Daniel Victorino shares learnings about financing and customer focus strategies from his journey with AI
In an interview with PodSonhardo Poder360Galaxies founder and CEO Daniel Victorino shared 6 tips for those who want to build and scale a successful business. Founded in 2022, Galaxies uses artificial intelligence to create synthetic personas that allow companies to predict consumer behavior.
In October of the same year, the startup raised US$750,000 (around R$4 million at the time). The startup was the only Brazilian selected for an accelerator in the United Arab Emirates and today serves giants such as Meta, Tiktok, Dell and Nestlé.
Read the tips:
1. UNDERSTAND THAT ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS A “CALLING”
For Victorino, entrepreneurship is not just a career choice, but a “called” or an internal discomfort that cannot be ignored. He defines an entrepreneur as someone who creates something new and takes risks. “It’s almost like an itch you need to scratch.”he states. According to him, this intrinsic motivation is what sustains the founder in times of greatest difficulty.
2. EVALUATE SELF-FINANCING VS FUNDING
The CEO highlights that the modern entrepreneur has several options before turning to venture capital funds. He suggests looking at development grants, government aid and the so-called “lost bottom” of large companies. For Victorino, understanding when to use equity financing or seek external investors is crucial to maintaining the financial health and autonomy of the business at the beginning.
3. APPLY THE BOB METHOD (BEAUTY OF BUSINESS)
One of the strategies defended by Victorino is the focus on “beauty of the deal”which consists of solving problems with a high frequency of use. He explains that it is much more difficult to sustain a company that solves a problem that happens once every 10 years. The secret to success is creating solutions for the client’s daily or weekly pain points, and thus ensuring recurrence and relevance.
4. CONDUCT IN-DEPTH BENCHMARK RESEARCH
Innovating does not necessarily mean creating something from scratch without looking to the side. The CEO of Galaxies emphasizes the importance of studying what already exists and how competitors or companies in similar sectors solve similar problems. This continuous learning allows the entrepreneur to identify gaps in the market and avoid mistakes that others have already made.
5. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE NETWORK EFFECT
Scalable growth often depends on the product’s ability to become more valuable as more people use it. Victorino points out that building an ecosystem in which users generate value for each other creates a competitive barrier that is difficult for large horizontal corporations to overcome, allowing the startup to dominate its niche.
6. IDENTIFY PRODUCT-MARKET FIT BY CUSTOMER REACTION
The last tip focuses on real validation of the business. For the CEO, the sign that the product has found its place in the market (PMF) is not just the sales volume, but the reaction “warm” of customers. “When the customer uses it, doesn’t want to cancel and shows a twinkle in their eye at the value you deliver, you know you have a real business”he concludes.
At the end of the interview, the CEO reinforces that there is no magic formula, but that the combination of focus, willingness to learn and the courage to expose your idea to the market as soon as possible are the pillars for anyone who wants to transform a startup into a solid company.
Watch (1h01min):
X-ray:
a) Full name of founder(s): Daniel Victorino, Pietro Lancieri, Rafael Tortella
b) Date of foundation of the company(ies): April 22, 2022
c) Location of the company’s headquarters: Alphaville, São Paulo – SP
d) Number of company employees: 20
e) Company Tax Regime: Real Profit
f) Legal Nature: Limited
6) Contact: pietrolancieri@galaxies.com.br |
7) Social Networks: |
