Journal Entry Lesson 11

This week I learned a lot about how a franchise works and what challenges they face here in Mexico. I tried to find a franchisee to interview, but I wasn’t able to find one. Not too many people in my network of contacts know people who have purchased a franchise, and those who do were unable to obtain phone numbers, or the phone numbers and addresses had changed recently. Employees at local franchises were unwilling to provide information about their bosses and were even suspicious about my intentions.

I continue working on my $100 project, although to be honest I feel that I’m getting tired of it. I suddenly had many ideas that I like much more and that I wish I had thought about at the beginning of the project. Now I’m just waiting for this project to be over in order to start the next one. The problem with feeling like this is that I lose focus on my current goal and don’t work on it as hard as I could, and the deadline is approaching.

Last Thursday I had the opportunity to attend an event where 6 startups pitched their business to raise funds from investors. This was a private event, just for investors selected by Play Business, an equity crowd funding platform, and the minimum investment this time was above my reach. I didn’t want to go since I knew that I couldn’t afford to invest, but I went anyway just for the experience. It was a good decision and I know that I will always remember it. The day of the event I didn’t even have cash on hand for gasoline for my car and parking space… not even for a subway trip! I had to borrow money for a couple of metro tickets. When I arrived to the event I was warmfully welcomed by the Play Business staff and the founders of Tumbiko (one of the startups raising an investment round). I thanked again one of the founders of Tumbiko for allowing me to interview him last week. Then I started networking and met Humberto Ramirez, the founder of Facturama (a startup that combines electronic billing and accounting with big data and credit scoring). The guest speaker for the event was Alejandro Septien, who was the Country Manager in Indonesia for Nestlè and just came back to Mexico this year to start new projects. This was really a great experience and I’m glad I was there just for the sake of being where things happen. As Woody Allen says: ‘’Showing up is 80 percent of life’’.