Why are there so many poor companies in Mexico and Latin America, even if the family is rich? Why do they focus so much on efficiencies to reduce costs, including salaries, instead of focusing on generating wealth and sharing it?
Maybe part of the answer lies in a speech from a really charismatic guy. Maybe it’s in making Mexicanadas.
Julio Palau Ranz He was born in Mexico in the 60s and when he was just eight he won a Diario de México Award for a journalistic article. This engineer looks like he’s still that kid. Now in Oaxaca he makes solar electric cars called Mini Cabs, very similar to golf carts.
He is an entrepreneur, but he focuses on training those who want to create technology companies.
He gives lectures and yesterday during one of these he told the audience: “Put out your products even if they are not finished!”. Pay attention to that phrase.
It refers to the pile of ideas of those who intend to establish a business, but wait until the project is completed.
“If you are not ashamed of your product when you put it on the market, it means that you launched it late.”. Don’t waste time being a perfectionist.”
He says that years ago he tried to launch a tool to manage the business, accounting, payroll… After reviewing it so much, Aspel arrived in Mexico and ate up the market.
That is why Palau, who boasts an MBA from the University of Cambridge and a doctorate in Entrepreneur Training from the University of Salamanca, warns: “Focus on a solution and move it forward.”
Well, but what does that have to do with rich families and poor companies? The company leader’s energy is often focused only on managing the business because generating new products seems too expensive.
You want to have everything under control before going to market and that is not possible. Look at Apple. How many times do you update your iPhone each year? How many iPhones are released each decade?
But we are not in Silicon Valley, columnist, our reality is different.
Right, but that doesn’t stop anyone from innovating. Yesterday that became clearer to me when I met dozens of businessmen who are part of a group that before this week was completely unknown to me. It is the Canisoftthe “Association of Entrepreneurs of the Industry Software”, chaired by Julian Gaxioladirector of GM Transport, an application that documents trips, invoices, locates vehicles via satellite and solves a lot of “truck man” problems. Palau spoke before his members.
Among them was Jonatan Vazquez Piñaa brilliant engineer who now heads Apphivea platform for those who do not know code, but intend to create applications for Android, IOS and the Web.
just do it
This is how he explained the term to me Cristian Granadosprofessor at EGADE, co-author of a new book called “Do More with Lessyes.” A Mexicanada is a solution that considers the elements you have at hand to respond to a problem or challenge. Each country has its own word to refer to this improvisation motivated by creativity.
In the text, whose authorship he shares with Philip Symmes, Jaideep Prabhu and Navi Radjou, exposes the need not to stop looking for more resources, in the intention of generating products and prosperity for a company or individual. It proposes frugality, sobriety and moderation, to create solutions.
In Mexico, Unilever had a project ready to offer in weeks “refill” from Sedal shampoo at Walmart and Bodega Aurrerá, thus capturing the public that goes to informal commerce.
Another example is ITESM’s Tec Milenio, which used existing facilities for a new educational product. “Affordability, good quality and sustainability are the foundations of frugality,” Granados maintains in his book.
I’ve seen it several times. Great entrepreneurs – Elon Musk and Steve Jobs included – first did it and then saw how they did it. Good luck with your Mexicanada.
