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💮Womenpreneurs Project: an up-close and personal view of women creating #power.
CLARA CANALS, age 22
CO-FOUNDER of GOYA TEQUILA, Nov 2016 (with his partner Ove Christopher Munthe-Kaas)
https://www.goyatequila.com/
FIELD: Wines and Spirits
Monday, 11 November 14, 2019
Meeting point, Casa Baldomero, Barcelona
10.00pm
Clara is the first woman interviewed for the #womenpreneurproject, and we couldn’t have chosen a better woman to start with. When I arrived at the meeting point, I realized that we were meeting in a Café instead of in Goya Tequila’s office. Later on, I knew that there is no “real office”, since she literally is and represents her own company. She is strongly passionate, firmly dedicated and discreetly exquisite. Passionate with what she is doing, dedicated to her project and delicate with her brand, Goya Tequila. She is a gem.
She dignifies the idea of a very young woman who decided to chase what she wanted to change, which is by definition one of the most extended and rightful reasons to set up a company: when you don’t like something, just change it or created. So, when she met her fiancé and business partner Ove, they started what is now a strong start-up with the brightest of future. They didn’t like the tequila they could drink in the clubs, so 3 years later, they now have their own tequila, just like that! Amazing!
After the initial introductions, I can feel she is eager to explain the whole story and the project to me. It’s a pleasure to see her enthusiasm and the love she shows to what she is doing. But I cannot get through the fact that she is only 22 years old. This is her first job and already a rising star.
We talk about how rather than facing hurdles with the fact of being a woman, her age sometimes has been a bit of an inconvenience for some people, but her strong belief in her project and her maturity eventually wins the age burden. She surely reinvents the “it’s never too late” for the “it’s never too early” saying. Being so young makes me wonder how conscious and present she is. Talking from experience, as an entrepreneur myself, I still don’t know exactly how I’ve got to where I am right now, not that I care honestly. So after asking her how aware she is of her path, I can see she hasn’t had the time yet to consider her outstanding achievement of how she went from not liking some tequila: going to Jalisco, Mexico: finding a little Hacienda owned by a family of 8 generations of tequila distillers; and eventually, to being the co-founder and owner of Goya Tequila, as well as launching the first series of the production and currently working on presenting her product worldwide. One thing is for sure, it’s been a path of #hard-work, trust, effort and knocking on many doors, and she still is.
She brings all the stages of creating a company together in one: she is in charge of all the departments of their company as in control of the marketing, production, quality, funding and management. She of course, is trusting the right inner circle: just a few people that have and share her vision, and she always has nice words for them. She is very grateful with what she has, and despite being the public image of the brand, she always has her partner and all the people involved in the project present in her words. She thinks that the key for her success is perseverance and loving your project. She strongly believes that had she started all over again, she would also do it with a partner, as being the best way to #startup a company.
Goya Tequila and Clara Canals are full of #creativity, she is the #mastermind behind the brand, and because of her close and personal approach and love for the details, Goya Tequila is a success still in progress. She knows that, there is a prosperous future ahead of them. And she is totally ready to embrace it and keep working tirelessly.
CLARA UP- CLOSE AND PERSONAL
1.- INTRODUCE YOURSELF, WHO IS CLARA CANALS?
I am Clara Canals. I grew up in Barcelona and at 19 years old I co-founded The Barcelona Tequila Trading Company where I am currently responsible for international sales and marketing for our main product Goya Tequila.
2. COULD YOU PLEASE EXPLAIN YOUR PROJECT? WHAT MADE YOU BECOME AND ENTREPRENEUR?
We are a small company located in Barcelona, in the Catalonian region of Spain. Our company specializes in the production of 100% natural, chemical-free alcoholic beverages and has created the world's first seasonal, artisanal, micro-batch tequila.
We created Goya Tequila in 2016 with the help and guidance from leading Michelin starred restaurants in Spain with the goal of creating the purest and cleanest alcohol product ever made for consumption. After several years of testing different production techniques and recipes, we finally produced the first bottle for commercial consumption in October 2018.
“Goya Tequila is our interpretation of how tequila would have been made if it had been invented by a Michelin Starred Chef.” (Clara Canals).
3.- WHAT IS THE BIGGEST HURDLE YOU HAVE FACED AS AN ENTREPRENEUR? AND AS A WOMENPRENEUR?
HOW DID YOU SORT IT OUT?
As an entrepreneur for an international company where production, logistics and distribuiton takes shape on several continents, we constantly face difficulties and oportunities to learn. Leaving our confort zone is something we are forced to do on a daily basis. Its hard to single out one specific event that stands out. But with the big picture in mind, I would say the biggest challenge of any entrepreneur is to not give up and to create a succesful business that adds value to overcrowded and highly competitive markets.
In my humble point of view, there is only one way to face these challenges and it is through preparation, research, strategic management and knowing that as a young entrepreneur you are likely to fail before you succeed even in daily tasks.
4.- WHAT’S THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON YOU HAVE LEARNT AS AN ENTREPRENEUR? WHAT’S YOUR ADVISE FOR SOMEONE WHO IS CONSIDERING BECOMING AN ENTREPRENEUR?
Never try to start a company by yourself. You need to surround yourself with talented and inspirational characters. In the end, what separates you and your company from the competition is not really your product but the people who designs, builds and sells it. I am a firm believer that team work is the most powerful asset you will ever have for free.
5.- DO YOU CONSIDER CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION AS BEING ESSENTIAL IN CREATING YOUR OWN COMPANY/PROJECT? HOW DO YOU MAKE A USE OF THEM?
Creativity yes. Innovation not necessarily. Instead of trying to use innovation or new technological advancements, we focused on improving already existing traditional methods of agriculture and tequila production. We did this in order to create something different simply by listening to nature. Goya Tequila is a 100% natural product all the way from the farming to the final product. We treat the earth of our organic fields in ways inspired by old Spanish traditions and without chemicals. We managed to eliminate the traditional harsh taste of tequila by moving our plants from the volcanic grounds around the volcano to soft earth patches in between sugar cane fields. The earth here contains more water and oxygen and less Sulphur and volcanic minerals. This gives Goya Tequila a unique and elegant taste never seen before. The quality is never compromised by adding sugars or flavoring ingredients. We also believe that any human tampering with the natural taste of the tequila lowers the quality and takes away from the pureness. This is why we only produce a “Blanco” and refuse to store our tequila in barrels.
Goya Tequila is a product for the new generation of tequila drinkers. Its ultra-smooth taste and clean production methods appeal to the environmental conscious and quality focused consumer.
6.- COULD YOU MENTION A ROLE MODEL OF YOURS? IF ANY, ARE THEY STILL A ROLE MODEL AND AN INSPIRATION FOR YOU?
No I can’t think of one.
Thanks Clara Canals for your time and thanks for sharing your experiences.
Written by Noèlia Ribó.
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