The path to a start-up’s success is not always clear and linear. Two UAE-based entrepreneurs – David Llorente, founder of Narrativa, a technology company that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to translate data into comprehensible content, and Sarah Jones, founder of Sprii, an e-commerce business targeting mums – can attest to that.

Having ridden the start-up roller coaster, Llorente lives up to the motto “living life once”. “We just have one life and it’s up to us to live it the way we want to. Find a way to do what you are passionate about,” he said. “I love technology, so it comes naturally to me. I also enjoy [taking on] risks, but when you give so much to a project, you don’t want to fail. I always had the urge to make it work and this has helped me continue my journey.”

Going it alone is never easy, but when you’re craving fulfillment in your professional life, then you just have to take the plunge, advises Jones.

“It was terrifying when I realized I was going to work on my dining table, with just expenditure and zero income. But I wanted to wake up every day excited to go to work and that stopped happening for me in the corporate world,” she recalls.

“I had some money in the kitty, which I’d saved up while working in a bank, so I had a little buffer in place. I also knew I was not going to be homeless on the street and I was ready to play with the idea that was in my head.”

Start-up advice

Thinking of ditching your day job? Think again. Both Llorente and Jones warn would-be entrepreneurs to have a comprehensive business plan and a fool-proof way of executing it before quitting their full-time employment.

They added that if you’re building something from scratch, the first question you need to ask yourself is “will my business idea provide a solution and relief to my potential customers?”.

Take Llorente’s experience, for example. He developed a company that provides a simple solution to businesses by using AI to make mundane and time-consuming tasks quicker and more cost effective. Today, Narrativa is the only company worldwide that automatically generates content in Arabic – along with several other languages.

“What we are doing now has been done by humans for ages. AI takes data and converts it into text. We take football statics of a match, fill in the gaps and convert it into a news story. We validated our idea. So, instead of paying USD 10 to someone to write a piece of news, businesses now just pay 20 cents and get the work done a lot faster,” he explained.

Jones, too, saw a huge potential in the e-commerce industry in the region. There were very few businesses that targeted the growing shopping needs of mothers and Sprii.com bridged that gap.

“We grew with what our consumers wanted and that drove us to where we are. We never really focused on our competitors, always on our mums. We try to focus on convenience, customer service, a personalized site and a wide range of products on offer.

“We have data scientists, who are very focused on the metrics and change the website accordingly. Our business is very data driven; it can be scaled quickly and efficiently,” she told Accelerate SME.

Money makes start-up world go round

Fundraising is an extremely difficult undertaking for any start-up owner, but it is necessary if you want to scale up, according to the entrepreneurs.

“Raising funds is very hard - it’s a given. Investors are smart people and as a start-up, you need to have something to show to them – customers, a good team, but most importantly the kind of faith they have in you,” said Llorente. “If investors are convinced that you will do anything and everything possible – and impossible – to make it [work], they will invest in you.”

Narrativa recently raised its pre-Series A round, making it one of the first AI start-ups to receive funding in the UAE.

Jones has been through two rounds of fundraising from high net-worth individuals. Luckily, she’s been able to keep control of the business.

“You have to put your life and soul into it and love what you are doing – that’s the only way to convince investors,” she said. “We closed our fundraising round in just eight weeks. It’s easier now that we have a team, but initially it was hard, when half the time was spent in raising money. It’s important you have the right people who can showcase your growth.”

Lastly, a balanced work and home life are very critical to ensure the success of your start-up. Both Llorente and Jones believe that making work and life harmonious can help your business.

Llorente spends quality time with his family: “Personal life does reflect in your work. I also sleep a lot and exercise – both make you think better and smarter.”

Jones added that as an entrepreneur, you need to grow a very thick skin and trust your own vision.

© Accelerate SME 2017