Angela Cois

Entrepreneur

From 0 to 600 closed deals with hotels in Mexico during the 1st year of operations.
I won the first Pitch Competition for women entrepreneurs in LatAm held in Miami on Decemeber 2013 and organized by FOMIN (http://www.wexchange.co).

I want to contribute to a big change in the industry of Travel, consolidating a range of verticals that have been fragmented for years.

AirBnB; Salesforce.

The biggest frustration is to not have enough time to learn about the market and the industry you're trying to innovate with your technology. Many entrepreneurs run out of money too early to complete the necessary learning curve. On the other hand, there is a strong satisfaction in seeing that your product is really changing something in the industry. When the main actors of the arena look at your small company and perceive there is something interesting and with a great potential in your technology and idea.

We used to make a lot of mistakes. I think that the most relevant one, expecially at the beginning, is to believe too much in what mentors and accelerator programs are able to do for you and for your company. There are no magic receipts and the seed investment of an accelerator program is not enough to really learn about an industry, understanding the real lacks and the main challanges you've to face to along the journey.

Don't give up your job too early.
Is better to have cofounders with a strong sence of sacrifice and with the ambition of being great entrepreneurs, rather than very talented people who finally looks for the easiest way to make money and leave you as soon as a better opportunity comes up.
Be patient and try to learn the most you can about an industry. Consider that: for the first 2 years of your startup, the money you raise or invest in your company is necessary to buy time and learn all the secrets and hidden dynamics of the industry you pretend to innovate and change with your idea.

Co-founder and COO at LastRoom, a Mexican startup providing with travel management solutions for companies and business travelers in Latin America. She completed her studies in Italy, getting a Bachelor’s degree in Public Relations and a Master’s Degree in International Relations at the University for Foreigners of Perugia. After a short experience working at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in 2010 she moves to Mexico and launched Ofercity, a group-buying platform focused on flash deals. She has 10 years-experience in direct sales and digital marketing working for several Italian and US companies. Since 2012 she’s in charge of the operations and business development at LastRoom. On January 2014 she launches www.Startup.mx, the first Mexican blog entirely focused on tech-companies and entrepreneurs’ testimonials and stories.