How does a startup succeed? What draws investors to fund a given enterprise? What should entrepreneurs do to make sure their business stands out? How important is it for startups to use technology nowadays? These and many other questions were discussed during the debate titled “Business Environment in Brazil and E-Business Trends”, held by FGV Management on June 26, in Sao Paulo.

Mediated by Professor Antonio André, coordinator of the “E-Business” Executive course, the meeting gathered eight experts from different areas within the E-business chain to talk to students and share information regarding a market that moves approximately USD 2 trillion worldwide and USD 11 billion in Brazil alone. The event featured Pedro Sonego (investment analyst at Startup Farm); Fausto Monteiro (client solutions manager at Facebook); Fabio Costa (innovation manager at Timwe); Dairton Bassi (creator of Agile Trends); Hugo Santos (co-founder of Pluvi.On); Anderson Pavanello (managing partner at Meu Contador Online); Paulo Fernandes (e-Commerce logistics researcher at the World Bank); and Cristóvão Pereira (FGV professor and consultant).

According to André, more than one million new “internet-of-things devices will be purchased every hour around the world by 2021, at increasingly higher speeds”. However, the professor warns that such enormous gain expectations also carry on huge risks. Some estimates indicate that 85% of e-business ventures failed during the first few years after their creation.

According to Professor Cristóvão Pereira, the financial structure must engage investors. “Investors want to know the size and length of return on investments. It is important to remember that Brazil has the second highest base investment rate, and the venture’s ROI must be able to compete with such high rate. The eventual success of the business must be clear in order to attract investors”.

Some variables are essential to determine such success. Both Pereira and Pedro Sonego, from Startup Farm, agree that the quality of human capital is paramount. “Besides the entrepreneurs themselves, the project team must be above the curve in a range of fields of expertise. Teams must be multidisciplinary and diverse in gender and social classes. This diversity helps mitigate the cost of understanding the target audience, for example”, said Sonego.

According to Dairton Bassi, from Agile Trends, although there is no recipe for success, some simple tools can be very valuable to help entrepreneurs build their startups, such as Canvas, which allows mapping target audiences, potential partners, suppliers, and promotion strategies for products and services. “Sometimes, using these tools and taking some time to truly understand the business can avoid rework and misdirected proposals”, he said.

Fausto Monteiro, from Facebook, added that many of these tools are very affordable. “You can determine the profile of potential consumers, assess possibilities, create scenarios and perform many other tasks at a very low cost”.