Since 1962, the Cuban trade embargo has been in effect by the United States. While entrepreneurs are always embarked on a journey full of obstacles that state law being against the business practices counts as a huge wall of the obstacle. Consequently, the time has been extremely tough for entrepreneurs to do business. Over the past few decades, the diplomatic tensions are easing out however, the trade embargo still exists. Notably, Cuba has turned out to be the capital for creativity and people with great potential. The country is thriving with a group of IT workers and entrepreneurs in the US are starting to consider their potential. But, the crux here is that Cuba needs entrepreneurship as the state cannot create enough jobs to support its citizen. Erik Brieva, (CEO at Strands Labs, Inc.) too recognized this need and ventured into entrepreneurship—despite business wasn’t legally allowed.
Entrepreneurship is synonymous with risk-taking, but Erik took the risk for the greater good. Profits and growth are for the latter, but he initially stepped into the industry after recognizing the need to create enough jobs for the citizens. “My entrepreneurial journey began in Cuba, where I was born, a place full of creativity but also where people have a lot of necessity,” said Erik.
Breaking New Ground
Erik was a student of Cybernetics and Mathematics at the University of Havana. Formerly, he created a network to sell consumer goods, as well as using his father’s car to rent as a taxi in Havana. The start of his entrepreneurship! He recognized the need for employment and also knew the potential of the people. Though doing business was not legal, in that perfect storm of obstacles and necessity, he ventured into the entrepreneurial universe.
From Havana, he moved to London and attained his Master’s in Graphics. After attaining enough insights about the industry he moved to Barcelona to create his first software company, which also turned out to be a success as the team grew to 180 people in two years and started catering to big companies. Over the years, he has established 16 successful companies and most of them have been software companies or digital services. In 2014, he was appointed as the CEO of Stands Lab Inc. The platform was initially developed for personalization and recommendations for solutions for the music industry. Apple acquired these early solutions together with a portfolio of 32 patents. The company then steered its focus on the R&D of FinTech. Erik adds, “I love focusing on breaking new ground, being embedded into a culture of continuous innovation.”
Today, Strands is a FinTech software vendor, part of the CRIF Group. It develops AI-driven solutions for banks and financial institutions to assist the increasing surge in customer engagement as well as generate revenue through digital channels. HQ in Barcelona, the firm has been successful in creating a strong global presence and has collaborated in delivering more than 700 digital banking implementations worldwide. Currently, due to the pandemic, Strands have been more focused on improving the bank-client relationship. Erik and his team are leveraging their experience in AI to develop more personalized digital money management solutions that empower people and businesses—especially in times like these.
Reshaping the Consumer Behavior
Presently, the pandemic has created a global uncertainty, which has given rise to stress wave across several companies. Investors are currently focused on more robust and established companies thus the SMME and early stages ventures are having a lack of funds. However, this economic crisis was predicted, which is why Erik has been invested in forging strategic alliances to help Strands to consolidate its leadership as a digital and open banking vendor. It is enabling financial institutions and businesses to create value and new opportunities for consumers, empowering them to make smarter financial decisions leading to improved quality and a spike in productivity of their businesses.
Erik also highlighted the positive impact of a pandemic such as the global cultural shift and accelerated adoption of virtual platforms. “This has further pushed the population forward towards digital transformation and has created opportunities for the fintech companies.” Erik further exemplates, “For instance, as social distancing has taken hold worldwide, there has been tremendous growth in the use of digital payment systems.”
Pivoting Towards Mission and Vision
Social distancing norms have forced the workforce to operate remotely. While several companies struggled while working remotely, the teammates of Strands were swift in adopting the new normal of working. Erik’s leadership style is to lead by example, with passion and tenacity, in alignment with all the other necessary qualities to achieve the company goals. He has instilled the same values in his team, thus the team of Strands is always striving to fulfill the company goals—in the closed cabin or from the comfort of home. The team is driven by the core values of collaboration, innovation, creativity, flexibility, multiculturalism, and responsibility.
Erik oversees the product strategy and market positioning and leads a high-performance team to execute on those premises. However, he believes that the main responsibility is to define the company’s vision and mission. Likewise, Erik terms this as one of the key quality to lead a team, he asserts, “Beyond attitude, you have to feel passionate for the company’s mission and vision, and to be able to communicate it to all stakeholders in an engaging and inspiring way.”
Alongside, the instinct, creativity, tenacity, and adaptability to the changes also help to lead a successful team. The empathy and decisiveness towards the team are equally important. He adds, “It is vital to act according to ethics and integrity, and to manage to embrace people’s differences.”
Resilience and Awareness
Erik has successfully managed the operations of Strands for almost a decade, but the scenario has been different from what he is facing currently. The pandemic has brought a big economic and mental disruption worldwide. Nevertheless, Erik has managed to wave this stress through resilience. No matter the obstacles one encounters in the path, one must never give up. Despite the crisis, he has managed to pivot or adapt to the changing circumstances.
Now, several entrepreneurs have entered the race—especially considering the current times— the race is far more stressful. Erik advises that it is important to take the stress as something implicit that needs to be managed since it will be present in a company from its creation to its growth. Lastly, he adds that the best entrepreneurs fine-tune their product and their business model until they find that slot.
“It is also important to be aware of the opportunities around you, detect them, and go after them. Ideas always come and go, but in the end, only those who risk developing them can transform them into reality,” says Erik.
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