Glovo co-founder Sacha Michaud visited Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan and shared his impressions of his visit to Central Asia, as well as tips for entrepreneurs.
About myself
I have been working in the IT field for over 25 years. I had an atypical career. Before joining the IT industry, I was a jockey, a horse rider during races in the UK and the USA. One day I came to my mother, who lived in Barcelona, and fell in love with this city. I decided to stay, but for this I needed to find something to do. There were no horse races here.
At that time, the Internet was just developing. I thought it was cool to send a message to a person in any country and get an answer right there. I saw great potential and entered the programming school.
I founded my first company in the mid-1990s. It was a service provider that focused on building communities in Spanish speaking countries. The project combined free mail, Internet search, classifieds — about eight or nine services in total.
We launched Latin Red in Spain, but quickly gained popularity in Latin America and became the largest Hispanic community in the world at that time. Some time later, the project was sold to an American company, which was later acquired by the large French telecommunications organization Orange.
For the next nine years, I worked in the gaming industry for Flatter, now known as Betfair. My responsibility was to develop its presence in the Spanish and Portuguese speaking markets.
About Glovo
Glovo is the biggest project I've been involved in as a co-founder. It all started in 2014. Then smartphones evolved rapidly, people had the opportunity to be in touch 24/7. At the same time, ride-helling gained popularity. Users ordered taxis online, when before they had to call a call service or raise their hand in the street in the hope that someone would stop.
I thought that instead of people you can carry things. Then a person does not need to go on his own, waste time and energy on the road. It is enough to order delivery, and the difference in price will be small.
Today Glovo operates in 25 countries around the world. The total number of cities in which we operate is more than 200. The number of active users is 2 000 000. We have more than 20 000 partner stores and restaurants, 8000 active couriers and more than 4000 employees.
We have achieved these results through hard work and a certain amount of luck. I think another reason is that we are focusing on local execution. In different places, life is built in its own way. Barcelona is different from Bucharest or Almaty. Therefore, a strong local team is the key to development.
In Kazakhstan, Glovo is a Kazakh company. We identify ourselves with the local culture, study local users, listen to partners.
A key aspect of our business is couriers. We have an obligation to them: by the end of 2023, all couriers will have social guarantees and benefits, fair wages. We educate employees on road safety, especially those who use motorcycles and bicycles. For them, there are free online educational courses on various topics: from the development of Soft Skills to the skills of working with Microsoft programs and learning foreign languages. The idea is that an employee, leaving the company, has the opportunity to get any other job.
About attraction of investments
For a company the size of Glovo, there was little investment in Spain. Therefore, we started looking for foreign investors early. It is difficult to convince that the Spanish project will be able to compete in the world market, but we succeeded.
For the past five or six years, venture capitalists and funds have focused on one metric: growth. Today, the focus has shifted to profitability. Funding will be provided to a project that demonstrates a sustainable unit economy.
Glovo recently became a unicorn, a company valued at over a billion dollars. I don't like this status because it doesn't change anything fundamentally. Our company is not yet self-sustaining. We plan to achieve this in the next two years. Only then can I say that we have achieved success.
Love what you do and don't be afraid to fail
Investors are attracted by the idea. Then they look at the team to see if they can do what they have in mind. To attract funding, you need a good, clear plan. Not too long-term: in two or three years, everything will change in the IT field. Focus on the 12 months and don't take on too many tasks at once.
Find good partners and a team. You won't be successful alone. Focus on a few basic things and do them well. Love what you do and don't be afraid to fail.
About the IT industry
IT is an amazing field. Sometimes we forget how much it has changed our lives. Today, people work from home, although 20 years ago this was not possible. Technology makes it possible to take a plane on Friday and spend the weekend in another city. I am honored to be a part of this development.
One of the promising trends is small shops near the road or near the house. They are close to the buyer and can quickly deliver the necessary item. Today, people want to get what they need right away. Big tech giants like Amazon or Alibaba store goods thousands of miles away and often take weeks to deliver a purchase. The digitalization of fast delivery is a unique opportunity. And Glovo will be part of it.
As a member of the Meta Advisory Board in Spain, I believe there is a future for the Metaverse. At the same time, I feel some rush around this technology. For its full-fledged work, an infrastructure is needed, which is not so easy to build. Ten years is the optimal time needed to create the Metaverse.
About the visit to Central Asia
This is my first visit to Central Asia. I try to travel regularly to the countries where we work. This is necessary to meet with the local team, to see how the business and the market works. During these trips, I talk to users, customers, partners, couriers. They tell you what works the way it should and what doesn't. Thanks to this, you better understand the specifics of the work.
It is also an opportunity to meet with governments of countries. It is important for us to show that we are here for the long haul. Glovo becomes part of the city thanks to the conspicuous yellow bags. In addition, we help small businesses digitize and provide income to couriers.
I spent four days in Kyrgyzstan. It is a small country, but business in it is growing at an incredible pace. Met with local entrepreneurs and the government. We signed a memorandum of understanding.
Bishkek is a beautiful city located close to the mountains. At the weekend we went to nature, rode horses. As a former jockey, it was especially pleasant for me.
I also came to Kazakhstan for a few days. I feel great potential here. Society has already digitized, which is great. There are many good, talented personnel in the country. I believe that the mix of local and foreign companies like Glovo will give a big impetus to the development of the entire IT ecosystem. In Kazakhstan, you can find amazing local companies like Kaspi with a capitalization of $12 000 000. I am also impressed with the Glovo local team, which has over 1000 employees. We plan to establish a regional hub in Kazakhstan, from which we will launch to other countries in the region.
On the trip, I tried the local food. I was offered horse meat, a ram's head, various fermented milk products - everything was delicious.
About plans
We continue to invest in the team, marketing, couriers in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. For Glovo, Central Asia is a growth region, so we do not expect profitability in the near future.
We will look for opportunities to scale to other countries of the region from the hub in Almaty.
