VISION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP BEYOND BORDERS MARCUS
Marcus Dantus shows why continuous success is brought about by experience. Throughout his career he’s been involved in innovative ventures
To the general public, Marcus Dantus is known for appearing in Shark Tank México, but even before taking part in the thrilling reality show on Sony TV, Marcus Dantus made a name for himself as an entrepreneur since decades ago, after developing businesses with high potential resulting in success, and engaging in projects displaying such traits as innovation, creativity and becoming a solution to one or more problems.
“I’m an entrepreneur, I’ve been through all of this, and obviously that helps to boost businesses, since I know what kind of problems they face,” Dantus explained.
The Shark Tank celebrity went twice through college, majoring in Computer Science at ITESM (Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education) and also earning a bachelor’s in Communications with a specialization in Film, at the University of Pennsylvania.
“I’ve seen too many businesses, thousands of pitches, thousands of business models, which brings me a greater vision about what businesses need,” the investor declared.
SOLID INVESTMENTS THRUSTING TALENT
After Dantus’ first ventures toward becoming an Internet pioneer in Mexico -through the Mexico.com website and
the Latin American Telecom enterprise-, online phone solutions such as Simitel and Peerant followed. He was also appointed as CEO for medical device creators Innovamédica, a position he held for three years.
Once into the second decade of the 21st Century, Dantus joined Wayra, Telefónica’s business incubator, helping drive startups from Mexico through the Iberian telecom giant’s platform.
Dantus currently heads StartUp México (SUM), a platform that offers innovation for entrepreneurs, the company’s success relies on financial support from Dux Capital, another of Dantus’ companies, poised to accomplish 14 investments during 2021.
“Our greatest success in SUM is the number of companies we’ve created, all the people we’ve been able to help, and our territorial expansion,” Dantus said.
The entrepreneur is also in charge of the Mexican chapter for the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN), which
operates in 170 countries; he is Head of Latin America for Angel Labs, and he was a member of the board for nonprofit Ashoka.
“To be chosen to represent Mexico in an important, worldwide organization such as GEN is important,” the entrepreneur commented.
TALENT AND OTHER FACTORS TO EVALUATE
The successful entrepreneur believes talent is to be evaluated once its combined as a team, considering aspects such as each partner’s level of expertise about the venture and how
each individual’s knowledge adds to the whole; talent should also be assessed according to the specialization level in a determined subject, as in the way they are poised to answer any question derived from the problem to be solved by their business model, what kind of market is there for it and how is it different from similar efforts.
KEYS TO A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS VENTURE
• There’s a purpose beyond just earning money
• It solves a problem
• There’s some kind of innovation to it
• There’s a great team backing it
• It happens in the proper place and moment
“I take notice of the whole team; when you deal with only one individual, you must perceive aspects such as ethics, willingness to listen, how passionate they are about their project and the knowledge they possess about such matter,” Dantus explained.
OUTSTANDING VENTURES
Among Marcus Dantus’ recent investments, there are ones getting some attention, such as Play Business, a crowdfunding platform whose stocks have notably risen. Another venture bringing a significant ROI is the PlayQ gaming platform.
Other standout ventures include Mozper fintech platform and the Epica platform for AI, both companies have been supported by Dux Capital. Dantus also foresees success for Paradise, whose outlets offer CBD, cannabis and other hemp products.
I’M AN ENTREPRENEUR, I’VE BEEN THROUGH ALL OF THIS, AND THAT HELPS TO BOOST BUSINESSES, SINCE I KNOW WHAT KIND OF PROBLEMS THEY FACE TIENEN
- Marcus Dantus
SHARK TANK: THE THRILL OF INVESTMENTS AND COMPETITION
Marcus Dantus has brought nothing but thrills to Sony TV’s reality show. Among the success stories he’s been involved with in Shark Tank, he recalls Señor Dog, a training product for pets; and the easy and practical suitcase, a unique product predating an exciting development and chance for success.
The show has also brought Dantus a couple disappointments. One of them was the healthy tuna franks project, as he was absent from that episode, and the Chorizos DM Toluca delicatessen, whose team picked Arturo Elías Ayub’s proposal over Dantus’ and the rest of the “sharks”.
“They wouldn’t take my proposal, they picked other sharks and that hurt a bit... I feel those are very good businesses,” the entrepreneur said.
TYPICAL ERRORS FROM ENTREPRENEURS
• Working individually or with too many partners
• Profit being the only purpose of the venture
• Being unaware of the customers’ needs
• Disputes among partners
ROADBLOCKS IN BUSINESS’ WAY
There are businesses whose lifespan ends, according to Dantus, when they can no longer repeat the same rate of success, when there’s not enough market for them or when they become obsolete.
And all of these may happen to businesses which actually got a start. Nevertheless, there are plenty of ideas and projects that never get that start. Dantus blames lack of support to SMEs
in Mexico and many other countries; he also mentions the reduced markets, besides other factors such as economy and systemic problems in many countries like corruption and the lack of support from a legal system favoring entrepreneurs, among other matters in the way of business.
“There are also cultural matters, such as a lack of tolerance for failure, punishment for success, investors’ unwillingness to take a risk, the lack of financial options... I feel all of these can be serious disadvantages,” Marcus Dantuls concluded.
I’VE SEEN TOO MANY BUSINESSES, THOUSANDS OF PITCHES, THOUSANDS OF BUSINESS MODELS, WHICH BRINGS ME A GREATER VISION ABOUT WHAT BUSINESSES NEED
- Marcus Dantus
