Part One – Like Borras
Thinking about these two eras, generationally, there is a mix of everything:
- Those who were born in the 90’s, with an average age of 30 years, have seen the evolution of technology on the desktop because when they were children, the internet was being born, even with all the slowness of navigation, the famous input noise for connection that I still bring in my head, the world was open to everyone at home, an internet cafe or your workplace.
- Those born in 2000, in the palm of your hand, communication, messages, internet evolving in giant steps, technology that invades us up to the 5G networks that their antennas disguise as if they were palm trees (if we realize, they do not deceive us).
- Those of us who were born between the 70’s and 80’s, in my opinion, are an evolutionary and observational generation; since we feed our knowledge in museums, newspapers, books, libraries, narratives and stories directly from people.
I speak of these three generations as a reference to my path as an entrepreneur. I was born in 1971, and very early on, projects shone in my mind, although at that time I did not have the slightest idea of the meaning of “project”, empirically I was already creating, drawing, managing things or my time, thinking about how to do, how to build an idea and make it work.
Around 1994 I was starting my professional life in parallel, certain limitations made me have up to two jobs at that time along with the need or desire to have my own business, from selling socks that I bought at the Glorieta de Insurgentes, jug water, clothes, etc.
I was a teller working for Banco Bital, I wanted to be an account executive and I asked multiple times for the opportunity for that position, but not having finished my career there was always a “NO” until someone to whom I asked for the position, told me: “after your cashier schedule” go to the Account Executives area and there train yourself.
As there was no record of my training and I did not have the opportunity to attend a course, everything was visual and circumstances led me to write a step-by-step manual of the HOGAN – CIS system.
At the same time, with some budget, I set out on what was at that time an extraordinary adventure, to develop or write my first “serious project”, which was to think and create a marketing company for Mexican products abroad, and that is where I experienced the great effort that an entrepreneur makes. The illusion of turning it into reality and the many disappointments that one encounters, which is why I am writing this article under the name “Entrepreneurs between the 90’s and the Fintech age” because there is a giant gap of lack of opportunity, support, guidance, technology, for those of us who were on that road starting out and on the other side, large companies, consolidated exporters, companies sponsored by the government with direct opportunities first hand, open financing with all the possibilities of getting into debt again and again without any problem; great and gigantic gap.
Common sense told me that in order to export, I had to go to a customs office or government department to get information. Since there was no internet or I was just starting out, I made countless trips across the city to Bancomext on Periferico Sur, and when I got there, I already felt like a winner.
When I asked for information I was told that I had to enroll in an exporter’s course and that it would help me; I enrolled and when I got there we were many participants in a room and the first great motivation they told us in a nice way was: “Do not think that by being here we are going to finance you, that will not happen” What you have to do is buy the “Exporter’s Manual”, a book of 300 or 400 pages that talked about all the concepts to export, but did not tell you how to do it. Asking, they “suggested” me to buy the monthly magazine of export opportunities; as everything was to pay an inscription so that the magazine arrived to my office (my bedroom at home) monthly, there I read and got excited with the great amount of opportunities I saw, but the information was limited because I had to pay an upgrade (a more recent version) to access the Simpex Base of export opportunities with released information, which I no longer had access to because of the budget I did not have. It made me a little sad, but I had to continue because I had already bought a fax, a desk, a half-assed computer that was no good for me because there was no software, and well, I had to pay for it anyway.
I found an invitation in the magazine that got me very excited: “Mexico-Portugal Business Exchange” at the Camino Real Hotel. I got ready with a new suit, new business cards, new briefcase. I was still a cashier, and I was scared to death, but the day of the event, it was a great lunch with the Ministers of Economy of the two countries, I in my mind, what am I doing here?
At the end of the meal we sat at several tables to introduce ourselves to the Portuguese businessmen invited. I clicked with two, one who wanted 25,000 tons of chickpeas and another who was looking for a special opal marble for casino roulette wheels. It was a good and exhausting experience because I invested time and money traveling all over Mexico City, plus a couple of states doing research for the two projects. In the end I sent my proposals with the result that none of them won, the chickpea proposal was in second place because I did not have a letter of credit that no place or bank could guide me and because I did not have an agreement with a railroad to place the chickpea in Tampico. What I won was a good experience.
In this first part I was approximately 26 years old, today I see that this was a big gap due to lack of training, lack of support for entrepreneurship, the media and technology at that time did not allow us to go beyond what I think I did.
PART TWO – WITH EXPERIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AT HAND
Being an entrepreneur I never gave up writing projects, I kept trying and trying, but unfortunately on my way I found abusers who offer you services, support that look like gold and shine so bright that I fell into the trap sometimes losing money. To this day fraudsters take advantage of people using social networks publishing their scams and hunting people with good intentions. In the end we are more good people than bad people and mice.
The expansion of accessible technology has allowed practically equalizing forces with opportunities that were not available before, starting with open information on the Internet, accelerated growth of companies through Apps.
A correct interpretation and application of the law to constitute Financial Technology companies has given us the great Fintech industry that just by downloading App’s on our cellular devices, puts us in contact with immediate services and solutions all over the planet. Speaking of Mexico, we are the country with the highest growth in Fintech App’s in Latin America and in 7th place worldwide. Up to August 2021, 4,600 million downloads of financial applications from financial training, administration, credit, virtual banks, cryptocurrency exchange wallet’s and cryptocurrency sites are reported.
It is remarkable and very applaudable in Mexico, the gigantic growth of App’s such as Clip, KAVAK, Oyster, Fondeadora, MIBO, NuBank, that correctly led with the strategies of young people who are commanding these companies, are setting an example and I would say the positive lesson for many that the world is in the hands of all.
It has taken less than 10 years to turn these Fintech companies into Unicorns and Pegasus, putting young people in a showcase where the big old-guard entrepreneurs, godfathers to whom favors and eternal commitments are owed, are not located, facing the cobbled together and almost impenetrable bureaucracy of banks, finance companies with their abusive credit commissions, government incentives, the now defunct PROMEXICO, white elephants like NAFINSA and CONACYT that are only TV stories and told by urban legends that support entrepreneurship.
Today, thanks to the technological expansion that makes short paths, we have access to training, information from a thousand to ten thousand Venture Capital funds, seed funds, angel investors, many experts and investors who are hunting for talent that, with a moderate capital, create millionaire and multimillionaire Startups, leaving the old guard in its rightful place.
The path of the entrepreneur is lonely, incredible and not for many, but when it is Fintech your idea can be for the world.
Today I can assure you that the gap is being erased.
