Silvia Calvet: “startups need to know what they want in order to ensure flexibility and change”

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Silvia Calvet: “startups need to know what they want in order to ensure flexibility and change”
Silvia Calvet: “startups need to know what they want in order to ensure flexibility and change”

BBVA API Market

What advice would you give to someone who has an idea and wants to launch a startup, but doesn’t know how to make it happen?

It is essential that you talk to each of the different players in the target ecosystem: competitors, potential clients and partners. This will help you to understand what each is looking for. Otherwise it is very difficult to build something that works.

How should startup teams work?

First a series of shared values should be determined as a team, ensuring that everyone understands the overall vision and can focus on making that a reality by adapting to any changes that might emerge.

Objectives need to be established, taking time to stand back and consider whether the project is on the desired course. Scrum can help, thanks to its retrospective approach, giving entrepreneurs a chance to stop and think, and plan over again.

What steps do you recommend in each project stage?

First, entrepreneurs need to be clear on their objective, and then select the right resources to make it happen. While there is often talk of tools, in reality what we have are lots of models, which can be used to conceptualize what has been seen and done in each project stage. Some are associated with design thinking, while others are more on the development side.

However, the important thing is to know what content you need to manage in each stage: grasping the problem, selecting the right solution, testing and development.

As an expert in strategies and new methodologies, what do you think Agile and Scrum have to offer startups?

One of the main benefits of Agile is its flexibility and dynamism, helping you to move fast and be exactly where you need to be. While Scrum is aimed firmly at teams and individuals, i.e. ways of working.

Even if already know how to organize yourself and plan, these two methodologies are a good means of evolving how a team works, bearing in mind that everyone working coherently is critical for a startup. However, neither Agile nor Scrum can help if you lack a clear vision for your business, or you are unaware of what you need to do to ensure flexibility and change.

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