Leopoldo Alejandro Betancourt López’s Entrepreneurial Mindset: Balancing Risk-Taking and Resilience
Investing in or starting a business always involves a degree of risk. But what separates the inexperienced dreamers from professionals like Leopoldo Alejandro Betancourt López is how much risk they’re willing to take. The common advice for casual investors is often to limit their exposure. For workers trying to build a healthy nest egg for retirement, financial professionals tend to suggest putting investment money into a mix of low- and high-risk options. But for high-level angel investors who want to increase their net worth exponentially or entrepreneurs who try to create success against giant odds, big bets are a way of life.
The same is true for entrepreneurs. Most small-business owners need to provide ample evidence that their venture can be profitable to secure a startup loan or convince investors to back their project. But the big shots do it differently. To yield high returns, professionals don’t simply make riskier and/or bigger bets. They think about risk in a completely different way.
“Look, 90% of projects that are started fail,” Leopoldo Alejandro Betancourt López said. “That’s something you’ve got to live with. Those are the realities of being an entrepreneur.”
The difference between starting a successful venture and one of the 90% that fail comes down to navigating that risk tolerance. Successful professionals understand when it’s necessary to take a big swing and when the cautious approach is better.
A Wide-Ranging Approach
Even among seasoned business backers, Leopoldo Alejandro Betancourt López is unusual. With a net worth of more than $2.6 billion, he’s a wonder at picking the right stocks to buy and companies to support. But even more unusual is the wide span of his investments.
Most top-level investors prefer to stick to a single area. For example, people who made their money in Silicon Valley tend to invest in the tech sector. For many, it simply makes more sense to stick to an industry they understand. But Betancourt López has a stronger appetite for uncertainty. He’s willing to seek good deals far and wide.
Although he began his career in Venezuela’s energy sector, Betancourt López has founded companies in the travel, tech, and fashion sectors. The key differentiator he looks for, beyond business plans and market studies, is the competence of the people in charge.
“There are 10,000 good ideas out there,” he said. “But not all of them come to be a successful venture — because there are many factors that make them successful. The most critical one is the people.”
Hawkers, a Spanish sunglasses company, began with an initial investment of $ by a group of friends who launched an online store selling stylish eyewear at a fraction of the cost of designer brands — and it took off.
In October 2016, Hawkers raised around $50 million in its first round of financing. One month later, Betancourt López was named president of the growing enterprise — and it was a perfect fit.
“Once I start something, I just don’t stop,” said Betancourt López. “I try to see every single option that could turn negative and try to mitigate it beforehand. Even if the idea is great [and] you have the right people, it’ll always surprise you with things that are not expected. You’ve got to be there to make sure you push through and keep everybody working, focused, being creative, and innovating. That’s what’s given me successful ventures and experiences.”
Leopoldo Alejandro Betancourt López’s Entrepreneurial Mindset
Since the rise of Hawkers from a small European company to a globally recognized brand, Betancourt López has found success across a variety of different fields. He’s started companies, invested in successful startups, and helped guide promising newcomers through the challenges of the early business cycle. Balancing the risk of failure against the possibility of success is a lesson he teaches over and over again.
“You’ve got to be optimistic,” he said. “It’s your job to support that [entrepreneur], but with a realistic view. You’ve got to bet on it; you’ve got to believe in it — but always with two feet on the ground. Because if you pass the border from the realistic world to a fantasy world, that’s where you get lost, and you can destroy your company and your project. Every entrepreneur has to dream big — but it has to have a route to success. It has to be doable.”
Even then, success isn’t guaranteed — it’s just more likely.
When asked about the difference between successful bets and failures, Leopoldo Alejandro Betancourt López brought the discussion back to focusing on people, not numbers.
“The first thing I look at is the management — their philosophy and the way they function,” he shared. “That’s what makes a difference there. I always like to meet the key people and [see if] they are good entrepreneurs. For me, the big rationale is understanding that the people behind it are the right people.”
You can also read:
- 10 Things You Didn’t Know about Dunkin’ CEO Dave Hoffmann
- 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Altria CEO Howard A. Willard III
- 10 Things You Didn’t Know About AIG CEO Brian Duperreault
- 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Hobby Lobby CEO David Green
- 10 Things You Should Know About SmartNews CEO Ken Suzuki
