Alex Nascimento featured in Entrepreneur Magazine - December 2013 Issue

I was honored to be featured in the December 2013 issue of Entrepreneur Magazine.It’s not accessible online, but here’s the article from the print magazine:

Global Startup Trend for 2014: Consider Brazil 
by Alexandra Schmidt. 

Global
 
It's time to look beyond the sunny beach-party exterior. More than just a tourism magnet that attracts 5 million-plus visitors every year, Brazil is South America's largest economy, with gears turning busily in numerous sectors.
 
Brazil's population has increased from 96 million in 1970 to about 200 million today. As a result of government investment and solid economic growth, 40 million of those people entered the middle class over the past decade. And with two major global events on the horizon--the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro--Brazil is poised as a dynamic magnet for entrepreneurial investment.
 
Alex Nascimento, founder of 7BrazilConsulting in Santa Monica, Calif., has taken dozens of individual investors on exploratory trips to his native country. "The next five years will be the hottest years for Brazil," he says. "We're going to have significant investment from the government as well as new foreign direct investment. If new tax legislation gets passed, that will give a boost to Brazil's stocks and publicly traded companies. In the coming years, I see Brazil becoming the best it can be."
Nascimento points to real estate and the aforementioned tourism as key investment sectors. An Olympic host city typically needs 50,000 to 60,000 beds; Rio reportedly has only 25,000. Cosmetics are another major opportunity. On average, Brazilian women spend 40 percent of their disposable income on cosmetic products, according to Nascimento.
 
But the hottest sector is technology. Brazilians have increasing purchasing power, but many live in underserved or rural areas where they don't have access to the goods they want. So e-commerce is booming, estimated to be worth $12 billion annually. The fastest-growing Latin American e-tailer, sporting-goods company Kanui.com.br, saw web sales increase a whopping 9,000 percent in 2012, according to Internet Retailer.
 
There is a vibrant accelerator scene funding startups within Brazil, andinvestors from outside the country are also bullish. California-based SVB Capital invested in Brazilian venture capital firms last year through a $340 million fund. "The Brazil economy in the next 10 years will be one of the third or fourth largest economies in the world," says Aaron Gershenberg, a managing partner at SVB. "If you're going to look at some diversification in your portfolio, in the innovation economy Brazil is a very natural geography to have exposure to."
 
Meanwhile, entrepreneurs from the U.S., Germany and France have already set up shop in the country, undeterred by high taxes and startup costs. New tax incentives for tech companies are on the horizon, possibly clearing the way for even more.
 
Still, there are reasons to be cautious--cultural challenges, for one. A subscription service called Shoes4you failed recently, and many observers blamed the local concept of jeitinho, which gives a wink and pat on the back to consumers who uncover ways to get things for free. When customers figured out that they could cancel their Shoes4you subscriptions indirectly through their banks, rather than through the company--eliminating the charges, but still getting their shoes at the discounted membership rate--many did. It was reportedly a key factor in the company's demise.
 
There are other reasons for measured enthusiasm.
 
Nascimento says it can take six months to get a business license. Private companies, such as bus operators, have notoriously awful customer service. The countrywide protests this summer highlighted some of the frustrations of a population putting more and more into taxes and getting seemingly little out. But the places where such services fall short represent major opportunities for entrepreneurs to do things better--even amid an atmosphere of high setup costs and thick red tape.

Web article URL: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/229849

Growth in Internet usage drives e-commerce growth in Brazil

Despite the slowdown in Brazil’s economy, many economists remain optimistic about the growth of e-commerce in the country.  A growing middle class coupled with a growing Internet penetration allows for the opportunity for e-commerce expansion. 

      As we approach the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the local B2C e-commerce industry may see double-digit increase in 2014.  E-Marketer predicts that retail e-commerce sales would lead this double-digit growing industry throughout 2014.

Another factor that will contribute to the e-commerce expansion are the new governmental regulations focusing on online privacy, which will increase the comfort level of Brazilian Internet shoppers.

        On-line tourism sales have also played an important role in the growth of Brazilian e-commerce.  According to e-Marketer, this segment represented close to 1/3 of the country’s total e-commerce sales in 2012.

        Although, the expanding middle class plays a big role in the growth of the Brazilian e-commerce industry, the majority of the sales will continue to be generated by the upper class segment as they have more disposable income and are more Internet savvy.  

       Nevertheless, the current market still offers several opportunities for proven foreign e-commerce models to be replicated in Brazil and leverage the love Brazilians have for shopping on-line.   

