Barna Hub
Jordi Llonch Esteve, Founder & CEO at Sharing Academy, is an airline pilot, entrepreneur, and educator from Barcelona.
We had the chance to sit down and talk to him about his startup tutoring platform for university and high school students in Spain.
Jordi also shows us how he created a viral video that reached more than 1 million views on YouTube in just one week. Pretty fascinating stuff, if we don’t say so ourselves!
140 character pitch
Sharing Academy is the first peer-to-peer tutoring marketplace for university students in Spain.
Call to Action
If you are studying in any Spanish university and are struggling to pass your exams, we have the tutor that will help you succeed. Sign up now at sharingacademy.com!
Down to business
What made you want to be an entrepreneur?
Like a lot of people who go on to become entrepreneurs, it was a matter of personal frustration and negative user experience.
I wanted access to a transparent platform that could put me in touch with a tutor easily, but it didn’t exist. When I see problems, have a natural impulse to want to fix them – and so I had to create the tool for myself.
It’s a great moment when you realise that anyone can do anything they set their minds to. When you start building something, and it all starts falling into place, you feel invincible.
What’s the best startup resource or tool online and why is it useful?
It’s definitely not a secret – but for me it’s Youtube. It’s an amazing vehicle for promotion. Anyone, regardless of budget, can create a successful promo video with very few resources.
I worked with my brother to make this video, which had over a million views in just one week, to promote Sharing Academy. As a result we got a lot of media attention, and of course it really gave our startup a big boost in its early stages.
The viral video (Spanish):
Explanation of the video (Spanish):
Of course, the videos are in Spanish, but you’ll get the idea even if you don’t speak it!
If you could have more of one of these things in your life, what would it be and why: money, time, contacts, coffee?
Time: If you have time you can do anything in the world. Of course, you also need to be an organised person with boundaries. Sometimes, when you have all the time of the world, you don’t use it efficiently.
Barcelona Insight
What’s the coolest place to work in in Barcelona?
The Sharing Academy offices!
Hubbub Labs – They’re definitely cool, and you have a great location in the University of Barcelona.
Yes! I wake up every morning eager to go to my office. The co-working space is part of the students’ residence at Penyafort Montserrat.
It’s a community of 500 students co-living and co-studying together and it fuels the young spirit of the company.
If you had to leave Barcelona tomorrow, forever, where would you have your last meal?
I don’t have a favourite restaurant in the city. I’d probably eat a homemade meal at my parents, my mum cooks really well!
Hubbub Labs – sounds good. We’ll see you there at 8, is that okay?
What advice would you give to someone thinking about starting their own business in Barcelona?
Find a community where your business fits in. It’s very easy to get lost in dozens of entrepreneurial communities and lose focus.
The faster you meet your peers, the sooner you will start doing business and the easier it will be.
Find Sharing Academy Online
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sharingacademy
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sharingacademy
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sharingacademy
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sharingacademy
