Our favourite quotes from Barna Hub interviews in 2018
It’s that time of the year when we all take a moment to reflect on the past 12 months, count our blessings, recall our achievements and try to learn from our mistakes.
In the spirit of looking back, we rounded up the best pieces of advice and encouragement we received in 2018. The entrepreneurs we interviewed for Barna Hub this year all had lots of great insights to share – and we’ve picked out the most striking ones about starting your own business, living in Barcelona and working remotely.
We hope you’ll find a few nuggets of wisdom that you can take with you to the New Year!
Starting your own business
Nikolaos Christianos, CEO at iKeyBnB on how to get started with your own business:
“Do it and don’t be afraid of trying out your ideas, however crazy they might sound! The most difficult part of any business is the first step – the part where you make up your mind and actually say ‘Go for it!’.”
Mar Alarcón, CEO at SocialCar on putting limits on ourselves:
“We are usually the first ones to say: “I can’t do it. I’m not able to.” This is something that you must not do! Ever. Tell your idea to everyone and something good will come out of it.
Jasper Deprez, CEO and Founder at Tradler on advice he’d give to someone who’s planning to start their own company:
“90% of all startups fail, so in theory you only need to start 10 to have one which works. Start now.”
Barcelona as a startup hub
Desiree Taboada, CEO and Founder at Soy Comida Perfecta on what makes Barcelona a great place to start a business:
“Barcelona is a cosmopolitan city, full with great diversity. It has a strong global technology ecosystem to help grow startups, and private associations like Barcelona Tech City, helping promote this tech brand in the international marketplace.”
Brand Your Shoes Founder Guillem Soldevila on the city of Barcelona:
“Catalan people are very creative and I think we have an open culture. It’s easy to create synergies with businesses here – and it’s a very cosmopolitan place.”
Olivier Marques de Brito, partner at TripMedic on what you should take into account before moving to Barcelona:
“I would inform newcomers to be aware of how strong and present the Catalan culture is. It’s important to be open to embrace this beautiful culture if you want to make the most of your time here.”
Remote work and coworking
OneCoWork CEO and Co-founder Ben Nachoom on the increasing popularity of coworking:
“We are seeing changing attitudes; a generational shift in what constitutes success, as well as the optimal path to achieve it. Career success is no longer based on having a large corner office to yourself, it’s about achieving something meaningful. People are realising that the path to success is all about interconnectivity, collaboration, and innovation, all of which can be achieved through co-working.”
Julien Palier, co-founder and CEO at Daysk on the future of work:
“We don’t think that remote work will become mainstream in the sense that everybody will work from home full-time. Rather, we foresee that flexibility will be a core component of the way we work. And it will be how every company will reinvent the way we work.”
Stuart Jones, Founder at Coworkation on what you need to do before you decide to go location independent:
“Learn about it as much as you can – there are lots of blogs and stories online. Try not to pay too much attention to those that glorify the lifestyle – read up, and talk with people, about some of the challenges and disadvantages of being location independent.”
Future trends in tech
Smart Notifications Intrapreneur Nicholas Aguilar Sayaan on the future of AI and Machine Learning:
“Just as IoT is becoming ubiquitous, AI will be along for the ride every step of the way. In many ways, we will see this manifested tangibly from a user perspective. The majority of our AI managed world, however, will be unnoticed by end users.”
… and on whether AI is the devil incarnate:
“There are many technologies that have been developed that have the potential of all sorts of apocalyptic outcomes, but I think it would be a great disservice to not explore a technology because it has the potential of being abused, growing beyond our control, and/or if it has ethical ramifications.”
Which Barcelona startups and entrepreneurs should we feature on Barna Hub next year? Comment below!
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