Start-Ups in Brazil Remain Optimistic

      Numerous young companies have struggled to show sustainable profitability despite early rapid growth.  Some blame the business environment and the costs of doing business such as legal costs, taxes, employment costs and a lack of logistics infrastructure, which combined make operations more difficult.  The fact that GDP growth slowed last year to 0.9%, compared with 2.7% in 2011 has not helped entrepreneurs either.

     Initially, most investments made by foreign venture capital firms consisted of Brazilian Internet or technology companies looking to replicate existing web business models that proved to be successful in the United States or Europe.  Investors wrongly assumed that the Brazilian market was large enough to support multiple successful companies. Consequently, the market was flooded with excessive competition for limited market share.  However, other investors point to inefficiencies on the execution and operations of companies as the main reason for their poor performance.

     Despite the difficult environment, Brazilian start-ups still have foreign supporters.  Even Silicon Valley investors who have seen ideas fail are still willing to make large bets, believing that the short term will be difficult, but the long-term projections remain highly favorable, as the market grows and consumer purchasing power increases. 

     According to the Brazilian consulting firm E-bit, overall e-commerce grew by 20% in 2012 and mobile represented only 2.5% of transactions, making mobile e-commerce the next big opportunity for growth.  Other sectors in Brazil that remain overlooked and underfinanced but are starting to see more investments are health care, education and innovation. 

We also note the growing interest of Chinese Internet companies looking to duplicate in Brazil the same success that they’ve had in China.

     Overall, as move closer to the World Cup and Olympics, the country show signs of above average GDP growth and the mood for foreign investors still remains positive and more FDI is expected the next 3-5 years to further empower the growth of the Brazilian economy.

 

 

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How To SellIn LinkedIn

As LinkedIn’s profile states on its own company page – “LinkedIn takes your professional network online.” With 135M+ users and 11k new members every 90min, Linkedin has dominated the professional social media space as we all know it.

Aside from connecting with past lunch buddies from previous jobs, one might ask “what can a sales person do on LinkedIn?” As I always tell my students, LinkedIn allows you to do the most important business task ever - SELL!

So then, how should one sell via LinkedIn? If I may add another MBA framework, to a world that doesn’t need another self-proclaiming framework, I would like for you to consider “The 5Cs” of How to SellIn LinkedIn:

CONNECT-->CREATE-->COLD-TWEET-->COLLABORATE-->CLOSE

Let me explain…

CONNECT: Just as a sales person needs to leave the office to meet new prospects, he or she also needs to connect with new prospects on-line.

CREATE: In the era where “Content is King,” a sales professional also needs to be a source of knowledge and information. A well-crafted editorial agenda comprised of engaging & “non-salesy” content can position you and your sales team as a credible resource in your industry.

COLD-TWEET: Rule #1 is to never ever cold call on LinkedIn, aka send a request to someone you don’t know, trust me it looks horrible! However, finding a prospect’s Twitter handle, aka username, following them and eventually replying to one of their clever tweets can be a very classy way to start developing a relationship.

COLLABORATE: Get your sales team to cooperate and collaborate on LinkedIn. Develop discussion groups for teammates to exchange contacts, information and insights. Use the team’s collective LinkedIn connections to generate more leads and don’t forget to recommend one another.

CLOSE: Considering that any given prospect has a never-ending number of options at their fingertips, focus on being an expert and educating the prospects before they have a need for a solution. If you manage the process correctly, the prospects will be closing on you instead of the other way around!

So my dear sales friends, I hope this helps you leverage your sales on LinkedIn, and remember, as Aristotle once said, “A friend to all is a friend to none.” With that in mind, go out there and focus on making ONLY relevant LinkedIn connection, sharing your knowledge and the sales will follow!

Don't Stain Your Brand with Greenwash

As I see brands claiming to have won the “Green” award, I would like to share with you a few principles to keep in mind in order to protect your brand from taking home the “Greenwashing” trophy.

• Proof = Truth – All claims should have scientific proof.
• Don’t Hide and Emphasize – Don’t try to hide some facts and emphasize other information. Your audience will notice and the truth behind your message will come to light. Tell the whole story!

• If you are not different, it doesn’t make a difference – If you are claiming something every other company is doing you are not special.
• The Label Matter – Get a neutral and respectable third party organization to endorse your claim/stamp/label.
• Educate your Audience – If you use a term, i.e. Fair Trade, provide a definition on your label for that or any other term and or claim.

As this blog post is dedicated to my UCLA Green Marketing Strategy students, I would like to share and informative video I found on YouTube made by grenkblog.com. Please watch the video and let me know how you would avoid the “Greenwash” trophy.