Veo Capital

Tell us more about your story, what kind of business do you run and how did it all start?

I started my first business, namely organising pub crawls, during university back in 2010. Aerwards, I worked in Germany and started several smaller ventures, mainly in affiliate marketing. Aer returning to Malta to do my MBA, I started my digital marketing and transformation agency VEONIO and opened the small coworking space Glashaus in Gzira. During the pandemic, I got more involved in the expansion of our family business, which now offers a call center and customer support outsourcing under alive.support. We also developed several digital health and medical applications, e.g. pass.health, which was Germany's first digital vaccination passport. Now, we focus on further medical application and software development for health insurances and clinics in Europe. Out of personal interest, I also got involved in the yachting industry in Malta and am about to launch Yachting.mt (Yacht Charter & Broker in Malta) , which will digitalise the Maltese yacht charter and brokerage industry. While those ventures seem vastly different, they all share synergies and are closely interlinked through soware development, client needs, etc.

What was your mission at the start of your business? Is it still the same or has it evolved?

It's the same for all businesses: I enjoy solving "problems" by finding economically viable solutions for them. If the topic interests me and I see myself enjoying the journey, then I take on the challenge.

Throughout your journey so far, what were three of the most defining moments for your business?

Getting my first sale, hiring my first employee and selling my first business. Having a "first" moment is always exciting as it is usually a milestone achievement and drastic change to how it worked until then.

Inspiration and motivation are essential, yet through the day-to-day struggles it’s not always as easy. What values do you hold at heart to keep you going especially when facing challenges or difficult times?

Most people imagine running a business to be amazing, but it is more like Elon Musk perfectly described it: "Being an entrepreneur is like eating glass and staring into the abyss of death." As a result, motivation and inspiration are maybe great for getting started in the first few hours or day, but they are only temporary and fade away quickly. They are like new year's resolutions of going to the gym or starting a healthy diet. They just don't work. On the other hand, building habits and "simply doing it" works wonders. And if you run into a roadblock, simply find a solution or pivot your business model accordingly.

What changes have you made to your business strategy over the past few years?

Simplified things wherever possible, reduction of clutter, and learned how to delegate. The remaining strategy is just doing it.

What would be the key management competences for a successful business?

Self-discipline and honesty with oneself.

If you could go back five years, what advice would you give your younger self?

Buy more Bitcoin... oh and Ethereum!

What are the failures that you most cherish?

I don't think I cherish any of my failures, but I certainly learned the hard way that there is no shame in saying no, it is essential to delegate as much as possible, and detailed contracts prevent headache later.

If you had to take a different career path, what would it be?

Hard to say, but I would probably always end up in a position where I have my own business or in a job where I can solve "puzzles". Definitely not in a career which entails repetitive tasks or interferes with innovation.

What’s next? Are there any further dreams to be achieved?

Yes, always. I want to build Home | Yachting.mt | Yacht Charter & Broker in Malta into the biggest yacht charter and brokerage on the island. I also plan to expand our alive.support call center and outsourcing business to more countries and industries. We also want to expand our MedTech offering by launching geriatric care applications and a digital video consultation platform for medical specialists in Germany and Malta.