Digital Growth of Enterprises 2

This article is written by Clinton James, a Contributor Author at Startup Istanbul.

Emilian Popa is a businessman who has run many businesses in the past decade, currently in Africa. Among them is Rocket Internet, which allowed him to deal with big business giants, where some did not work out. He moved from being a businessman to becoming a major company’s executive director until 2014, which did not last long, and began a venture capital funding company that focused on Africa and now the Middle East.

Emilian Popa's experience in the economy is very important when talking to Startup Istanbul. He is an entrepreneur who has led many companies over the past decade and currently works with Digital Growth Africa and works with large commercial companies. He moved from a businessman to become the a major company's executive director until 2014, which did not last long, and began his venture capital funding company that focuses on Africa and now the Middle East. They are involved in financing the growth phase, especially in technology for all countries on the world.

He shares examples and mistakes that are usually faced by big business.

In 30 seconds or minutes, know how to communicate your business story or pitch. During board meetings and visits to several companies in Cairo, the bus they ordered was late and his colleague called a friend, the owner of Freval, who had introduced a new transportation company to solve traffic problems. On the bus, the man told his business story, and before he realized it, $ 2.5 million was invested in the business the next day.

Do your homework, before you get involved in anything. A lot of market research is needed to run a successful business. Don't look far ahead. As long as entrepreneurs have to protect themselves in their future business, in reality they will not know what will happen in the next 5-10 years.

You need to have a plan. Investors are interested in what is currently happening, at the end of the year and two years in terms of projections. So, you need to have developed a clear plan. You need to know for yourself how much money you will make, what your KPI is, what happens, and who you are aiming for.

Build a foundation like a house. Without it, this will be a clear recipe for failure. Calculate everything. The most important thing is counting money! Many companies and entrepreneurs spend too much, which makes them not save for growth.

Show passion in all you do. Popa has invested in a training company in Cape Town before, where they met in the office with everything, food, enthusiasm, and this passion enticed him to invest.

Don't hire too fast. While in Cape Town, he worked in a company like an Uber for events. They employed 16 people before setting the platform or receiving additional funds which brought down the company a year later.

Focus! This is nothing new, but this can be a note. It is very difficult to do more than one thing at a time because it is difficult to spend time on many things at the same time.

Be prepared for change and acceptance. Rejection and failure occur, but learn from them and remember that this is not the end of the world. Many fail: go and start again.

Never stop learning, study, read books or listen and get counseling advice. They're handy for the way you manage your business and make money.

https://youtu.be/jxVFH8Wkuvk