WEGrow A success story: Geraldine Mlynarz Chilean high-growth woman entrepreneur

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1 WEGrow A success story: Geraldine Mlynarz Chilean high-growth woman entrepreneur

2 Geraldine Mlynarz: A Chilean high- growth woman entrepreneur About the MIF The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) works to support economic growth and poverty reduction in Latin America and the Caribbean through the promotion of investment and private sector development. As part of its program, the MIF seeks to support entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises by creating a favorable ecosystem for early stage financing through angel investing, seed capital, and entrepreneurship. For more information, please visit About EY EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies over the world. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver our promises to all of our stakeholders. In doing so, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities. For more information about our organization, please visit: This publication forms part of the study WEGrow: Unlocking the Growth Potential of Women Entrepreneurs in Latin America and the Caribbean. It was commissioned by the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the Inter- American Development Bank (IDB), to EY. It has been prepared by EY Mexico with the cooperation and supervision of the MIF s Early Stage Equity Group. The following people participated in the review process from the MIF: Susana Garcia- Robles, Monica Pina Alzugaray, Rebeca Granda Marcos, Xuan-Trang Ho and Elizabeth Terry Inter-American Development Bank. All rights reserved; may be freely reproduced for any non-commercial purpose. The opinion expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Inter- American Development Bank, its Board of Directors, or the countries they represent Mancera S.C. Member of Ernst & Young Global All rights reserved 2

3 Geraldine Mlynarz: A Chilean high- growth woman entrepreneur Geraldine Mlynarz was born into a family of entrepreneurs in Santiago, Chile. She enjoyed her childhood growing up with two siblings. I come from a family of natural-born entrepreneurs. Geraldine s grandparents left Europe during the Second World War, with no money whatsoever. When they arrived in Chile they were able to establish themselves and create a new future for their family. Despite not having finished school, Geraldine s father was a businessman and her mother, who only managed to complete her first year of higher studies, always supported her husband and her household. After several years of economic hardship, her father was able to successfully establish himself as a businessman by opening several restaurants. This newfound success showed the entire family how to overcome hardships. Geraldine earned a degree in agricultural engineering from Universidad Católica. Since biotechnology has always been her passion, she decided to continue her studies and get a PhD in biology (she is currently still working on receiving her PhD). She has primarily focused on applied sciences, the field in which she works in today. HOW DID SHE GET STARTED? I never dreamed of having my own business; in fact, I always saw myself focusing only on academia. Her business grew out of her undergraduate thesis on non-invasive viral detection methods applied to salmon. Ana Maria Sandino, a specialist on fish virology with a PhD in biology, gave her the opportunity to develop her thesis in the laboratory, and as a result, became Geraldine s professor, mentor, and business partner. Their first business, Diagnotec, was aimed at offering services and products based on diagnosing, treating, and preventing aquaculture diseases. Early on they realized the need for a strategic partner to assist with product development, so they joined forces with a leading Chilean pharmaceutical company that was trying to expand in the area of veterinary medicine. At this point we needed a strategic partner in order to grow on a commercial level. Eventually, however, Geraldine and Ana Maria realized they no longer shared the same interests as the pharmaceutical, and decided to end their partnership harmoniously, by selling the company and starting over again. They had several projects that were still being developed and were not yet on the market, which motivated them to continue going forward. This is how Activaq began. The second venture was easier, since we already had experience, but also more difficult because we already knew what to be afraid of. Activaq, their second company, was created to develop bio-therapeutics to prevent diseases in the salmon industry. 3

