MBA

6th Forum of New Business Ventures

From the drawing board to the boardroom

For every new business that manages to survive those vital first years, many more fall by the wayside. The budding entrepreneurs who presented nine exciting new projects at IESE's Forum of New Business Ventures (NAVES) on March 18 are prepared to take this risk. The acid test came recently when the MBA students presented their proposals to a gathering of business people and potential investors

It's a Company

Wyatt Rosental and Mark Wuyten have identified a window of opportunity in the Spanish telecoms market and aim to be the first to exploit it. They believe the process of telecoms deregulation in Europe is proceeding too slowly, with tacit agreement between dominant operators keep-ing the price of long distance calls artificially high. "In Spain, international and long distance call rates are the highest in Europe", says Mark Wuijten. These circum-stances, coupled with technological advances in Internet applications, mean there is room in the market for small-er, more dynamic operations offering specialized services. Their brainchild, It's a Company, will offer Internet telephony to business users at much lower prices than those currently on offer. "The demand for telephone services is always there", says Mark Wuijten, "what we are offering is the same service at a lower cost". He believes the time to launch this venture is right as this activity is not strictly regulated or taxed, although this may change by the year 2000. The two are already busy talking to potential investors and are keen to get down to business. "You need guts to set up your own business", says Mark Wuijten, "there is a lot more risk involved than if you work for someone else".


Biolights

The capacity of fiber-optic cable to transport light is what gave Silvia Velasco, Luis Pérez Tenessa, Ignacio Moreno and Percy Urteaga the idea for Biolights. The idea is to set up a business growing exotic flowers in high-tech intelligent greenhouses. Plants would be stacked four tiers high, saving on space, with fiber-optic cable bringing in exactly the amount of light each one needs. Automated systems would also control humidity and irrigation. "We haven't invented any-thing new", says Percy Urteaga, "what we are doing is putting things together in a new way". Nevertheless applying this fiber-optic technique to production on an industrial scale would be a global first.

The plant chosen is Heliconia Wagneriana, a spectacular tropical bloom used in Spain in floral displays. It is currently imported by air from Ecuador, Colombia and Central American and retails at 1,500 pesetas a time. Percy Urteaga is convinced they can grow this plant more cheaply, cutting down on high transport and insurance costs. "This flower has added-value because it sells for a high price", he says, "this means we can absorb our energy costs and still produce it more cheaply".


Hunting in Bulgaria

Elena Mezeklieva and Igor Koublitski are aiming to give Spanish hunters the experience of a lifetime through their new venture Hunting in Bulgaria. "Spain is famous for small game hunting", says Elena Mezeklieva, "in Bulgaria you will be hunting big game". The country's well conserved forests and hills, home to bears and fallow deer, plus a good network of hunting lodges, make Bulgaria the perfect testing ground for this idea. Spain makes a good market, due to its own hunting traditions and as the preferred destination for many German holiday-makers, the other great hunters of Europe.

The medium to long term strategy, according to Elena Mezeklieva, is to expand operations to the Ukraine as local conditions and infrastructure allow. "Our work at the outset will be geared to building up a customer base in Spain", says Elena Mezeklieva, "and ensuring smooth logistics in Bulgaria". She readily admits many Spanish people are not very familiar with Bulgaria as a holiday destination, but thinks "you can either see this as an obstacle or a challenge". Elena thinks the profile of the average MBA student is changing "MBAs before used to be seen as more intellectual, desk-bound types", she says, "but here at IESE I have come across many people with an entrepreneurial spirit who want to get out there and do things".

Nine new businesses for the 90s

The prospects are looking bright for new enterprises right now. IESE's professor Pedro Nueno, who leads the course on New Business Ventures, believes the economic climate is especially favorable this year to new ventures. "If interest rates are at 3% and the stock exchange is bullish, isn't now the time to invest in a new business with high growth capacity?", he asked the full house of potential investors gathered at IESE's Barcelona campus.

McByte computer support for SMEs
Xavier Gargallo, Cristián Martí and Josep Mitjà

Digital World digital photography facilities
for professionals and amateurs
Laura Palacios, Clara Parés and Juan Carlos Rubio

The Bridge Masters design and manufacture of parts
for bridge construction
Werner Hane, Kristine Lofqvist and Gianni Moor

Access Point computer-assisted computer training
Alfredo García López, Idoya Leguina Solaguren and Patricia Marchal Puchol

Ayscom complete care for old people
Fernando Lacasa, Gonzalo Pérez and Santiago Román

Aventura Outdoor travel and rentals (four wheel drive and caravan rental for holidays around the Mediterranean)
Arjen Schouten and Eliane van der Berg

It's a Company Internet telephony for business users
Wyatt Rosental and Mark Wuijten

Biolights exotic flower production
Ignacio Moreno, Luis Pérez Tenessa, Silvia Velasco and Percy Urteaga

Hunting in Bulgaria big game hunting trips in Bulgaria
Igor Koublitski and Elena Mezeklieva

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© IESE 1998