Secrets of Success: Marc Rovira

Company: Polaroo

Country: Spain

Polaroo is founded by Marc and David Rovira. We simplify to the maximum the management of electricity, gas, water, telephone, Internet, insurance, alarms and other expenses for companies, and we seek constant savings in these costs by managing changes in suppliers or rates whenever necessary.

For more information: https://www.polaroo.com/

Profile: Marc Rovira

Marc is from Spain and has a Master’s in Aerospace Engineering and a Master’s in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. His heroes are his parents and his entrepreneurial spirit comes from this dad's insatiable willingness to learn and his mom's passion for helping others. His start-up Polaroo has 10 employees and offers hyper-vertical recurrent expense software as a service (SaaS).

INTERVIEW

‘Our vision is to elevate people and organisations to reach their full potential’

Where did you get your idea from?

The idea for Polaroo came about after pivoting a couple of times in the past four years and really listening to clients and analysing our business metrics.

How old were you when you first decided you would start your own business?

I was 16 when I started my first business and 25 when I opened this one.

How did you get it off the ground?

Getting the business off the ground involved minimum resources, Excel and getting out into the street.

Who did you turn to for help?

My brother, current co-founder, and an ex colleague at the previous start-up I worked at, who is also now a co-founder of the current business.

Describe some of the obstacles you faced as a young person starting out in this business.

One of the main obstacles was the minimal network to raise capital. In addition, we were lacking in expertise in finding and hiring the right people.

How do you define success?

I like to quote John Wooden (NCAA Basketball coach): “Success is peace of mind that is the direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”

What was the most challenging aspect of setting up your business?

One of the most challenging aspects was having to do many different things at the same time, prioritising and choosing which fires to let burn.

What has been the most rewarding part of your journey so far?

The most rewarding part for me has been realising that trusting myself always turns out to be good. More specifically, realising that the people I chose to surround myself with have adopted the project also as theirs. We are now all pushing together.

What are the future goals of your business, and how will you go about achieving them?

Our vision has always been to elevate people and organisations to reach their full potential. Our future goals are to offer our services all over Europe. To do so, we want to become cash flow positive next year.

What advice would you give to other aspiring entrepreneurs out there?

It is a heck of an emotional ride so, first surround yourself with people you want to see on the days you don't want to see anyone, and secondly make sure it is something you truly love.