We've got to admit it: when Chrístian speaks, he doesn't leave anybody indifferent. The guy can talk.
I've seen numerous times Chrístian speaking in public, doing conferences or appearing in the press, and every time my respect for him has grown fonder. He's got this innate ability to be a crowd-puller by appealing the audience with his witty remarks, his strong opinions (ask him about investors!), his harsh views on the entrepreneurial scene and by sharing all his secrets. Bar none, he's the best in that.
That's why we invited him to be part of our Startup Grind BCN FestUP! edition.
An ever-changing event
We always like doing things different. There are no two events alike.
Last Thursday's event took place in the brand new MediaTIC Growth Centre, home of the Fall edition of the FestUP!, the largest Barcelona startup festival. And despite having some logistic disorder caused by such a big event, the event went on to be a major success.
Our chapter co-director Alex G. led a massive performance rocking the stage for the Open Mic hour. A total of twelve entrepreneurs came on stage to ask for help. Each one received two minutes to convey their message. Some of them didn't have time enough and will have to polish their pitch, while some others had even time to perform some beatbox! Impressive!
Learn from the best
Chrístian stole the audience from the get-go.
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Fireside chat with Chrístian Rodríguez[/caption]
He kicked off his performance with his entrepreneurial background before starting ByHours.com. A well-hidden past, organizing parties and an incident emptying the batteries of an entire city's bus lines with a gadget he invented, was a good introduction to the few people who did not know Chrístian from before. He, then, gave his first piece of advice to the crowd: "if you can't fund the first round by yourself, forget about it. Friends, family and fools, until you run out of them."
ByHours was, of course, the main topic of the chat, followed closely by his view on investors. Chrístian taught the attendees where to go to look for funding in Spain and how to do it. He also advised everyone to go and look elsewhere: "Spanish investors ask for how many clients have you got and what your figures are. Foreign investors ask for how many clients will you have and what your figures will be", Chrístian emphasized.
Not only that, he also explained his experience with public investment. On his own, he decided to go to raise funding on public TV, a movement that was not well received by their private investors: Chrístian Rodríguez in "La Oportunidad" (min 46:12).
Chrístian unveiled some of the changes to come to ByHours, now in their international expansion phase. He revealed that they are working on patenting the ByHours product to apply it to office spaces, gyms, car rentals, and the like. This change seemed to engage the crowd, as over 80% of the attendees agreed that they would use these new product lines by ByHours.
The fireside chat had also its fun moments. In our "Question about Microsoft Excel" (Registered trademark by #SGBCN!), Chrístian insisted that people didn't associate with Excel ÜBER-nerds. While Excel is a most-valued tool by all leading entrepreneurs, there's people who go too far by using it for everything in life. "Get away from these people, and don't associate with people who don't use it at all either.", stated Chrístian.
All in all, a very pleasant evening of entrepreneurship, experiences with our loyal friends. Interestingly enough, half of the attendees are loyal to the Startup Grind Barcelona cause, which proves we're on the right track, improving with every event.
That, and more, is Startup Grind Barcelona. We educate, inspire and connect entrepreneurs. And we know how to have fun.
Keep Grinding!