12 de August de 2020
Christian Rivas, David Albano and Óscar Mañanes are the creators and founder of Parksafer: a disruptive company that takes advantage of digitization to revolutionize car park systems to offer a personalized service that adapts to each customer’s needs. The company was developed in EAE Business School’s incubator EAE Lab and is now in the expansion phase.
We talked to the founders to find out more about the current status of the company, and their experience in the EAE Lab incubator.
Tell us about yourselves. Where are you from? What did you study at EAE Business School? What are your passions?
Cristian Rivas:I was born in Madrid. I have a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration and Management from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and a Master in Marketing Management from EAE Business School. I have spent most of my career in the marketing and advertising department of various agencies. I have also had international experience, living and working in the UK.
I am absolutely passionate about anything that involves socializing and being part of a team. Since I was a kid, I have played handball at a federation level for over 10 years and I have always taken part in group activities, almost always based around sport. I hope I keep being able to play as I have done so far. I am currently embarking on my career as an entrepreneur with Parksafer and my other venture, a charity project called Humanidemia.
David Albano: I am also from Madrid. I have a University Diploma in Film and Performance Production, a Bachelor Degree in Advertising and Public Relations and Marketing from ESIC, a Master in Strategic Marketing from the Miami Advertising School and a Master in Digital Marketing from Kschool. I have over 15 years’ professional experience in Marketing & Advertising projects. As a backpacker and globetrotter, I worked in Silicon Valley in California for a year, as well as collaborating and working as a volunteer in 4 countries on 3 continents. I am a sportsman, animal lover, strategist and music enthusiast. I had the opportunity to play professional football in the second team, but I decided to focus on the business and university sphere instead. I love walking and getting lost in the mountains, rivers and nature. In my free time, which is not often. I am an actor. I work at Weborama Spain in the area of Digital Marketing. When I was a child, I lived taking alarm clocks and electronic toys apart and putting them back together. I still like knowing what each nut and bolt is for.
Óscar Mañanes: : I am from Salamanca. I have a Technical Telecommunications Engineering Diploma, majoring in Electronics, from the Universidad de Valladolid, and a certificate in Digital Transformation Digital from U.Lab at edX (MIT & Harvard).
I have been working in telecommunications and digital engineering projects for over 20 years, leading technological projects both in Spain and in other EU countries, including Portugal and France. I am really keen on using technology as a tool to improve the world we live in. I am curious by nature, which leads me to examine everything that is put in front of me to see how it works. I have destroyed more than one mobile phone that way! But life is not as about technology. I also like spending time with my family, reading, theatre and sport. Nothing beats a good bike ride in the mountains with my family and friends.
Turning to entrepreneurship, how long have you been in this world? How did this desire to create your own project emerge?
We have all practically been entrepreneurs since birth. All three of us have been self-employed at various points in our lives, as well as, on occasions, founding and working on projects together or separately: limited companies, cooperatives, agencies, research projects, cultural, charity and leisure events, and even what we now call startups. Between the three of us, we have done it all. The gene that drives us to want our own business is not something you can learn. In our opinion, you have to be born with it. This energy then creates synergies and you meet like-minded people along the way who share the same concerns, and there is that spark.
In our case, Parksafer originated from a spirit of non-conformity. David and Cristian coincidentally found themselves working together at an agency and we found that we both needed something more in our professional lives. And that’s where the magic started. There is an old sailor’s saying that goes “those who suffer together in the galleys row together to reach a better port”. That is precisely what we did. We rowed together toward Ithaca with a shared drive, a challenge to channel our talent towards and which would lead us to build our own company together to resolve business challenges. In short, we wanted to make our small contribution to society, which is one of our three founding pillars: Learn, Contribute, Create.
Tell us about the project that you are developing in EAE Lab. What does it involve?
We help the B2B channel (car park owners and managers) to create new revenue streams in a market that has already reached its limit, by offering the possibility to obtain a service that practically does not exist yet in a packaged, digitized and standardized way. Our service focuses on eliminating the pain of our clients’ end consumer every time they need a specific, numbered, safe and geolocated parking space waiting for them in the car park. In other words, our system offers users the possibility not only to visit and book the car park in advance, but also to choose the parking spaces that best suit their needs, at just a slightly higher cost (just like choosing your preferred seat on a flight or at the cinema).
By doing so, we overcome the uncertainty of users who, for instance, always arrive late to concerts or just in time for a film at the cinema who has no time to waste looking for a parking space near the venue in a good position or near the exit. It is also handy when you go shopping for something bulky. Instead of wasting time because you have parked far from the entrance at the shopping centre, you can get it sorted in a matter of minutes. It all comes down to the same thing: having an assured parking space waiting for you before you reach your destination, in a strategic spot that meets all your needs. So, all in all, Parksafer offers you the parking space you want in the car park, exactly where you want it and in the ideal conditions for your car.
