Success story: Erasmus for young entrepreneurs
New Entrepreneur (NE)
Name and Surname: Manuel González Gómez
Country: Spain
Age: 26
Status: Would-be entrepreneur or start-up entrepreneur
Sector: Legal, fiscal, and other consultancy services
Host Entrepreneur (HE)
Name and Surname: Rob Marcus
Country: Netherlands
Age: 52
Experience: 25 years
Sector: Distribution and Retail sector
Name of business/website: Arte Viva: www.arteviva.com
Introduction
NE: Manuel González Gómez is a young entrepreneur from Spain who studied economics and international trade. After working in several Spanish and international companies he realized one main problem. Small and medium-sized companies have difficulties selling abroad and therefore limit their growth. Manuel decided to work as a self-employed consultant for companies that want to sell abroad. He is thinking of creating a bigger company if he makes a success out of his business idea. Manuel participated in this program to learn from a HE who wants to keep expanding his business internationally. NE discovered EYE through a contact who was dealing with the program in Spain.
HE: Rob Marcus, a long-time entrepreneur, created Arte Viva, a niche company focused on providing the best child safety products worldwide. He started his company with nothing but an entrepreneurial spirit and just a few products (finger guards for the doors), and went on to grow it into the leading company in its niche in The Netherlands, but also in the international markets. Arte Viva provides child safety products across all the continents and in 65 countries. HE wanted to better understand how to enter this niche market in Spanish-speaking countries. Rob discovered the program as he is actively hiring international interns and employees to learn from their perspectives.
Activities undertaken
The HE not only helped the NE to learn about new markets but also provided feedback on defining the business plan of the NE to share experience on financial and creative aspects that are linked to the business plan, as well as he oversaw the initiatives and projects to secure quality. The HE also taught the NE his company approach to the world market he operates in. In this respect, the NE was given the opportunity to learn how the HE’s business works with software systems that enable an efficient and highly productive workforce with a small team; how to sell and follow up, how to improve the website by using a CMS and translation plugins, how to work with Google Ads / Google Analytics, new sales trends via social media, all the ins, and outs of a successful company. The NE improved his negotiation skills with customers and prospects, was part of the HE’s team, and learned how to manage the business in a region and how to develop his own business.
Benefits achieved
The NE’s main benefits were the ability to fulfill the HE’s expectations and learn much about a leading company. He was able to learn how to make sales and how to provide customer service from an international company that sells abroad as its main business. The NE also learned a new approach about how a leader in its niche company operates, how a well-established company works and how working with software systems enables the company to work efficiently with a small team. What the NE achieved went further than what he expected, as he could develop his skills in digital marketing and the web. The HE’s expectations and focus were getting to know how internationalized companies work to get ideas of how to initiate his adventure as an entrepreneur whose customers are small companies that want to sell abroad but they don’t have the know-how, the structure, or foreign languages ability to achieve it. The NE will continue to work for the HE as a consultant for Spain and South America.
Quotation regarding the experience
This experience was successful as I was able to learn many things related to international business. Rob is a fantastic entrepreneur who managed to create a small company from scratch. It turned into a leading company in its niche, with the potential to keep growing.
Quotation regarding the experience
The cooperation was a success. I’ve been very open in all aspects of doing business, which will benefit from the NE in his future job. The NE is a very pleasant person to work with. He is smart, intelligent and dedicated, and has deep knowledge of Spanish culture.
Working at Arte viva
Arte viva offers different job possibilities, let us know if you are interested. Work at Arte viva!