not among the most vertiginous from Spain. Both then held the following conversation (approximately):
Hernández: Well, kid, have you thought about what you want to be when you grow up?
Gómez: At the moment I have to finish high school.
H: And then?
G: Then I will continue learning from people smarter than me.
H: Well, I can think of a perfect place for that. It's called Silicon Valley. I wait for you there. When you turn 18.
Said and done. Pep took Bernardo the word and the promise came true. California, first representative of the great American dream, waited in all its color to rookie Gomez, whose career consisted of various jobs as a DJ and waiter. In San Francisco he started as a fellow "without having the slightest idea of anything", although with a plan under his arm: open his eyes very well. "During that year and a half I learned what are the keys to setting up a business, how important is the idea in the face of execution and how vital it is to have a company with scientific and university talent."
LEISURE GUIDE
That long journey brought a conviction: building something from scratch was not so crazy. This is how Fever (2012) arises, initially based in the United States and currently with offices in Madrid, London and New York. The platform was born with the objective of becoming a Leisure Guide 2.0. Over time, it has evolved, fueled by an algorithm that suggests plans with considerable finesse based on the interests of the user (music festivals; cinema, theater and monologues; sport; escapades; nightlife). "It is an unprofessional sector, very fierce, so the tendency has been to verticalize that part to ensure a good experience," explains who was CEO of Fever for four years. Shareholders such as A3 Media, Rakuten, Fidelity and Accel Partners participate today in the startup, but Gomez, which maintains its assets, has moved away from management. "Actually, I added value at the beginning. When you are an entrepreneur you usually hold on to your idea. I am the owner, you say, but if a company grows it has to professionalize. We fall into the trap of believing that we know everything, it is something that I observe in many industries. We must make an effort, take off the shell of the king of the mambo and ask a question: Am I the ideal CEO of the company that I have set up? "
A step back meant several things. After five years without vacations, Gomez could afford a break. In addition, his bank account was exultant. "I have never cared about money," he says, "but in this society to achieve many of your goals you must have it." There was a life-giving parenthesis of backpack: Iceland, Austria, England, again the United States ... Pep's profile, however, called too much attention, and that same summer (2016) he received an offer that would immerse him in a very role different from that of the entrepreneur. Mobile World Capital, the organizing entity of the MWC in Barcelona, proposed to collaborate with its venture capital fund. Gomez agreed, delving into what he calls "a much more passive life than that of the founder" and developing a powerful hawk eye that would ultimately allow him to invest in fairly original startups in general: Instamaki (distribution of Japanese food at reasonable prices) , recently acquired by Glovo in exchange for eight million; Goin (application to help millennials to save and invest); Sheltair (adaptation of workspaces in flats and premises smaller than typical coworking); Filmarkethub (marketplace that connects screenwriters with film producers), and RheoDX (blood test in two minutes).
MOUNT THE SKATE
In 2018 there would be another small inspiring pause. China was the destination chosen perhaps because of the same mix of factors that pushes other good machiners to the same place. There the exotic and the futuristic, the tradition and the super technology are glimpsed. Gomez then met a Catalan couple who had been manufacturing electric bicycles for Mobike for 12 years. The figure of a scooter floated in his head and threw himself into the load. "Would you be able to design a durable, sustainable and easy to repair scooter?" He snapped at the couple. The answer was affirmative and so Reby lit up. The nth actor of the crazy map of shared mobility, they will think, although Gomez defends himself well. "We believe that competition is making it regular: many companies are mounted that are not profitable or viable, but there has been a lot of liquidity. Our idea has to be based on responsibility and sustainability, this must be in Reby's DNA , which does not want to take advantage of false freelancers or build vehicles without durability, battery or maintenance. "
Aware that Reby operates in a congested market that also generates antipathy among many citizens, Pep Gómez arms his value proposition by exploiting these weaknesses. "The scooter is a mobility option, not a toy for the tourist. We do not want to operate in any city that does not correctly regulate the use of these vehicles nor do we want to be in a place with 10 operators. The design of the Reby scooter is designed for shared use (the competition thinks about personal use). It is modular, all aluminum and all recyclable. We force to park it correctly: users have to take a photo that proves it or we fine them. You have to educate people. " The startup is valued at more than 100 million dollars.
DIVIDE AND YOU WILL OVERCOME
The temptation is always there. It is important to know why the hawk eye works. "Over the years I have changed my mind. I used to think that the successful entrepreneur was the one who attracted the biggest investments [an obsession with which the media participates], but today I think it weighs much more to detect talent and motivate the management team to perform to the fullest. The creative founder has to focus on what he does well and give way to others in their respective areas of excellence. I generally don't like investing in solitary entrepreneurs. Four heads perform better than one, "says Gomez before delving deeper in what it means in his judgment to succeed as an entrepreneur. "The top was California, but Spain has made a lot of progress, as it shows that the big funds invest here. The location doesn't matter anymore, the talent matters. Besides, retaining the best is easier in this country than in the United States. Spain is really unbeatable for its quality of life, its universities and its engineers. Perhaps the closest thing worldwide is Israel. "
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