What has the experience in the EAE Lab been like? How has it help the development process of the project?
The experience has been really positive. For 6 months, we have had the chance to apply agile methodologies and other approaches based on the lean canvas method. One methodology I would highlight is the Effectuation method, originally created by Saras Sarasvathy. The EAE Lab program gave us the opportunity to test out the Parksafer business model, reset it and improve it in all its aspects. To move forward, you sometimes need to go back a bit. Deconstructing to rebuild, that was the path that Henri Mennens led us along throughout the working process, to achieve a better result. It is important to remember that, when you think that you know everything about your consumer and market, you don’t really know anything until you do a deep dive into their reasons why.
Knowing this path and our internal motivations as a team led us to develop this business idea and life project. Together with the Exploration and Validation technique executed in the Lab to grow the projects, this was the point that gave us a real push to rethink the business model based on what had most hooked each of the members, to drive it forward and ensure that it didn’t end up left on a shelf, like so many other ideas.
The opportunity that the EAE Lab gave us to take part in the South Summit, the largest entrepreneurship fair in the south of Europe, as well as being invited to other important events in the sector thanks to forming part of the Lab, enabled us to discuss the project with entrepreneurs and international clients. This helped the project grow and evolve, on top of the coaching from José Luis Santamaría, mentoring from Jesús Alonso Gallo and Santiago Tobón, and legal advice from Rocío Álvarez-Ossorio.
Compared to a year ago, what situation is the company in? Tell us a bit about the evolution of the project. /strong>
Our time at EAE has opened lots of doors for us in terms of investors, advisors and potential customers. The project has accelerated by 300% since we started our time in the EAE Lab. It is also true that we have made a 100% commitment to the project. We left our jobs in other companies to be able to take full advantage of these 6/9 months of incubation.
Focusing 100% of our talent and time to the project, as well as the support from our EAE mentors, has moved everything along faster. Covid-19 has put the handbrake on to some extent. We were on the starting blocks, ready to speed off, but the situation has made us rethink the project and some of us have had to go back to work. But, in spite of everything, even Covid, we are close to sealing our first deal with a multinational that could internationalize our product/service. If that doesn’t end up happening, we also have a second multinational interested in the project.
In the incubation progress, you receive an extensive program of business mentoring. What lessons that you learned from these sessions would you highlight?
The main lesson is to know what you want and what you need to drive your project forward. Both in terms of our current venture and any other future project of any kind that we may have, we will be able to apply everything we have learned in the Lab, from managing the team and creating a solid value proposition and solution for your customer right through to presenting a pitch to a potential investor. The range of lessons you learn is as broad as the whole spectrum of things required to launch a startup. To give you a last example, we have even applied the Effectuation method for organizing a party with our friends!
In terms of economic guidance, how did EAE Lab help you design a financial plan for your idea?
I have to emphasize that EAE Lab is an incubator and , as such, it focuses on the initial steps of a startup in terms of the team, strategy, validation and construction of a functional MVP. On the economic side of things, we have learned to identify and search for needs in order to implement a business model. As a result, based on this and the team’s previous training in the financial field, we have been able to formulate our Business Plan.
Did you find the networking platforms and events organized by EAE Lab useful? Why?
This has perhaps been one of the most interesting benefits of the Lab. Rocío Álvarez-Ossorio and Santiago Tobón encouraged us and invited us to hundreds of events to talk about our project, learn from success stories, and discuss ideas and knowledge with other entrepreneurs and businesspeople. Without a doubt, this has been one of the key factors in our growth and improvement over the course of these months.
At a personal level, what have you liked most about EAE Lab and why?
Being able to learn from qualified professionals on a daily basis, as well as from our mentors and colleagues from other teams, finding solutions for the project and helping out other projects when they asked for our opinion and support. This synergy to create something better together, as if the EAE Lab were a small family (“those that live upstairs and don’t really know what they are doing”) has given us a lot of energy to keep moving forward.
We really have formed a little family, with bonds and friendships with people from different continents that will last a lifetime. This experience has given us so much, giving us a constructive philosophical way of thinking that, in combination with the group’s knowledge, makes better projects and, therefore, a better society.
What recommendations would you give to any entrepreneurs studying at EAE Business School?
I would advise them not to miss the opportunity to apply for the next edition of EAE Lab and not to leave until tomorrow what they could do today. Ideas kept on the shelf never bloom. They are like a plant that needs watering every day. I would tell them to overcome their fears because we have to relearn to listen by opening our minds and being really open to change and opportunities for improvement, both as a person and as a professional. EAE Lab is an internal change process that enables you to improve your external part and, as a result, your project. It is a challenge that you should embrace and learn from.