In ArgentinaThese days, the country risk (defined as the plus paid by the sovereign bonds of a country with respect to what the United States bonds pay) is around 2,190 basic points. Just to measure this number, the Brazil is 346, Italy 207, Uruguay 153 and Spain 110.
Although this number measures the risk of sovereign debt default, it also tells us about the turbulence that any company must face due to being based in Argentina. From there are the other risks of the business: commercial, technological, operational, logistical, etc., etc.
According to the Business Bulletin of the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security, in the period 2009 to 2019 (we take that range to isolate the economic effect of the pandemic), lThe number of companies went from 588,639 to 575,108 (2.29% drop), while in the Small and Micro sizes the drop was greater: 3.04% (546,278 in 2009, versus 575,108 in 2019).
It is not my intention to discourage those who are thinking of carrying out their own business. The fact that there are low chances of success should be an incentive for those who seek challenges and understand that their project is worthwhile.
But the important thing is that those of us who work with entrepreneurs are very honest in terms of the complexity of the journey, especially in Argentina, a country in which inflation is a chronic phenomenon, the labor laws of a time that has passed, there are more than 150 taxes and multiple values for the same good (the dollar), among other peculiarities. It is good to motivate entrepreneurs, but at the same time we must warn that it is one thing to receive a salary at the end of the month, and another thing to have the responsibility of paying more than one.
The microeconomic complexity of something that is just beginning is very high. It is not easy to take off and reach the balance point. To this universal difficulty, we add chaotic macroeconomics and regulatory changes. Thus, whoever undertakes faces an implacable combo.
Getting to create a unicorn represents for our young people the same thing that surely was the hope of finding El Dorado for our ancestors. The human being always longs for destiny to be generous and the dice fall on the right side. On some occasions some entrepreneurs, after a lot of work and effort, reach the winners’ podium. Beyond the fact that it is likely that many others are also generators of wealth and creators of employment and well-being, the spotlight shines on those who managed to create companies that reach a market value of US$ 1,000 million.
In a context in which distortions affect the meaning of words and the sequence and timing of things, the owner of an empire is called an entrepreneur (rather than a businessman), and it is advisable to teach entrepreneurship before being sure that Students know how to analyze variations in working capital or what market segmentation is.
This reflection comes to mind because it is very common to hear that one of the problems of universities is “training employees” instead of “illuminating entrepreneurs”. And that statement is worrying. Because the university must provide tools for multiple purposes. In principle, it must compensate for deficiencies in previous educational stages, such as interpreting texts and correctly expressing ideas in writing. Once this is overcome, it must teach us to think, to solve problems, to raise concerns, to question what we are taken for granted. To face difficulties and overcome them. To look curiously at the outside world. To get out of virtuality and experience the reality that surrounds us with the five senses. In this context, the contents related to entrepreneurship must be taught in an adequate proportion, along with many others. And it is the obligation of those who teach to warn about the difficulties and risks, the necessary perseverance and the poise required to make decisions.
Unlike a country like the US, in which failures in entrepreneurial attempts are seen as an opportunity to capitalize on experiences, and there are no sanctions as long as there has been no intentional fraud, in Argentina it is not easy or quickly recover from writing checks that could not be covered.
Being an entrepreneur means seeing opportunities and believing that one has the ability to provide answers. It means finding solutions or better ways of doing things, combining elements, innovating, experimenting, not resigning themselves to the fact that things must continue to be done the same way they have been for a certain number of years.
It also means being fully aware that it is not always a pleasant path, but in many cases you have to experience failure and the multiplicity of problems. Complex and changing economic contexts add an additional difficulty to the challenge of every entrepreneur.
On the other hand, in Argentina there is a marked disproportion between the institutions that promote entrepreneurship and those that invest capital in them. There are prizes and contests, but then there are few who are there to help cross the “valley of death”. In general, the few venture capital funds are oriented towards technology-based projects (with high levels of scientific sophistication) and professional, consolidated management. The quality of the “elevator pitch” is only the first step of the innumerable ones that must be taken to reach the promised land, or to bill the first million dollars. Just from that moment, some institutions that strongly promote entrepreneurship, open their doors to the young company.
For this reason, those of us who educate have the responsibility to face the issue seriously and help make decisions based on rationality and not on passing enthusiasm. This does not imply being negative or skeptical. It does not imply denying how wonderful it is for human beings to innovate, to create wealth and employment through a new undertaking. It implies giving all the tools for a mission that looks glamorous but, particularly in Argentina, is risky and arduous. It is essential to teach swimming, but it is also crucial to warn that the technique, training and experience to do it in a pool is not the same as that necessary to avoid drowning in the North Sea. And sometimes, the fact that our graduates work in large companies is not an act of mediocrity, lack of initiative or shortcomings in training, but rather a stage that allows them to train their muscles and brain to face the mission of undertaking, without dying in the attempt. The university must train and open the mind. And the stronger the foundation and the broader and more acute the analytical skills, the greater the chances of a college graduate to successfully undertake and transform multiple resources into a successful and sustainable company..
*Alicia Caballero is a doctor in Economics (UCA), director of UCATec and UCAEmprende.
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