Few things that I’ve learnt here and there by running companies for the last 12 years, both in Europe and the US. On 03.10.2015 I was sharing my experience with students at 'Management Center Innsbruck'.

1. BUSINESS
- BUILDING
EUROPE vs. USA
Management
Center Innsbruck
March 10th,2015

2. 2
Zlatko Turkal is co-founder & CEOat @b_exchange . 3x
entrepreneur & business guy. He’s running companies in the
B2B markets for 12years,both in Europe and the US.
Starting things is in his DNA.
At the age of 23he started Medialab Inc, a successful
international company specialized in building tailored B2B
solutions,both hardware and software,for customers such
as airports and government.
His professional goals continue to be driving innovations
and building solutions that brings completely new way of
doing business online,such as www.business-exchange.co.
@zturkal

3. “It is common sense to take a method and try
it. If it fails,admit it frankly and try another.
But above all,try something.”
- Franklin D. Roosevelt

4. KNOW YOUR STUFF!
- UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM YOU ARE GOING TOSOLVE.
- UNDERSTAND THE MARKET DYNAMICS.
- UNDERSTAND WHO YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE.
- UNDERSTAND HOW THEY MAKE BUYING DECISIONS.
- UNDERSTAND WHOINFLUENCE THEIR BUYING DECISIONS.
- UNDERSTAND WHO YOUR COMPETITORS ARE.
- UNDERSTAND YOUR ADVANTAGES.

5. B2B SALES
VS.
B2C SALES
SHORT SALES CYCLE
CHEAPER
OFTEN EMOTIONAL
HOOKUPS
I DON’T KNOW YOU!
- XYZ %
LONG SALES CYCLE
MORE EXPENSIVE
RATIONAL
RELATIONSHIPS
TRUST IS CRUCIAL!
NON DISCOUNT %

6. PAINPOINT/NEED RESEARCH NEGOTIATION PURCHASE
B2B SALES CYCLE
9 OUT OF 10
BUSINESS
BUYERS (BB) SAY
WHENTHEY ARE
READY TOBUY,
THEY WILL FIND
YOU
81% OF BB START
THE PROCESS WITH
A WEB SEARCH
84% SAID WORD
OF MOUTH
RECOMMENDATION
S INFLUENCE THEIR
PURCHASE
1. CAN I SEE YOUR
WORK?
2. HOW MANY
REFERENCES DO
YOU HAVE?
3. ARE YOU
TRUSTWORTHY?
4. WHAT IS YOUR
PRICE?
SOURCE: FORRESTER RESEARCH

7. AS THE B2B SELLER,
YOUR JOB IS TO
INFLUENCE
BUYER’S DECISION
EVEN BEFORE
THE NEED ARISES.

8. S
BUILDING TRUST IS NOT
BUILDING ONLINE PRESENCE IS EASY

9. BUILDING INFLUENCE N THE B2B ARENA
BUY ONLINE DISPLAY ADS
HIRE PR PERSON/AGENCY
PAY FOR PRINT ADVERTISING
TV ADS
Your expenses will be outrageous
compared to your benefits in the
short run and you don’t have
enough cash to support these
activities in the long run.
IN HOUSE SALES TEAM
GET REFERRAL PROCESS IN PLACE
SURVEYS (require feedback)
GROWTH HACKING
BLOG
EMAIL MARKETING
SEO/SEM
EVENTS FOR THE EXECUTIVES
TRADESHOWS/CONFERENCES

10. COMPANY #1
A company specialized in quiet computing & tailor made software solutions.

11. - $0 fundraised.
MEDIALAB ltd. (PULA,CROATIA)
- Founded in 2003 (pre social
media era).
- Company revenue grew from
$0 to $700,000 in 24 months.
- 80% of the revenue came
through referrals.

12. Surveillance
systems
company
IT &
Telecommunication
company
Hotel
management
software
company
ERP Software
company
BUILDING THE “REFERRAL ENGINE” WITH EXISTING CUSTOMERS
CUSTOMER #1 CUSTOMER #2
CUSTOMER #4 CUSTOMER #3
20% of all
referrals coming
through this
customer.
10% of all
referrals coming
through this
customer.
10% of all
referrals coming
through this
customer.
40% of all
referrals coming
through this
customer.
20% of all referrals coming from all other customers

13. MARKETING ACTIVITIES
- INHOUSE SALES TEAM.
- ADVERTISING ONTHE RADIO.
- BILLBOARDS.
- FLYERS (DISPATCHED BY
GIRLS ONROLERBLADES IN
THE CITY CENTER).
- SPONZORSHIPS & DONATIONS.
- PARTNERSHIPS WITH
REPUTABLE IT MAGAZINES.

14. BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL COMPANY
. . .

15. KNOWLEDGE
PERSISTENCE
LUCK

16. “
”
- Gary Player

17. BEING LUCKY; STORY #1
I was 23 and I just started Medialab. Few months after the day I signed the certificate of incorporation I found
myself in the local bank president’s office with the check for $100,000 in my hand.
I was insanely lucky to get myself into that situation. Here is the story; at some point Medialab had gotten more
orders from the customers than we would have expected,and we didn’t have enough money to buy goods from
suppliers and deliver stuff that had been ordered (at the time in Croatia, you would get paid after you deliver
goods/services,and we had been buying parts from the suppliers based in the US and we had to pay for each
order upfront). $100,000 was missing.
In those first months of operations we were lucky to get one of the largest local ERP software company as a
customer. I closely worked with their CEO (the CEO) on a regular basis. One day,over the lunch I had with the
CEO,he asked me how things were going?
I said; perfect in terms of the interest we are seeing from our customers,but we don’t have enough money to
get the goods. Both my co-founder and I are 23,out of cash and not eligible to get a bank loan by any means. I
think we have to miss this opportunity and keep pushing forward on a slower pace.