4 WHAT CHALLENGES DID SHE FACE? Our main challenge was convincing the industry to believe in our innovation. One of their main challenges from the beginning was their lack of business management experience. Nevertheless, their greatest challenge was convincing the industry that their method worked, even though it was very different from traditional approaches. Unfortunately, the results of the product they offered could only be seen in the longer term, which was a disadvantage against their competitors. However, after some time the benefits became apparent. Geraldine and Ana Maria thought about giving up on their business. They were unsuccessful in finding investors who were interested in their project. Fortunately, on their second round of efforts, they successfully secured the financing they needed to move forward with their project. Another challenge that Geraldine faced was balancing the different roles that she has to play as a mother and entrepreneur. She hired someone to help with household chores, and also counted on support from her mother. For Geraldine, her priorities are clear: family always comes first. For Geraldine, being a woman in a conservative industry ruled by men made every effort or suggested idea a challenge. To her, it seemed like there is always a certain degree of camaraderie between men, which is not present when they do business with women. Working in a male-dominated environment was a great challenge at the beginning. INNOVATION: DIAGNOSE DISEASES BY APPLYING HIGHLY SENSITIVE AND OPERATIONAL METHODS I was not only convinced of its usefulness, but I was also driven by my desire to be able to introduce and apply a technique that did not yet exist at the time. Geraldine and her partner were able to diagnose diseases by applying highly sensitive methods that did not exist in the industry at that time, thus giving salmon farmers access to innovative and effective diagnostic tools. This strategy led Geraldine and her partner to great success. 4

5 ActivaQ is a biotechnology company created in It is an innovator in using next generation bio-therapeutics in the aquaculture industry. For many years, it has focused on R&D with the objective of developing a diverse platform to enter into the food production market with safe, efficient and sustainable biological products. Its focus is on delivering an integrated array of products and services for monitoring behavior of the immune response and oxidative stress in fish, especially salmon. In this way, biotheraperutics can be used to condition the ways in which gene expressions contribute to disease control in salmon. Furthermore, ActivaQ maintains a food safety practice, through its Detection of Dioxins Laboratory, an area of fish genetics that offers integrated genetic management programs, molecular genetic analysis, and more. WHAT ARE SOME LESSONS LEARNED FROM PAST EXPERIENCES? We have surrounded ourselves with highly skilled people who are committed to the project and are passionate about what they do, as well as with people who understand that our projects are medium and long term. For Geraldine, it is important that people understand that results are not due to the effort of any one individual, but are achieved as a team, which is more satisfying. In her company, leadership is about teamwork, because it is through hard work that objectives are accomplished. 5

6 WHAT ARE HER AMBITIONS? To become the leader in providing solutions to the aquaculture industry; mainly focused on health and on effective biological product development. Geraldine and her partner wish to be leaders not only nationally and regionally, but also globally, in order to demonstrate that it is possible to develop relevant solutions in Latin America that can be applied all over the world. My main challenge is being able to coordinate technical resources so that projects in different stages of development can all be carried out properly. Geraldine believes that coordination is an essential part of achieving ambitions. In the business world one needs to have passion for developing new products, and at the same time, be organized in order to reach goals. Geraldine says that in setting out to compete in a world where there is a lot of competition, you need to be careful about how you present your ideas so you do not trample on competitors. Best advice ever received Greatest mistake ever made Don t listen so much to others; instead, listen to yourself. Being impulsive. Making decisions or taking action before analyzing the situation. WHAT IS THE BEST ADVICE SHE CAN SHARE? To become a successful entrepreneur, do not focus on the success of others. Instead, define success in your own way. According to Geraldine, each of us is responsible for deciding where to go and how to get there. Each person knows his or her own goals and how to meet them in order to become successful. She says that one of the greatest successes in her life was the first time she sold the know-how of her technique to her first client in light of the fact that so many people had rejected her ideas before. 6

7 FROM ENTREPRENEUR TO ENTREPRENEUR, THREE PRACTICAL TIPS FOR BECOMING SUCCESSFUL: Understand your competitive advantage and have the ability to overcome any kind of challenge. Surround yourself with other women. The shared strength generated among women is substantial. Trust yourself. Don t focus on not knowing how to implement an idea. Instead, focus on taking everything one step at a time. Women across Latin America have the courage, the will and the tools to turn projects into realities. 7

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