Miguel Vicente (LetsBonus): "Now is a good time to launch new initiatives, but entrepreneurs need support and the venture-capital system needs additional fuel"
Miguel Vicente, founder and Chairman of LetsBonus, was the guest speaker at a recent session of Matins ESADE sponsored by Ernst & Young with the collaboration of La Vanguardia. In his talk, Mr. Vicente declared: "Now is the time that things should start getting better. But for this to happen, we have to do our homework in wealth-generating sectors and push for a cultural shift that fosters entrepreneurship in this country. That will be the beginning of the end of the crisis."
Mr. Vicente described the strategies that his company has used to become a leading online group-buying platform in Spain. In just three years, LetsBonus has spent more than €40 million to attract new subscribers. As a result, the company now has 7.5 million clients in Spain alone.
In his talk, Mr. Vicente discussed LetsBonus's decision to open a new travel division and to diversify into high-end cosmetic products; each of these new initiatives now accounts for a third of the company's total annual turnover. "Now is a good time to launch new initiatives in new markets," he added, "but the Spanish venture-capital system needs additional fuel, as it remains very inferior to those of other countries."
According to Mr. Vicente, the future will be shaped by three major trends in the online shopping sector: 1) a major shift towards mobile devices as consumers grow increasingly impulsive, 2) segmentation as an essential tool for reaching customers in a more personalised manner, and 3) a shift from short-term to long-term offers through the implementation of a directory model.
Mr. Vicente urged every member of society to start their own business and likened entrepreneurship to "owning one's own destiny". He also predicted that "SMEs, rather than large multinationals, will be the companies that pull us out of this crisis".
According to Mr. Vicente, talent management is essential to the success of a start-up. The main challenges that companies face, in his opinion, are to attract the best candidates, to think globally about the creation of teams with different visions, and to align the company's objectives with those of its directors. The main driver of LetsBonus, specifically, is the recruitment of talent with an innovative, creative profile.
The company currently has 400 employees and a presence in more than 100 Spanish cities.
