Bakis' Entrepreneurial Journey

He did not want this for the rest of his life.

Bakis was a poor kid in a poor and dangerous area.

He HAD to get out of this situation. 

He got a job at a factory that makes the cardboard core of paper rolls.

At the time, there was only one factory in the Country that made this product. The machine that made it was imported from another country and was very expensive. Because of this monopoly, the factory owner was arrogant, demanded unreasonable prices, and was not respectful of his customers.

Every day Bakis would load trucks with tons of this material. He got very strong. He was also operating the machine. 

But was that it?

He had a job. He was not out in the streets doing crime, like many of his peers did. But he was not content. He wanted better for himself. He had to get out.

He had to start making more money. He knew he had to create his own business.

But what could he do? He was a labor man.

So, he decided to do what was already in front of him. He would make the same product from the same material. He would have his own factory.

The problem was that the machine was very expensive. And he was poor. 

That didn't stop him.

He would copy and recreate it for cheap. So he started making drawings of the machine. He bought metals from scrapyards and then went to a blacksmith to build him his machine.

He found a little space to setup his new machine. He now needed customers.

He already knew which customers bought the product. All he had to do was knock on their door, tell them that there was a new factory in town. He would deliver the product cheaper and more reliably.

He now has a machine, a factory, clients and makes a lot of money.

The lesson is this: Find what is already working. Something with validated demand. After you're in business, you can start thinking about unique value, selling propotitions, and all the fancy stuff.