01:00:08 · Giuseppe Balzano
[01:00:08] S1: Yeah. It's always the same. You find the smartest kid in the room, okay, it's always the same, and this guy, sooner or later, will find something different to do. Could be his own company, could be another, you know, employer with better terms, it could be they decide to go to Australia and never come back, you know, it could be everything. And it's always been despite the skills around, you know, and and so you have to find a way. Of course, the incentive cannot be based on the thirty years skill. Like, it's either you find a cofounder or not. So we decided to do a different approach, which is an yearly review of some specific goals that we that we have as a team and as a specific, you know, single individual in the company. And and they have... It's a constellation inspired kind of mechanism. They earn some cash, but that cash must be go... Part of that must be an investment in the holding company. And we convert, you know, the cash bonus per year in the in the equity of of the holding. I'm happy with that because, you know, if they decide to have a transfer... Like, imagine being the employee. You receive 20 k, and then you have to make the transfer back because you're buying 10 k worth of shares. Duff. It's Christmas. Your family wants to have presents. You know, you want to do some mountain ski, and you have 20 k. You decide to invest 10 k in your company. It's psychological again. So I decided to have this kind of mechanism in the in the company. And, of course, you know, people will live in the future. It's healthy. We will find new people, and hopefully, the mechanism will be the same. Then maybe something that will change in the future is what happens if someone becomes the head of a business unit? Maybe they are in charge of a team. Maybe we spin off, you know, some sort of business unit, you know, that which is still in the holding, but they have an autonomy of deploying capital. That is another question and another challenge. But for now, it's just me and two analysts. It's it's it's not it's it's not given. You know? In in the future, I think in the next year, these two people, first of all, started with me as a junior people. Now they have a lot of responsibilities, a lot. Like, one is completely in charge of finance. One is completely in charge of scouting. Okay?
01:02:34 · Giuseppe Balzano, Mikk
So I hope I hope these people will go higher and higher, you know, in the in the in the ladder. On the other side, it's clear that we will find someone that can be join... Can join the company, and we will change maybe the way we face the issue. But for me, for us, for the board, this is one of the most important topics. I would say even more important than the scouting engine, because companies are there. You just have to find them, but companies are there. Finding talents is difficult. Finding talents in Italy is more difficult because all my colleagues decided to leave for other countries. Decide... Finding someone that is Italian in Italy, or maybe not Italian, but willing to be in Italy for the long term. [01:03:20] S0: Tough, but you gotta be optimistic because you you Yeah. [01:03:23] S1: Of course. [01:03:23] S0: With this with with this episode as well, I think you're putting out extremely strong message. And there might be this one another crazy Italian with his extremely long term view on on on business and and life.
01:03:38 · Giuseppe Balzano
[01:03:38] S1: And I'm looking for out... Guys, I'm looking for outsiders. So I know it's it's difficult, but an outsider is someone that is unemployable. Like, if you have a case for me which is unemployable, like, it's impossible, people will see... Will think that you are a smart person, That is my sweet spot. I like to hire people that have a story, they they have defeats, they have something to win, they're doing they're doing something for someone or for for themselves. They are hungry, you know, they're motivated. That is my sweet spot. I don't care about anything else. It's... Yeah. Okay. You have twenty years of experience of play by table d. Of course, you know, you're you're more senior than me, and and you know more than me. Of course. Still, in the way I think, you're not gonna help me. We need someone that can do the extra mile. And this is applicable also to investors. If I put together all my investors, they... They're all entrepreneurs. They are GPs of private equity. They're entrepreneurs. They're not financials. There is only one, maybe. But there is a story behind. You know? And and I like to have this builder mentality because we are building something. So it's important to have the first 20 employees or 20 partners or 20 investors to be builders. I can call these people and say, guys, it doesn't work anything. Like, we we are failing. And these people will not say fuck. They will say, okay. I'm gonna help you. You know, let's sit on the table. Let's do it together. You know? This is the kind of mentality I'm looking for, not just in the team, also, you know, in the ecosystem.
01:05:11 · Mikk
[01:05:11] S0: Again, you're young. You have this very, very different approach. How would you like to title this episode? Like, just an an idea. What what is it you're building? How would you like to title it?
01:05:23 · Giuseppe Balzano
[01:05:23] S1: Building a building a legacy despite the odds, I would say. Why why despite the odds? Because, again, this is personal, and it's important. You know? I'm coming from nothing. Like, my my my parents are farmers. They they they... I was born in Puglia, and it was tough. Like, we we we had to to to move to Milano, and there was no money, and lots of psychological and personal stuff happened. In the end, you know, I managed without money, without chances, you know, without any assets, I would say, to study. My first job, I was 14, and my mom was in charge of making the invoices because in Italy, it's illegal. So so sorry, Italian authorities, but it was my mom. It was not me. Still, I made it. You know? So I learned this, whatever happens, you can make it. It doesn't mean that you will make it, but you can make it. There is a way. There is always a way to make it happen, you know. And and if I saw myself since, you know, the first invoice up to now, all the choices I made were choices that I should have not made. I made a lot of mistakes, you know, along the journey. Still, I'm here. You know? And I think I think this is, in the end, the secret sauce maybe. So despite the odds, it's because this is an outsider. You know? This is a person that maybe will not make it, and maybe the next interview is how you failed your your holding company, and hope... Or I hope to to be useful, you know, to listeners as well. But for now, since I'm making it, trust me, if you if you saw my profile or myself twenty years ago, ten years ago, five years ago, there was no no one that would have bet anything given my background and where I'm coming from. Also, if you put together we are in Italy, not the easiest region, there is a famous joke that someone says, you know, in Italy. No one managed to conquer Italy in full. We had to sell some assets, you know, to make Italy. Okay? I think the odds are very low, so I think that that could be the title. But if you don't like it, you know, you you can use maybe building an industrial group out of Italy or other, you know, soft titles, which for me, it's fine as well. I hope people will just listen to the to the podcast or to the interview and and have the the drive, you know, to do something. I think we are missing we are missing builders. We need to build. Like, all my colleagues are in banks, in consulting, in in...
01:08:03 · Giuseppe Balzano, Mikk
I don't know. Guys, build. It doesn't matter. Know? You you... Money is there. There's a lot of capital. Go there, look for money, make risks, fail, but do something. Quoting for the Europeans, you know, some months ago, you know, he went in European parliament saying, it doesn't matter what you do, but do something. You know? I think this is the the kind of period in which we are for the next decade. It's gonna be the same. So, yeah, I hope this is the message I'm passing. [01:08:36] S0: Awesome that you brought it out because I... I've been taking notes here and I've been putting on quotes that now you're living you're living life, man. You... You've come a long way. It was just you and your presentation and your very different approach of building a holding company at such a young age with, as you said, not the strongest track record. And you still were able to do that. So during this two year period, you mentioned before, I already forget, but did you ever feel that, okay, it's... I don't know. It's it's too hard. Can't do it. No. Never. Have to change the approach.