Meet our Barcelona MD, Priscilla Lavoie

What’s a typical dayin the Demium office for you?

As Managing Director I make sure everything runs smoothly at Demium, meaning everyone has what they need, when they need it. This is different everyday and could be anything from putting together demo days for entrepreneurs to showcase their startups to investors, to finding a cool new office space for our growing incubator. In addition, I do as much as I can to make sure that Demium is a big part of the local ecosystem, and vice versa. 

What can you tell usabout Barcelona’s start-up ecosystem?

There’s alwayssomething going on. If you want to learn something cool, meet interestingpeople, or share your skills, there’s an event pretty much every day of theweek you can attend to do so. Plus, labour and office costs are relatively cheapcompared with other major cities, so you can run your business here, havehigh-paying clients elsewhere, and make a nice profit.

How has your personalexperience been in the start-up world?

I started myprofessional career 13 years ago running a telesales team in a small startup inthe US. I then moved to a SaaS startup where, after a while, they were acquiredby software giant OpenText for $35 million. I continued on, but I soon realisedI wasn’t cut out for the corporate world and decided to try something new. Icame to Barcelona in late-2016 to start Bida, a subscription app where membersreceived a free drink or tapas daily at any of our partner bars and restaurantsfor €10/m. We raised financing, reached over 10k users and had partnershipswith over 100 bars and restaurants in the city. For various reasons I decidedto close the company in early 2019 and that’s when I joined Demium.

You’ve worked invarious cities, why choose this one?

I have lived andworked in three countries and have travelled to over 35. I’ve seen andexperienced a lot, and that is why I know Barcelona is a special place. Thiscity has a special soul and quirkiness to it that I love, and it reminds me ofMontreal, where I was born and spent a good chunk of my life. Except it’s muchwarmer here.

Describe theAllStartup Weekend in Barcelona…

It’s a fun butintense weekend – we go pretty much non-stop Friday to Sunday. During this timecandidates work in teams to create and present a startup they’ve devised overthe weekend to Demium staff and a jury of investors. What I enjoy mostabout the ASW is the energy and excitement from the candidates. They’re alwaysso thrilled to do something unconventional and meet likeminded people on achallenge they’re passionate about.

Name an essentialcharacteristic for any budding entrepreneur.

The number onething I look for in entrepreneurs is commitment – how dedicated they are totheir goal and how hard they’ll work to achieve it. Without commitment even thebest businesses fail.

What is the mostvaluable experience an entrepreneur can gain?

That’s a hard one toanswer, but I’d say previous experience as a founder is very valuable. It takesa lot to be an entrepreneur, but if you’ve already been through it and want todo it again? Well, that’s a good sign. It also means you’ve learned a lot and, hopefully,also learned from your mistakes, so you’ll do a better job next time around.

Statistics state that 90% of startups fail – is this true?

It wouldn’tsurprise me, considering how “hot” it’s become to launch a startup. It’s alsoeasier than ever to start something, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to startsomething successful. It takes the right mix of team, market, timing,financing and a dozen other factors to be successful, much of which is out of afounder’s control. That said, it’s all the more rewarding when one does succeedand, for those who fail, it’s an amazing learning experience at the veryleast. 

Why do you think somany start-ups fail?

Founder issues,lack of product-market fit and, well, a lack of cash.

How would you advisesomeone worried about the risks of starting their own business?

I was once in avery similar situation and my husband helped me get through it by asking a verysimple but profound question: “What’s the worst that can happen?” When youreally think about it, the answer usually isn’t so bad and so the risk ofstarting something new no longer seems so daunting.