The panel was led by Fabio Duran and Léo Campos, and the interviewees were Camilla Lopes and Omar Ajame . The interviewee is a partner at Mol , the first online mediation platform in Brazil, an Innovators Fellow and an entrepreneur with international experience (Silicon Valley - California) and in several sectors, such as retail, finance and construction.
Omar Ajame holds a degree in Social Communication from FAAP-SP and a postgraduate degree in Business Administration from FGV-SP. He has over 15 years of experience in the insurance market and is a founding travel agency email list partner and CEO of TEx , a pioneering insurtech and leader in online solutions for insurance brokers.
Now see the lessons I learned from this panel:
Team: from Generalist to Specialist
One point mentioned in both panels was the importance of hiring qualified and knowledgeable people to carry out the actions, which is a deficiency that technology cannot overcome. Companies are made up of people, even though there are so many tools today, such as chatbots and process automation .
Assembling a team is still a challenge. There are several hiring methods and you need to know the profile you are looking for. Developing the company culture is also essential to align and retain talent.
At the beginning of a startup, it is common for the team to be made up of multidisciplinary people, who are responsible for several activities. However, the ideal is to improve over time until you reach a team of specialists. With each employee performing a function, it is possible to add value to the product or service provided more quickly and easily.
Large companies and investments
The transformation of the technological and digital environment showed large companies that they could not control everything; it was necessary to outsource some actions to provide a flow of new ideas , and this provided an opening for startups.
“Before, companies thought they knew everything,” said Omar, referring to how large companies approached their problems. Over time, the acceptance of startups grew and, nowadays, it is possible to obtain investment or support from incubators, making it easier to undertake in Brazil.
Time management
We often see entrepreneurs who want to embrace the world at the beginning of their business. The excitement at the beginning makes us dedicate ourselves beyond what is advisable and it is important to know when to stop . Generally, we only realize our limit when we reach it. This also applies to the use of technology.
Camilla mentioned what happened to her at the beginning of Mol, because they thought about all the technology they could use in the business, but they didn't know how to define what they would actually use. This took more time than it should have, doing things that they didn't really want to offer, but that became a requirement for customers. It is necessary to know the limits and services offered that will require technological tools.