New Entrepreneur (NE):
Name & surname: Miguel Elías Márquez
Country: Spain
Age: 24
Sector of activity: App design for Hotel industry
Did you already start your business? No
Host Entrepreneur (HE):
Name & surname: Matt Milligan
Country: United Kingdom
Sector of activity: Consulting & Startups
Experience in running a business (in years): 4
Name of business/website: Uhubs, www.uhubs.co.uk
Period of exchange: 17/05/2021 – 15/09/2021
Duration of exchange: 4 months
How did Miguel make it into the start-up scene?
I finished my university studies in 2020 and after working and doing internships in big companies related to finance, I realized that it was too monotonous and repetitive for me. Then, I decided to make a change in my life and I started to research about the startup world and after having worked in one, I became very interested in this world and the way they work.
My parents are self-employed and they always told me when I was little about the advantages and disadvantages of being self-employed. But sometimes in life you must take risks, and this is what characterizes entrepreneurs, the risks.
So, one day while researching entrepreneurship, I ended up on the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs Program website and decided to start a project that I developed at university and that I had always dreamed of starting. A B2B project related to SaaS technology.
This is when I realized that the process of starting a startup is not just about putting ideas on the table, but that prior learning is necessary. And starting this project on my own was like swimming against the tide because I am a recent graduate and didn’t have much information about this world.
Therefore, I thought that the EYE programme could give me the opportunity to be able to work with other entrepreneurs and therefore learn from them by exchanging knowledge.
This is when I got in touch with Matt Milligan, the Co-Founder of Uhubs, a young company that was born 4 years ago and is growing without limits. When I researched the company, this is what caught my attention, what was the cause of their growth, and this is exactly what I wanted for my business.
As I began my business relationship with him, I became aware of his selling skills, which is super necessary to drive any type of business forward. Since we have been working together, I have been able to increase my sales skills a lot as well as my market research and analysis skills. This will help me when I must do detailed market analysis for my business and when I have to promote it before launching it.
So, this experience is helping me to learn in depth about this world from professionals like Matt, who have been working in this world for many years. This transfer of knowledge is essential for people like me, recent graduates who want to start a business and get out of their comfort zone.
Having your own business makes you much more motivated at work and you want to better yourself every day. You feel that it is something unique that you have created and that it covers the needs of many people. There is no other feeling like it.