18. BEING LUCKY; STORY #1
That same day in the evening,my telephone rang. It was the CEO. He asked me; do you have time tomorrow at
noon to meet me in the local bank president’s office. I just replied; sure. And the conversation was over.
The office was on the top floor of a massive,over 100 years old building. Right after I shook hands with the
president and we all sat down the CEO stated; This is my friend Zlatko,who is running a company with a great
potential. They have lots of orders from customers but they are missing $100,000 so they collect the parts from
suppliers and deliver orders to customers. I want you/the bank to issue him a loan of $100,000 as soon as
possible and he will repay you money back in 30 days. Is that right Zlatko,he asked me. I said; damn right,sir.
The CEO then said; I’m here to guarantee with my name and my money that the debt will be repaid on time.
And it had been! Medialab repaid the debt on the day 29.
The CEO and I …. We are very good friends since and he is a mentor and a second father to me. Our revenue
skyrocketed to $700,000 in just a few months following the event at the bank. I really don’t know what would
have happened with Medialab if the CEO hadn’t been in the picture at that point.

19. COMPANY #2
An online referral engine for B2B companies

20. - $165,000 fundraised.
BUSINESS EXCHANGE (USA)
- Founded in 2012 (Palo Alto).
- First 1000 users/businesses
acquired in 6 months.
- Straight shot class of 2013
alumni.

21. MARKETING ACTIVITIES
- INHOUSE SALES TEAM.
- SURVEYS.
- GROWTH HACKING.
- BLOG.
- SEO/SEM.
- EMAIL MARKETING.
- TRADESHOWS/CONFERENCES.
- ASSOCIATIONS WITH CHAMBERS
OF COMMECE.
- WIDGETS.

22. BEING LUCKY; STORY #2
HOW DID WE GET
TO BE A PART OF:

23. “Organized by 500 Startups,Geeks on a Plane (#GOAP) is an invite-only tour for startups,investors,
and executives to learn about high-growth technology markets worldwide. We travel by planes,trains,
and automobiles to the most exciting international startup scenes with the sole mission of uniting
geeks and exploring cross-border opportunities. The result: a lifelong bond with fellow travelers,a
wealth of new friends and business contacts in exploding technology markets,and a stronger
appreciation for the cultural and economic ties that bind us globally.”
It was June of 2012 and we applied to be a part of the upcoming GOAP tour in Eastern Europe,
without even knowing what the cost of the trip would be. Within just few days after the
application had been submitted an email from 500startups hit my inbox. The email was like; Hey
Amit, you are invited to join our GOAP tour in Eastern Europe, the cost for each founder would be
$x,xxx and you have 24 hours to claim your spot.
Let’s put it simply; we didn’t have that money. Not even close,we were a startup after all!!
So I replied: You better count on us!

24. It took me 15 days to find sponsors for the trip who at the end paid all our costs. It goes without
saying that I still can’t thank enough for companies and organizations that made that trip happen. I
felt like the luckiest guy on earth (and I still do).
The GOAP trip turned out be of a crucial importance for the development of Business Exchange.
We got to know some of the best people in the industry who then made crucial connections with
more people back in the US which finally led to moving Business Exchange operations to the US
market just 2months after the trip was over.
Within 6 months after we moved operations to the US market,the Business Exchange team
fundraised $165,000 from the Europe and the US based investors combined.

25. vs
STARTING A COMPANY
RESOURCE: WHY EUROPE LAGS THE US IN TECHNOLOGY STARTUPS

26. VS.
LONDON
DUBLIN
BERLIN
CAMBRIDGE
WEST COAST:
SAN FRANCISCO
SILICON VALLEY
LOS ANGELES
LOCATION

27. TALENT
THE SIGNIFICANT MOBILITY
AFFORDED TO EU CITIZENS.
WIDE-RANGING SKILLS POOL
IN MANY PLACES (INCLUDING
DUBLIN AND LONDON).
DIVERSE TALENT POOL.
STRONG SPRINKLING OF ENGINEERS,
SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS, AND
VENTURE CAPITALISTS.
SIGNIFICANT ASIAN INFLUENCE.
52.4% OF SILICON VALLEY STARTUPS
HAD ONE OR MORE IMMIGRANTS AS A
KEY FOUNDER.
FOUNDERS ORIGINATED FROM ALL OVER
THE WORLD—FROM AUSTRALIA TO
IRAN TO VIETNAM.
VS.

28. MARKET SIZE
28 MARKETS
24 LANGUAGES
1 MARKET
1 LANGUAGE
POPULATION OF 318.9
MILLION (2014)
HOMOGENOUS MARKET
VS.POPULATION OF OVER 500
MILLION (2014)
DIFFERENT CULTURES AND
CURRENCIES
FRICTION TO INNOVATION
(PARTICULARLY IN TERMS OF
MARKETING)
1 CURRENCY

29. SUPPORT SYSTEMS
ACCELERATORS
ANGELS/SEED VC
GROWTH EQUITY
HIGHER VALUATIONS
VS. $100M + VC FUNDS
ACCELERATORS
$100M + VC FUNDS
GROWTH EQUITY
LAWYERS, PR FIRMS, MEDIA,
etc.

30. ATTITUDE TO RISK
VS.

31. Thank you!

32. Lets connect,shall we!?
@zturkal